Proper Revenue Recognition for Agencies, With Rich Brett

Points of Interest

• 1:09 – 2:28 – Meet Rich Brett: Rich shares his background in agency finance and how he now serves 12–15 agencies monthly by bridging gaps between finance, operations, and strategy.
• 2:29 – 4:03 – The FinOps Mindset: Rich defines FinOps as the intersection of finance and operations—connecting financial data with the reality of agency delivery for more meaningful insights.
• 4:04 – 6:02 – Rate Cards and Data Integrity: The duo explores how operational metrics like utilization and recovery must align with financial planning, especially when building rate cards.
• 6:03 – 9:03 – Revenue Recognition Fundamentals: Rich explains revenue recognition as booking revenue based on delivery progress rather than invoice or payment dates, providing a more accurate financial view.
• 9:04 – 12:08 – Cash vs. Accrual Accounting: Marcel and Rich outline the critical distinction between accrual accounting for tax, GAAP, and management purposes—and why methodology matters for insight.
• 12:09 – 15:17 – Common RevRec Mistakes: Many agencies overcomplicate revenue recognition or fail to track only fee-earned income, leading to distorted financials and misaligned reporting.
• 15:18 – 17:55 – Building a Methodology: Rich outlines a practical approach using project forecasts, resourcing, and delivery inputs to estimate monthly revenue earned from projects.
• 17:56 – 21:08 – Percent Complete Frameworks: The episode covers five models for calculating project completion—from time vs. timeline to project manager estimates—each with pros and cons.
• 21:09 – 24:47 – Operational Insights from Finance: They highlight how mismatches between recognized revenue and time tracking reveal performance issues and inform staffing decisions.
• 24:48 – 27:37 – Working with Accountants: Rich emphasizes keeping revenue recognition simple and ensuring bookkeepers support your methodology with appropriate journal entries.
• 27:38 – 36:00 – Scope Clarity and Internal Truth: The conversation turns to separating internal planning from client-facing documents and how poor internal assumptions lead to inaccurate reporting.

Show Notes

• Rich’s LinkedIn
• My Framework
  • Time vs. Timeline
  • Hours vs. Budget
  • Burndown Chart/ Task Checked Off
  • Initial Project Shape/ Resource Plan- Based Forecasting
  • % Complete

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