Challenges Before Costlocker

As Fragile Media grew, managing project profitability and team efficiency became increasingly complex. The agency needed a solution that would provide clear financial oversight, track team performance, and ensure that every project contributed to overall business success.

Why Costlocker?

While considering tools like Harvest, Fragile Media ultimately chose Costlocker due to its deep understanding of agency workflows. The decision was influenced by Costlocker’s ability to provide real-time insights into project costs and profitability, as well as its user-friendly interface tailored for agencies. Supporting a Czech startup with firsthand experience in the industry was also an important factor.

How Costlocker Transformed Operations

Costlocker quickly became an essential tool for managing business performance at Fragile Media. The agency now relies on Costlocker to:

• Monitor project profitability and assess financial health in real time.

• Identify which clients and projects are driving revenue vs. those that may be costing money.

• Improve team efficiency by tracking work hours and capacity utilization.

"Costlocker gives us a complete and realistic insight into our projects’ financial status, making it a key tool for managing our agency. Honestly, I can’t imagine running the business without it." — Dan Kafka, Fragile Media Owner

Key Insights Gained from Costlocker

One of the most valuable discoveries from using Costlocker was the ability to analyze small projects. Initially, some smaller projects seemed profitable, but the data revealed they required significant upfront investment, impacting overall profitability. Additionally, the agency began reassessing relationships with large clients that, despite generating substantial revenue, had unexpectedly low profit margins.

Implementation Challenges and Solutions

Adopting Costlocker came with initial hurdles, particularly in getting employees to embrace time tracking. Many team members were skeptical about tracking hours, perceiving it as an unnecessary burden rather than a strategic necessity. To address this:

• Leadership led by example, diligently tracking their own time to reinforce the practice.

• Custom API integrations were implemented to generate reports that highlighted employee productivity and effectiveness, making the data valuable for both individuals and the agency.

Current and Future Goals

Fragile Media continues to use Costlocker as a foundation for making data-driven decisions. With company growth sometimes leading to decreased efficiency, the agency has adjusted its hiring approach—pausing recruitment for non-executive positions while focusing on improving team performance and profitability.