What does a project delay actually cost?

If your contract has a delay clause, yes. Most agency contracts do not have one. The Delay Fee Recovery output on the calculator gives you two numbers. The lower one is what you need to invoice to break even. The higher one gets you back to your target margin. Even without a delay clause, sending a change order with a clear breakdown is standard practice. Most clients accept it when the math is clear and tied to the specific days they were silent.

A delay is when the client stops the work. Scope creep is when the client adds to the work. Both eat your margin. A delay burns your salaries while nothing happens. Scope creep burns your salaries on work you cannot bill for. The two often happen on the same project, and most agencies mix them up until they look at each cost separately. Use this calculator for delays. Use the Scope Creep Calculator for added scope.

The math is the math. If your inputs are accurate, the output is accurate. The calculator uses the standard 22 working days per month and assumes the salaries you enter are fully loaded. It does not estimate opportunity cost, which is the revenue you could have earned on other work during the delay. Most agency owners feel that cost in their gut but rarely calculate it. The number this tool returns is the floor, not the ceiling.

This calculator tells you what one delay cost on one project, after the fact. MinuteMargin runs the same math live, across every active project, and alerts you while the delay is still happening. By the time most agencies notice a project has gone sideways, the margin is already gone. MinuteMargin closes that gap. Join the waitlist for early access.