Find the engagements quietly losing you money
| Client / project | Fee ₹ | Hours | Cost ₹/h | Expenses ₹ | Eff. rate | Profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹2778 | ₹1.54 L | 62% | |||||
| ₹1524 | ₹1.23 L | 38% | |||||
| ₹1500 | ₹64.0K | 36% |
The consulting margin trap
A ₹3.2 L project sounds better than a ₹1.8 L one — until you count the hours. Effective rate (fee ÷ hours actually delivered) is the honest number, and it's usually the big "prestige" projects that drag it down.
Retainers with unbounded scope are the most common leak: the fee is fixed, the hours are not. Track hours per client for one month and the picture usually changes.