From timesheets to retainer margin (without theatre)

Timesheets that nobody trusts cannot protect margin.

Lightweight utilisation

1. Track time at project/retainer level, not 6-minute increments, if culture resists.
2. Compare sold hours vs actual monthly.
3. Review outliers with leads, not public shaming.
4. Feed learnings back into pricing and SOW templates.

When to build proper tracking

When utilisation disputes happen every month or retainers regularly overrun 120%.

Use this as a working checklist inside your team first. When the same steps repeat every week and spreadsheets start breaking, that is usually the moment to scope a fixed-scope phase with deliverables, acceptance criteria and ownership terms agreed upfront as an owned system. See the relevant Standen service · More guides · SaaS ops audit.