Profitability & Margin

Agency Gross Income (AGI)

Agency glossary · Updated July 2026

Definition

Agency gross income (AGI), sometimes called net revenue, is total revenue minus pass-through costs such as media and ad spend, subcontractors, and licenses billed at cost. It is the money the agency actually earns for its own work, and the correct base for margin, growth, and per-client metrics.

FormulaRevenue - pass-through costs

Why it matters

Judging an agency on gross billings is misleading, because a big paid-media budget inflates revenue without adding any of the agency’s own fee income. AGI strips that out so margins, growth, and average revenue per client reflect reality.

Example

An agency that bills a client $50,000, of which $30,000 is ad spend passed straight to the platforms, has $20,000 of agency gross income, not $50,000.

Track this the easy way

AgencyKit runs your proposals, contracts, invoicing, time tracking, and retainers in one place, so numbers like this stay live instead of buried in spreadsheets.

Start a free trial
← Back to the agency glossary