Pass-Through Revenue: The Money That Was Never Yours, With Carson and Kristen
About this episode
Kristen Kelly and Carson Pierce discuss the concept of pass-through revenue and its implications for agency profitability.
About this Episode In this episode of the Agency Profit Podcast, Kristen Kelly is joined by fellow Managing Director Carson Pierce to unpack one of the most misunderstood line items on an agency's books: pass-through costs. Drawing from real client cases they've each worked on recently, Kristen and Carson break down the first principles of Agency Gross Income (AGI), the number you get when you strip out money that was never really yours to keep, like media spend, event costs, and certain contractor fees. Together, they walk through cautionary tales of agencies that looked far bigger and more profitable than they actually were, from a "$10 million" events agency that was really a $2 million business to a founder who mistook off-the-books media dollars for cash on hand. From a clear decision tree for classifying contractors to practical tips for making pass-through visible on your P&L, this episode offers a grounded framework for understanding your agency's true size, so you can price, staff, and spend with a much clearer picture of what's actually yours.
People in this episode
Host: Kristen Kelly
Guest: Carson Pierce
Topics covered
- pass-through revenue
- agency gross income
- financial management
- agency profitability
- cost classification
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Agency Profit Podcast
More episodes of The Agency Profit Podcast
- Profitability Is an Operations Problem, with Sarah Still
- We Take Care of the Money: Parakeeto's New Positioning, Explained, With Kristen Kelly & Carson Pierce
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