Agency Capacity Planner
accounts × spend × complexity → required FTE hours/week
Models how much practitioner time it actually takes to manage a portfolio. Enter your account count, total monthly spend, and complexity tier; get back hours-per-week and recommended team composition. The "do we need to hire?" math, transparent.
- Enter the number of accounts in the portfolio.
- Enter total monthly spend across all accounts.
- Pick a complexity tier (basic search-only, mixed search + shopping, full-stack with PMax + multi-MCC).
- Output: required hours-per-week, recommended team composition (lead / specialist / analyst split), and a stress test showing what happens at +20% client load.
Result
- Weekly hours required
- 242 hrs
- FTE required
- 6.9
- Lead
- 1.4
- Specialist
- 4.1
- Analyst
- 1.4
Stress test (+20% load)
- Weekly hours
- 290 hrs
- FTE
- 8.3
⚠ Above 4 FTE — consider splitting the portfolio or adding a senior lead.
Why this exists
The "are we under-staffed?" conversation usually happens after burnout or churn. This tool puts numbers on it before either — and gives you a model your COO can argue with instead of a vibe.
Frequently asked
How many accounts can one PPC specialist manage?
Depends on complexity. Search-only accounts: ~10–15 per specialist. Mixed search + Shopping: ~6–10. Full-stack with PMax + multi-MCC + offline conversions: ~3–5. The capacity planner uses these tier-specific load factors plus a per-$10K-spend overhead component.
Why does spend influence headcount, not just account count?
Higher spend means more conversions, more search-term volume, more reporting depth, more stakeholder reviews. A $1M/mo account is genuinely more work than a $50K/mo account regardless of campaign count. The model adds hours per $10K of monthly spend on top of the per-account base.
What is the recommended team split?
Default 20/60/20 lead/specialist/analyst. Lead provides strategy and client management, specialists do the day-to-day campaign work, analysts handle reporting and QA. The split shifts in either direction at extreme portfolio sizes — past 4 FTE the lead allocation usually grows.