Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor

Helping agency owners turn financial chaos into profitable growth.
Founder & EA @ Basta & Croop
📊 Profitability • Cash Flow • Agency Finance

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

Hi, I'm Neil.

Father of 3. Christian, faith is the foundation everything else is built on.

I've been in business 15+ years. I'm deaf. It shaped how I listen, how I read people, and how I run a firm.

I train BJJ. It's the closest thing to running a business: stay calm, solve the problem in front of you, tap and reset when you're wrong.

Here's what I've noticed:

The typical agency owner I talk to has a CPA, a bookkeeper, payroll handled. Maybe even a financial advisor.

And they still lose sleep over money.

Why? Every one of those people looks backward. Nobody is answering "can I afford this hire" or "when do I raise prices."

Compliance is not clarity. You need both.

That's what I do. I help agency owners bring clarity to their numbers so they can scale profitably.

Glad you found me. Let's get to know each other.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@ryanraysr @cybertruck @Tesla @CharlotteTesla

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

Took my @cybertruck in for service at North Charlotte @Tesla and found a lot full of Cybercabs.

Up close the gold finish has a fine sparkle to it. This one even had a steering wheel installed.

Would you ride in one?

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@ryanraysr @cybertruck @Tesla @CharlotteTesla Well what did I say.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@ryanraysr @cybertruck @Tesla @CharlotteTesla How did you like the cybertruck?

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

I keep my referral list short on purpose: three law firms that work with agencies.

I know each firm well, so when I send an owner over, I know how they'll be treated.

I hold myself to the same standard. Anyone referred to me hears back the same day or the next.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

"Revenue went up and I'm taking home less."

I hear this a lot from growing agencies. Three numbers usually explain it, all measured against AGI: revenue minus pass-through costs like media and freelancers.

1. People. Wages, taxes, benefits and your market-rate salary. Keep it at 55% or less.
2. Overhead. Rent, software, insurance and everything else. Keep it at 25% or less.
3. Profit. What's left. Protect 20%.

If you want to run these on your own agency, send me a DM.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

If you don't track hours, at least know what each retainer costs to serve.

One owner I talked with keeps it simple: weekly team hours on the account, plus vendor costs for that client.

Check it against the retainer monthly. Rising cost with a flat invoice is scope creep.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

The fourth-quarter estimate isn't due until January 15. Don't wait that long to learn what you owe.

Every October we run a tax plan for clients: a short questionnaire on what changed, then a projected number.

If it's higher than expected, you still have ten weeks to plan.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

"I just let QuickBooks do its thing."

An agency owner told me that recently. Transactions get categorized and nobody reviews them.

That works until you need the numbers for a hire, a loan, or a tax return. Then it's a clean-up project, which costs more than monthly upkeep.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

An agency owner I spoke with tried performance-only deals. No retainer, just a percent of the sales they drove.

Two problems showed up.

1. Those clients averaged about a third of the revenue of a retainer client.
2. With less at stake, they were slower to respond, and the work stalled waiting on them.

He stopped offering them. Now he's replacing them with larger retainer clients.

Before you take a deal like that, put its expected revenue next to what it costs you to serve. Both numbers, every month.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

About 15 years ago I started my practice and took almost any client.

Marketing and creative agencies kept showing up, so I focused on them.

The biggest change was the language. Retainers, utilization, pass-through media, scope creep. Owners don't have to explain them.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

Save this for the first Monday of the month.

30 minutes, no exceptions:

1. Pull last month's numbers and fill in your 8 KPIs.
2. Which KPI improved?
3. Which one got worse?
4. What is the one thing you'll do differently this month?

The next first Monday is November 2.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

Agency books show the same pattern with clients. Sign 4 new clients a month and lose 4, and revenue looks flat while sales and onboarding costs land on every new account before its first invoice. Keeping the clients you have is usually the cheaper growth. When you audit a brand, what's the first retention leak you check?

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

Talent being affordable doesn't mean your agency can afford the talent.

True Labor counts wages, payroll taxes, benefits, subcontractors, and your own pay and distributions.

Add the new hire to that total. Then check it against your Labor Budget before you post the job.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

An owner I talked with moved new clients from end-of-month net 30 billing to billing on the 1st.

That cut about 60 days of waiting on revenue.

Same clients and same work, with the cash two months sooner.

Cash tight while revenue grows? Check when you bill before you hire.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@The_AlexKirby Parent life.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@ryanraysr Sorry. I came from a big family.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@ryanraysr Haha

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@joshykobyashi Hiring another account manager before raising prices is the expensive one on that list. That salary adds straight to True Labor while gross profit stays flat, so Labor ROI drops. A price increase moves gross profit with no new payroll.

[Neil Basta | Profitability Advisor @NeilBasta]

@EcomVictor The costly retainers rarely look bad on the revenue report. When I put each client's fee next to the team hours it takes, the high-friction ones usually land at the bottom. Did you track hours per client before letting them go, or did you go on feel?