When Louder Than Ten started training digital agencies, most of them struggled to design a pricing framework that was suitable for their agency. Just do a Google search for "how much should I charge" and try to wade through all the generic advice. Advice that doesn't consider the agency's size, financials, project dynamics, and goals. To address this, we developed Nimber. It’s an interactive educational tool that provides agencies with customized rates, revenue targets, and client size goals based on their specific numbers and business objectives. Additionally, Nimber educates agencies on how these metrics are calculated, and includes an estimating and risk analysis tool.

Started in spreadsheets

We started off this project by helping ourselves and early clients come up with their pricing using some basic spreadsheets. We looked at things like company size, income, expenses, and other factors to figure out if their rates were enough to help them grow their businesses and meet their financial and cultural goals.

At that point, we knew we wanted to build an app eventually, but for now, Google Sheets was the perfect playground for us to prototype and test things out.

Prototyping in action

After carefully going through our calculations with several clients and figuring out the key variables needed to get the results we were looking for, I prototyped the first version of the price calculator for Nimber, in-browser. I quickly coded a calculator using Vue.js and Live Wires. This let us start testing with clients and students while development on the app began.

Nimber design system

After going through a bunch of internal and external reviews and evolving the prototype, I started building out the design system. I kicked things off in Figma, playing around with different colours, fonts, and layouts. Since I'm the only designer and developer on this project, I had the luxury of working in a flexible and efficient approach. I used Figma to come up with quick ideas and experiment, then got those designs into code as fast as I could. Once in the browser, I can fine-tune and tweak to make everything click.

Building quickly and progressively

To keep things lean, tight, and cost-effective, I offloaded as much back-end responsibility as possible and built Nimber on Google's Firebase infrastructure. With the help of Vue.js and my own Live Wires component library, I was able to whip up the first version of the Nimber app in less than a year.

Beauty and brains

After implementing the rate cards, I added a project estimating module that incorporates rates generated from the rate card. We train our clients and students to estimate projects using ranges and probabilities, aiming for 90th percentile accuracy in completing projects on time and within budget.

The estimator tool allows users to add tasks, assign roles and people, set low and high estimates using hours, days, sprints, or months, and even apply red flags to identify potential risks and narrow down the probability range for the project timeline and budget. It uses the Monte Carlo algorithm to generate a probability distribution based on the high and low estimates for each task. You can also see the probability breakdowns per person and per role.

Adding a library of common red flags that your agency frequently encounters is a good starting point for cataloging areas where projects tend to encounter difficulties within your company. It also helps identify the project phases that are most affected. I utilized a spider diagram, inspired by video game character stats, to visually represent the risk profile of each red flag. This information can then be incorporated into an estimate to develop an overall risk profile for the entire project. This enables project managers and account managers to proactively communicate with clients about potential project outcomes and engage in discussions on how both parties can minimize risk and collaboratively reduce any overages or costs.

Express yourself

Of course, no Travis Gertz project would be complete without a little room for self-expression. In the settings, admins can customize the logo, colours, and even the fonts to match their brand vibes. It's a super lightweight theming system that relies on a few CSS variables. It packs a visual punch and allows account owners to visually represents their brand when sharing with clients and team members.

Branded

As a brand designer, I couldn't resist creating a unique identity for our tool, even if it's only for internal use and our clients. I designed a clean, modern logo and incorporated our existing Louder Than Ten colour palette to maintain a connection with the parent brand while still giving it a distinct look. Although currently intended for internal use, I wanted to design it with the potential to become a publicly available SaaS tool if we decide to invest in it in the future.

Nimber is not public, but if you'd like a demo and a free account, hit me up.