# Consulting Firm Dashboard

Project a five-year consulting-firm P&L from five-level headcount, utilization, billable rates, compensation, and non-comp opex, with dashboard status for margin and leverage across the operating plan.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/excel-dashboard/consulting-firm
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/templates/consulting-firm.xlsx

## About this dashboard

The Consulting Firm Dashboard summarises the staffing, productivity and profitability of a five-level consulting business. Review Year 5 revenue, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, blended utilisation, revenue per FTE, partner leverage, compensation ratio and total headcount, with pyramid mix showing how the team is distributed across seniority levels.

The supporting five-year model covers Analysts, Associates, Managers, Principals and Partners. Each level has its own headcount, utilisation, billable rate and compensation assumptions. Average headcount drives both billable hours and compensation, connecting the revenue opportunity with the cost of delivering it. Non-compensation expenses, depreciation and tax then flow through the P&L to net income.

Use the dashboard for hiring reviews, partner-economics discussions and acquisition diligence. Compare growth plans with the staffing mix and utilisation they require, or assess how rates and compensation affect margins. User-set thresholds produce On track, Watch or Stretched labels for selected metrics, helping teams focus discussion on results that differ from their chosen targets.

## What's included

- Five-level headcount and growth build
- Per-level utilization, rates, and compensation
- Average headcount and partner leverage
- Billable-hours and revenue build by level
- P&L through EBITDA, tax, and net income
- Dashboard metrics with editable status thresholds

## Frequently asked questions

### How is consulting revenue calculated?

Revenue per level equals average headcount multiplied by billable hours per FTE, utilization, and that level’s billable rate. Average headcount is the midpoint of opening and closing headcount, so the revenue base reflects the year’s staffing activity rather than only the year-end snapshot.

### What is partner leverage?

Partner leverage is the ratio of non-partner headcount to partner headcount for each year. The Headcount sheet calculates it from the five-level pyramid, and the Dashboard reports the Y5 result alongside pyramid mix so staffing structure remains visible.

### How do the Dashboard status labels work?

The Dashboard compares Y5 EBITDA margin, blended utilization, and revenue per FTE with user-set thresholds in Assumptions. Each metric receives an On track, Watch, or Stretched label, allowing the status logic to be tuned for the firm being modelled.

### Does the model include taxes and working capital?

Tax applies a flat rate to positive EBIT and does not include NOL carry-forward. Working capital is out of scope because the model focuses on an asset-light consulting P&L; use a working-capital or three-statement model when a full balance-sheet view is needed.

### How are compensation and non-comp expenses modeled?

Compensation is calculated separately for each level from average headcount and fully-loaded compensation per FTE. Non-comp opex is applied as a percentage of revenue, then D&A and tax flow through the P&L to net income and margin outputs.

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