How much margin does your internal work eat?
Tracked project hours × cost per hour land on the project as direct labour. Whatever is left stays in the payroll line — and that difference is your internal, non-billable time.
Per person
cost per hour
€7,344
costed onto projects
Re-allocated
not added on top
What each person's time costs
| Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Nov 26 | Dec 26 | Jan 27 |
| Project delivery costs | |||||||
Mira Klein | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 |
Project hoursToggl | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h |
Cost per hour | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 |
Charged to delivery | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 |
Lukas Fischer | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 |
Project hoursToggl | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h |
Cost per hour | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 |
Charged to delivery | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 |
| Total project delivery costs | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 |
Status quo
Internal hours never appear on an invoice
Pitches, admin, your own rebrand: the hours run, the salaries run, and no invoice ever goes out for them. What that eats of your margin is something somebody estimates at the end with a percentage — and nobody checks it.
Today
- Labour cost as one lump sum
- Internal effort estimated with a flat rate
- Utilisation visible only in hindsight
- Double-counted, or not counted at all
With Foreqast
- Project hours and internal hours, split apart
- Internal time calculated from tracked hours
- Billable against paid hours, continuously
- Re-allocated — the wage bill is unchanged
How it works
From a tracked hour to your real margin
Four steps, each powered by a feature.
Staff the project
When you create the project, you pick who works on it. That's the whole setup — from then on their time belongs to that project.
Projects
Add projectActive projects
Billing into Revenue
Hours tracked
Across every project
Billed to date
Hours × wage, plus fees
Brand refresh
Nordwind AG · €145/h · 120h budget · pays day 1
€14,500
100h tracked · 20h left
Data platform
Meridian AG · €140/h · ongoing · pays day 15
€21,000
150h tracked · ~€87k/yr
Support retainer
Aurora GmbH · €120/h · ongoing · pays day 1
€19,200
160h tracked · ~€62k/yr
App rewrite
Helios SE · €155/h · 240h budget · pays day 20
€8,525
55h tracked · 185h left
Add project
Name
Client
Hourly rate (€)
Deadline
Staffed by
Tracked hours × €145 become revenue, invoiced on the deadline.
Track the hours per person
Connect Toggl Track and time flows in per person and per project. Future weeks carry each person's own pattern forward.
Hours per person
| 24 Aug | 31 Aug | 7 Sep | 14 Sep | 21 Sep | 28 Sep | 5 Oct |
| Revenue | |||||||
Project · Website relaunch | €0€0 | €0€0 | €0€0 | €0€0 | €23,780€0 | €0€0 | €0€0 |
Time workedToggl | 38 h | 44 h | 41 h | 41 h | 41 h | 41 h | 41 h |
Mira Klein | 22 h | 26 h | 24 h | 24 h | 24 h | 24 h | 24 h |
Lukas Fischer | 16 h | 18 h | 17 h | 17 h | 17 h | 17 h | 17 h |
Hourly rate | €145 | €145 | €145 | €145 | €145 | €145 | €145 |
| Total revenue | €0 | €0 | €0 | €0 | €23,780 | €0 | €0 |
Every hour costs that person's own rate
Cost per hour isn't a new number to maintain: it's their salary divided by their contracted month. Hours × that rate is what the person costs the project — with nothing estimated.
What each person's time costs
| Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Nov 26 | Dec 26 | Jan 27 |
| Project delivery costs | |||||||
Mira Klein | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608−€4,608 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 | −€4,608€0 |
Project hoursToggl | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h | 96 h |
Cost per hour | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 | €48 |
Charged to delivery | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 |
Lukas Fischer | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736−€2,736 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 | −€2,736€0 |
Project hoursToggl | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h | 72 h |
Cost per hour | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 | €38 |
Charged to delivery | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 |
| Total project delivery costs | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 | −€7,344 |
Re-allocated out of payroll, not added on top
The amount leaves the payroll line and lands in project delivery costs. The total is the same wage bill you were already paying (€9,300) — you just now know which part of it sits on delivered work and which doesn't.
Moved out of payroll, not added on top
| Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Nov 26 | Dec 26 | Jan 27 |
| Operating expenses | |||||||
Freelancers & Subcontractors | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 |
Mira Klein | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 |
Lukas Fischer | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 |
Team & Payroll | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 |
| Total wage bill | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 |
What you get
What internal work actually costs you
Per person, calculated from tracked hours and real salaries — and a wage bill that doesn't change because of it.
Per person
cost per hour
€7,344
costed onto projects
0%
estimated
Moved out of payroll, not added on top
| Jul 26 | Aug 26 | Sep 26 | Oct 26 | Nov 26 | Dec 26 | Jan 27 |
| Operating expenses | |||||||
Freelancers & Subcontractors | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344−€7,344 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 | −€7,344€0 |
Mira Klein | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 | €4,608 |
Lukas Fischer | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 | €2,736 |
Team & Payroll | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956−€1,956 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 | −€1,956€0 |
| Total wage bill | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 | −€9,300 |
What you need
Your team and your time tracking
The salaries are already on the Employees page; time tracking supplies the hours per person and project.
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Related decisions
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“We thought that one project was our best. It was the one most of our hours disappeared into.”
Managing director, digital agency
FAQ
Internal work, answered
Does this double-count the cost?
No. The amount is taken out of the payroll line and booked into project delivery costs. The two together are exactly the wage bill you had before.
Where does cost per hour come from?
The person's salary divided by their contracted month. There's no second number to maintain.
What if someone books more project hours than they're contracted for?
The share is capped at that person's total cost, so the payroll line can never go negative.
Do I need a time-tracking integration?
No — hours can be entered directly in the daily view. An integration only saves you the typing.
What about hours that don't go to projects?
That's the point: whatever isn't on a project stays in the payroll line, and that difference is your non-billable time.
See what internal work costs you in margin
Connect your team and your time tracking, and the line is there. Free to start.
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