Quickstart: your first margin in an afternoon

Q: Do I have to add a salary right away?

No. Click Skip on the salary step and add it later from the Salaries page. Without a salary, the person has no loaded cost yet, so their margin stays incomplete until you add one.

This guide takes you from an empty workspace to your first real margin. You add one person, one client, one project, and one cost, then read the result on the dashboard. It takes about ten minutes.

You need an account to start. A fresh workspace shows a guided home screen until you add your first employee and client, then the dashboard takes over.

Most actions in this guide start from the + Add button in the top bar. You can also press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows) to open the command palette and search for the same actions.

1. Add your first employee

Click + Add, then Add employee. Fill in the first name, last name, employment type, and start date. The rest is optional for now. Click Create.

The Add employee dialog with first name, last name, employment type and start date filled in, the Create button highlighted

The form does not close. It slides straight to a salary step for the person you just created.

2. Add a salary

On the Add salary step, enter the amount and pick the layer it represents (Net, Gross, or Employer cost). Set the currency and pay basis, and leave the effective date on the hire’s start date. Click Save.

The Add salary step showing the amount, Entered as, currency and pay basis, the Save button highlighted

The salary is what StaffMargin turns into a fully loaded cost. To gross a net salary up to real employer cost, attach a Payroll rule here, which also sets the currency for you. See employer cost and the salary engine for how that works. If you want to add the salary later, click Skip instead. Staff supplied by a partner are paid by the partner, so they have no salary step.

3. Create your first client

Click + Add, then Add client. The name is the only required field. Add a country, default currency, and billing email if you have them. Click Create.

The Add client dialog with a name and default currency, the Create button highlighted

4. Create a project for the client

Click + Add, then Add project. Pick the client you just created, give the project a name, and click Create. Code, dates, and status are optional. You can also start this from the client’s page, which fills in the client for you.

The Add project dialog with the client selected and a project name, the Create button highlighted

5. Add the employee to the project

Open Projects in the sidebar, find your project, and open its actions menu (More actions), then Manage people. Click Add person. Pick the employee, set a role if you want, then set the rate type, rate amount, and currency. Leave engagement at 100 percent for a full-time assignment. Set the effective date and click Add.

The Add person dialog with the employee, rate type and rate amount, the Add button highlighted

This rate is what you bill the client. StaffMargin compares it against the person’s loaded cost to get the margin. See how margin is calculated.

5.1 Create a cost

Now add a shared cost, like a software subscription. Click + Add, then Add cost. Give it a label, pick a category and how often it recurs, and enter the amount and currency. Set the date it starts and click Add cost.

The Add cost dialog with a label, pricing, amount and recurrence, the Add cost button highlighted

5.2 Add the cost to the employee

Open Costs in the sidebar, find the cost, and open its actions menu, then Manage allocations. Click Add allocation. Pick the employee, choose how to split the cost (set the type to Percentage and a share, for example), set the effective date, and click Add allocation. You can also do this from the employee’s page with Add cost.

The Add allocation dialog assigning a share of the cost to the employee, the Add allocation button highlighted

The employee’s share of this cost now rolls into their loaded cost, alongside salary and employer taxes. See costs for the full picture.

6. Check the dashboard

Open Dashboard in the sidebar. Set the reporting currency and a date range at the top. The summary cards show your totals, the chart shows margin per employee, and the switcher below moves between employees, projects, clients, vendors, and salaries. Click any employee row to drill into that person.

The dashboard with revenue, operating margin and the other summary cards, plus the loaded-margin-by-employee chart

You now have a real margin: billing from the project rate, minus the loaded cost from salary and the allocated cost. That is the whole model, running on one person. Add the rest of your team the same way, or load them in bulk with import.

FAQ

Do I have to add a salary right away?

No. Click Skip on the salary step and add it later from the Salaries page. Without a salary, the person has no loaded cost yet, so their margin stays incomplete until you add one.

Where does the loaded cost come from?

From the salary plus employer taxes and contributions for the country of employment, plus any costs you allocate to the person. Attach a Payroll rule to the salary to gross it up automatically. See employer cost and the salary engine.

What if the employee and the client use different currencies?

That is fine. Set each rate in its own currency, then pick a reporting currency on the dashboard. StaffMargin converts using stored historical rates. See multi-currency and historical rates.

Why can't I see the dashboard yet?

A new workspace shows a guided home screen until you have at least one employee and one client. Once both exist, the dashboard replaces it automatically.

Can I load my team in bulk instead of one at a time?

Yes. Use import to load employees, clients, projects, costs and salaries from CSV.

How do I track margin on a subcontractor?

Link the person to a partner, then set a commission percent on their project assignment. Their margin shows up next to your own staff. See partner and subcontractor margins.