Scope Creep Estimator
Calculate the silent killer of agency profitability. Quantify the impact of 'little tweaks' and unbilled overages on your effective hourly rate.
Project Parameters
The Creep
Profit Erosion
The Erosion Effect
Profit dropped by 6.0% points
Rate Collapse
You planned to earn $100/hr. You are actually earning $89/hr due to creep.
Free Work
You have given away $6,000 worth of billable time for free.
Profit Risk
Your profit margin shrank from 50% to 44%.
Execution Steps
Enter the 'Fixed Project Fee' and 'Planned Hours'.
Estimate 'Creep Hours per Week' (unbilled meetings, revisions, calls).
Enter your 'Internal Cost per Hour' (to calculate profit).
The chart visualizes how your Profit Margin erodes over the project duration.
Pro Strategy
- Define 'Done' clearly in the SOW. Ambiguity breeds creep.
- Use a 'Change Order' process for ANY request outside of scope, even small ones. It signals boundaries.
- Track all time, even if you don't bill for it. You can't fix what you don't measure.
Core Concepts
Effective Hourly Rate (EHR)
Total Revenue / Total Hours Spent. This is the truest measure of project health. Creep lowers this rate drastically.
Zero-Sum Game
In a fixed-fee project, every extra hour spent is a direct deduction from your profit. You pay for it, not the client.
Opportunity Cost
Time spent on unbilled creep is time you could have spent on a new paying client. The cost is double: lost profit + lost new revenue.
What is Scope Creep Estimator?
This calculator performs a marginal analysis on project profitability. It compares the 'Planned State' vs 'Actual State' by adding unbilled hours to the cost basis while keeping revenue fixed. It reveals the erosion of margin dollars and effective rate.
Best For
- • Post-mortem on a completed project.
- • Mid-project health check.
- • Training account managers on profitability.
Limitations
- • Assumes constant internal cost.
- • Doesn't account for non-monetary value (portfolio piece, relationship building).
Alternative Methods
Project Rate Estimator
Calculating the initial quote with buffers included.
Industry Applications
See how this methodology generates real revenue uplift in different sectors.
Software Dev Shop
Projects always late.
Tracked 'Bug Fixes' vs 'Feature Creep'. Found clients were adding features labeled as bugs.