StaffMargin documentation
StaffMargin tells you the real margin on every employee, project, client and partner. It works across countries and currencies, and you run it without a spreadsheet or an ERP. If you bill people’s time and you want to know what you actually keep, this is the tool for that.
These docs show you how to set it up, how the numbers are calculated, and how to use each part of the app. New here? Start with the quickstart.
What StaffMargin does
Section titled “What StaffMargin does”Your margin is billing minus loaded cost. StaffMargin computes the fully loaded cost of each person, including the employer taxes and contributions that a salary alone leaves out, compares it to what you bill, and shows the margin per employee, per project, per client and per partner.
The stakes are thin. Staff augmentation gross margins usually land between 30% and 40%, so a wrong cost rate or an unbilled currency swing eats real profit. Across professional services firms, project margins hit a five-year high of 37.7% in 2025, yet the median firm still took home just 2.5% of revenue as bottom-line profit. Revenue leakage fell to 4.5% the same year, and the firms that leak least run on connected systems instead of spreadsheets. Knowing your true margin is how you stop that leak.
Who it’s for
Section titled “Who it’s for”StaffMargin is built for firms that bill clients for people’s time and want to protect the margin on that time. You get the most from it if you run an outsourcing or staff-augmentation firm, an agency, a software or dev shop, or a consultancy that staffs projects across more than one country or currency.
You feel the problem most when a spreadsheet can no longer keep up. People in several countries. A few partners or subcontractors in the mix. Clients billed in currencies that are not your own.
What makes it different
Section titled “What makes it different”Three things set StaffMargin apart. No spreadsheet gives you all three, and a heavy PSA or ERP makes you pay for far more than margin.
A jurisdiction-aware salary engine
Section titled “A jurisdiction-aware salary engine”Enter a salary and a country, and StaffMargin adds the employer taxes and contributions for that country to give a loaded cost. Your cost rate stops being a guess. Read how employer cost works.
Partner and subcontractor margins
Section titled “Partner and subcontractor margins”When a partner or subcontractor delivers the work, StaffMargin tracks the commission you keep and folds it into margin alongside your own staff. You see the real margin on partner work. Read partner and subcontractor margins.
Real multi-currency reporting
Section titled “Real multi-currency reporting”Employees, clients and partners can each sit in different currencies. StaffMargin reports margin using reproducible historical rates, so a number you calculated last quarter still reads the same today. Read multi-currency and historical rates.
What StaffMargin is not
Section titled “What StaffMargin is not”StaffMargin is the margin layer, and it works alongside the tools you already have. You keep your payroll and EOR for paying people, your project management and time tracking for running the work, and your invoicing for billing clients. StaffMargin does not replace any of them. It takes the cost and billing you already track and turns them into margin you can trust.
Get started
Section titled “Get started”- Quickstart gets you to your first margin in an afternoon.
- A tour of StaffMargin shows you around the app.
- How margin is calculated explains the core equation.
Related
Section titled “Related”Sources
Section titled “Sources”- 2025 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark (Kantata/SPI)
- What is a good gross margin for staff augmentation services (TechBullion)
- Median IT staffing firm revenues flat, margin pressure rises (TechServe Alliance)