Loading
Because the sold value sits in a proposal and the cost sits in timesheets, and the two meet in a spreadsheet at the end of the quarter. By then the engagement is finished and the lesson is expensive.
The common failure is not overrunning. It is overrunning quietly, for six weeks, while everyone assumes somebody else is watching.
Phases open from the accepted quote with the roles and days that were priced. Time logged against them produces cost and billable value on the same record, so margin is a comparison rather than a reconstruction.
Capacity planning shows whether the people the proposal assumed are actually free, before the start date is confirmed.
It will not tell you whether the client is happy. It tells you whether the engagement is running as sold, which is a narrower question with a real answer.
And it does not staff projects. It shows availability and cost rate; matching people to work is a judgement about capability.
A phase running over shows as variance while there are still weeks left. Delivery risk is derived from ageing tasks and stalled dependencies rather than from a status meeting.
Change requests are recorded against the sold lines, so the conversation about extra scope has evidence rather than recollection.
Yes — sold value against logged cost, per phase and per engagement.
Yes, both, and a mix within one engagement.
Nest, so leave and working patterns are already accounted for.
Half an hour on your own numbers is usually enough to say whether Loop is the right place to start.