How much working capital does your creator agency need?
A creator agency can have profitable campaigns and still be short on cash when talent and payroll come due. The first step is to lay out when each payment actually moves.
Build a weekly cash forecast
- Start with cash you can use. Set aside any cash already committed to other obligations.
- Add expected brand collections by week, using the expected receipt date for each invoice.
- Subtract talent payouts, payroll, contractors, and campaign production costs in the week each payment is due.
- Find the lowest projected balance. If it goes below zero, the amount below zero is the cash gap in that forecast. Run a second version with your largest brand payment arriving two weeks late.
Example · Talent is due 45 days before the brand pays
A brand owes $100,000 on day 75. Talent is due $60,000 on day 30, and $15,000 in campaign costs are due on day 45. The agency has $35,000 in available cash and expects no other collections before day 75. The balance falls to negative $25,000 on day 30 and negative $40,000 on day 45. It needs to plan for a $40,000 gap before the brand pays, plus any buffer it chooses to hold. This is an illustrative cash forecast.
Model your talent payment schedule with Calculator 04. Use Calculator 02 for an agency-wide forecast across multiple campaigns.
Decide what would close the gap
Test whether a deposit, milestone billing, or different payout dates would close the gap first. If you still need capital and have outstanding brand invoices, check what makes a creator-agency invoice ready for review. To discuss the remaining gap, start a funding inquiry.