Time · this week
15h
Closed · 14 May
Acme · Brand identity
What Margin sees
You rated Brand identity energising. At $78/h, the numbers agree. Quote the next one higher.
Invoice · #0421
PaidAcme · Brand identity
Time · this week
15h
Closed · 14 May
Acme · Brand identity
Invoice · #0421
PaidAcme · Brand identity
What Margin sees
You rated Brand identity energising. At $78/h, the numbers agree. Quote the next one higher.
The question
You quoted £3,000. It took longer than you planned. The client was fine. But somewhere between the invoice and the bank transfer, the real answer, what it actually paid per hour, whether it was worth the energy, slipped away unexamined.
It doesn’t have to work like that.
The freelancers who build the careers they actually want aren’t necessarily better at the work. They just know their numbers. They know which clients are worth taking on, which types of work pay well and feel good, and when to quote higher.
Margin gives you that picture. Your projects, your time, your clients and how the work felt, finally in one place, finally telling you something useful.
Margin tracks both.
More than the rate
When you close a project, Margin asks one thing: how did this one feel?
Three options. Ten seconds. Over time, that single data point changes everything. You’ll see which clients pay well and leave you energised. Which ones pay the same but cost you more than the hours suggest. Which types of work consistently hit your rate and don’t hollow you out.
The sweet spot, projects that make a profit and were genuinely good to work on, is findable. Margin helps you find it.
Close out
How did this one feel?
Ten seconds. Skippable. Always private.
Patterns this quarter
By work type
How each kind of work has felt.
What Margin sees
Brand identity energises you and pays $78/h. Pitch decks drain you and pay $42/h. The pattern is consistent.
What Margin writes
Most freelancers have a rough sense of how things are going. Margin makes it precise. It reads your projects, your clients, your time, and tells you what it all means in a sentence you can actually do something with.
Not a chart you have to squint at. Just the thing you needed to know
“Your effective hourly rate this week is €58/h. Below your €65/h target. Non-billable work is pulling it down.”
“Acme · Brand identity is 42% of your time in May. Paying well at $78/h, but you rated it draining. Worth knowing before you quote the next one.”
“You’ve closed three draining projects in a row. The two before were both energising, and they paid better. Worth a look.”
“Your three best-rated projects this quarter averaged £81/h. Your three worst-rated averaged £44/h. The pattern is consistent.”
“You earned $5,820 in May. $3,200 has cleared so far. The rest catches up in 2–4 weeks. Normal freelance lag, not a problem.”
Monday delivery
Not a dashboard to remember to open. An email worth actually reading.
Margin
hello@margin.app
Your week. Brand identity paid $78/h. Pitch deck didn’t.
Hi Barry,
You logged 18.5 hours this week across three projects.
You earned $1,440. $820 has cleared so far. The rest is on its way. Cash usually catches up 2–4 weeks after the work.
Acme · Brand identity paid $78/h. Your best rate this month, and you rated it energising. Worth quoting the next one higher.
Hooli · Pitch deck landed at $42/h after running four hours over estimate. You rated it draining. That’s three pitch decks in a row coming in below target. Worth a pricing rethink, or a pass next time.
One invoice still outstanding. $800 from Globex, eight days past your terms.
Have a good week.
Margin
Skip a week, change the time, or pause anytime.
Numbers, signals, and how it actually felt to do the work.
Fixed-price work hides your real rate. Margin surfaces it per project, per client and over time, flagged against your target as you go, not after the invoice is sent.
Scope creep. Overdue invoices. Fixed-fee work falling below your target rate. Pipeline sitting uninvoiced. The things you knew you should check but didn’t get to. Margin checks for you.
Log time as you go and see where your effective rate will land. Find out you’re heading under target while there’s still time to do something about it.
Average rate. Payment speed. Energy cost. Lifetime value. Some clients are better for your business than others. Margin shows you which, and why.
Working through a marketplace? The fee is already in your numbers. Your effective rate always reflects what actually lands in your account.
Over time, the pattern of energising and draining projects becomes the most useful signal in your business. It tells you which kinds of work to take more of, and which to quote higher.
Active projects · this week
Effective rate · net of fees
Acme · Brand identity
On track24h of 30h estimated
$78/h
on pace
Acme · Brand identity
On track$78/h
on pace
24h of 30h estimated
Moken · Site refresh
On track12h of 16h estimated
$62/h
on pace
Moken · Site refresh
On track$62/h
on pace
12h of 16h estimated
Field & co. · Pitch deck
Over estimate8h of 4h estimated · +4h
$42/h
so far
Field & co. · Pitch deck
Over estimate$42/h
so far
8h of 4h estimated · +4h
Northwind · Packaging illustrations
Below target rate20h of 24h estimated
$55/h
on pace
Northwind · Packaging illustrations
Below target rate$55/h
on pace
20h of 24h estimated
Most working designers freelance independently on fixed prices with several clients on the go at once. It’s how most of the industry actually works. But almost nothing has been built specifically for it. Margin is.
Margin is for
Not for
If your current system is a spreadsheet, a gut feeling, or both. Margin was made for you.
What you’d actually see
Check in. See where you stand. Get back to work.
This month
$5,340
of $6,000 target
Effective rate
$72/h
above your target
Outstanding
$800
1 invoice sent
This month felt
Mostly ⚡
2 energising · 1 neutral · 1 draining
How Margin works
Hours in.
Log your time as you go. Margin tracks the rate against your target, per project, per client, over time.
Feeling in.
Close a project and tap how it felt. Three options. Ten seconds. Skippable.
Read out.
Every Monday morning, an email lands. A few sentences in plain English. What your work actually paid, and what it cost you.
Time-trackers, spreadsheets and project boards hold your numbers. Margin does something with them.
A time-tracker says
You spent 4h on Acme this week.
Margin says
4h on Acme. At the rate you quoted, that’s $78/h. On pace.
A time-tracker says
Invoice for $2,300 sent.
Margin says
$2,300 to Northwind. They paid in 12 days last time. Worth chasing on day 14.
A time-tracker says
Pitch deck · $2,000 fixed price.
Margin says
Pitch deck is tracking at $52/h. Below your target. Two more hours and it drops to $45/h.
A time-tracker says
Project marked complete.
Margin says
How did this one feel? Three options. Ten seconds. We’ll show you the pattern later.
Recording time is easy.
Understanding it is different.
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