Monthly management report
Northcraft Studio
Billable utilization slipped to 68% from 72% — the Calderon project wrapped before the next retainer staffed and two designers sat on bench for ~90 hours. At the effective rate that is ~$15K of unbilled capacity for the month.
01 · Executive summary
Three conclusions, and the decisions they imply
- Billable utilization slipped to 68% from 72% — the Calderon project wrapped before the next retainer staffed and two designers sat on bench for ~90 hours. At the effective rate that is ~$15K of unbilled capacity for the month.
- Retainer share rose to 54% of revenue from 49% — two project clients converted to monthly retainers, smoothing the lumpy project cycle. The worker booked the full annualized lift; the supervisor wanted to discount early-stage retainer churn risk, so the call routed to your inbox.
- DSO stretched to 52 days from 49 — a project client disputed a change-order line and held the final invoice, leaving $22K past 90 days. The retainer base still collects on time; the lumpiness is concentrated in the project book.
Scorecard
Scorecard
Cash status
Cash-positive
Revenue
$560,000
+$14,000 · +2.6% vs plan
Monthly outflow
$498,000
+$10,000 · +2.1% vs plan
Gross margin
56.0%
DSO / DPO (days)
52 / 26
P&L summary — vs prior month, last year and plan
P&L summary — vs prior month, last year and plan
Month over month — vs prior period — Apr 26 vs Mar 26
| Line | Apr 26 | Mar 26 | Δ | Δ% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $560,000 | $546,341 | +$13,659 | +2.5% |
| Cost of revenue | $246,400 | $240,390 | +$6,010 | +2.5% |
| Gross profit | $313,600 | $305,951 | +$7,649 | +2.5% |
| Operating expense | $251,600 | $249,521 | +$2,079 | +0.8% |
| Operating profit/(loss) | $62,000 | $56,431 | +$5,569 | +9.9% |
| Ending cash | $286,000 | $224,000 | +$62,000 | +27.7% |
Year over year — same month last year — Apr 26 vs Apr 25
| Line | Apr 26 | Apr 25 | Δ | Δ% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $560,000 | $416,391 | +$143,609 | +34.5% |
| Cost of revenue | $246,400 | $183,212 | +$63,188 | +34.5% |
| Gross profit | $313,600 | $233,179 | +$80,421 | +34.5% |
| Operating expense | $251,600 | $227,751 | +$23,849 | +10.5% |
| Operating profit/(loss) | $62,000 | $5,428 | +$56,572 | +1042.3% |
| Ending cash | $286,000 | $119,126 | +$166,874 | +140.1% |
Next month forecast $574,000
Trends
Monthly revenue — last 14 closed months
Mar 25 — Apr 26 · $345,300 … $560,000
Ending cash at each month close
Mar 25 — Apr 26 · $99,873 … $286,000
03 · Cash & working capital
Cash & working capital
Opening cash $224,000 net for the month +$62,000 closing cash $286,000
$286,000 today → $367,143 in week 13 · lowest point $238,275 (week 4) · no cash-floor breach
View weekly schedule
| Week | Opening | Receipts | Disbursements | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $286,000 | $129,330 | $141,262 | $274,069 |
| 2 | $274,069 | $129,330 | $141,262 | $262,137 |
| 3 | $262,137 | $129,330 | $141,262 | $250,206 |
| 4 | $250,206 | $129,330 | $141,262 | $238,275 |
| 5 | $238,275 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $252,594 |
| 6 | $252,594 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $266,912 |
| 7 | $266,912 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $281,231 |
| 8 | $281,231 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $295,550 |
| 9 | $295,550 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $309,868 |
| 10 | $309,868 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $324,187 |
| 11 | $324,187 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $338,506 |
| 12 | $338,506 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $352,824 |
| 13 | $352,824 | $129,330 | $115,012 | $367,143 |
What changed and why
What changed and why
Billable utilization slipped to 68% from 72% — the Calderon project wrapped before the next retainer staffed and two designers sat on bench for ~90 hours. At the effective rate that is ~$15K of unbilled capacity for the month.
✓ second model confirmed · General ledger · Time Entries · Apr 2026 · QuickBooks · Project Calderon · April
Retainer share rose to 54% of revenue from 49% — two project clients converted to monthly retainers, smoothing the lumpy project cycle. The worker booked the full annualized lift; the supervisor wanted to discount early-stage retainer churn risk, so the call routed to your inbox.
second model disagrees — review · General ledger · Retainer Revenue · Apr 2026 · QuickBooks · Contracts · April
DSO stretched to 52 days from 49 — a project client disputed a change-order line and held the final invoice, leaving $22K past 90 days. The retainer base still collects on time; the lumpiness is concentrated in the project book.
✓ second model confirmed · General ledger · AR Aging · Apr 2026 · QuickBooks · Dispute · April
04 · Decisions & follow-ups
Decisions & follow-ups
Billable utilization slipped to 68% from 72% — the Calderon project wrapped before the next retainer staffed and two designers sat on bench for ~90 hours
Open · outcome pending · You · Review by 05 Jun 2026
convert two project clients to monthly retainers and cap non-billable internal work to lift utilization.
Reviewed · Northcraft delivery leads · Review by 15 Jun 2026
Forecast reliability
Forecast reliability Inferred
Your revenue forecasts have run 8% optimistic over the last 6 months.
How we measure it: every past monthly forecast is scored against the month that actually closed — out-of-sample, never fit to the answer.
Sources & evidence
- General ledger · Time Entries · Apr 2026
- QuickBooks · Project Calderon · April
- General ledger · Retainer Revenue · Apr 2026
- QuickBooks · Contracts · April
- General ledger · AR Aging · Apr 2026
- QuickBooks · Dispute · April