A step-by-step walkthrough of everything the platform does, how to use each tab, and what you'll see based on your role. Bookmark this page — come back any time.
Four marketing agencies — Quickfire Digital, Fountain Partnership, Blink SEO, and Heur — are exploring what they could achieve together. This platform is where that collaboration happens.
Each agency has clients who could benefit from services the other agencies provide. A Quickfire Shopify client might need SEO from Blink, or PPC from Fountain. Right now those opportunities are invisible. This platform makes them visible, measures them, and helps the group act on them.
It's also the place where the group tracks everything needed for a potential merger: valuations, due diligence, synergies, integration costs, team capacity, and cultural fit.
Not everyone sees the same thing. This is deliberate — the agencies are collaborating, but they're still separate companies. Client data needs to stay confidential across agencies until the board decides otherwise.
You see three tabs: the cross-sell Matrix, the Pipeline, and Priority Actions. You can view opportunities but not edit them or see financial details. Other companies' client names are anonymised.
You see most tabs. Your own company's clients appear with real names and full financials. Other companies' clients appear anonymised (e.g. “QF Client 01”) with values hidden. You can edit your own company's data.
You see everything — real client names and financials across all companies. This is for board-level stakeholders who need the full picture to make deal decisions. You cannot manage users or system settings.
Everything a Board user sees, plus system configuration: managing users, adding agencies, and platform settings.
Here's exactly what to do from your first login.
Use the email and password your admin gave you. On first login you'll be asked to set a new password — pick something strong (12+ characters, mix of upper, lower, numbers, and symbols).
This is the big picture — how much revenue the group earns today, and how much more it could earn through cross-selling, pipeline, winback, and other levers. If it's empty, that's normal — the numbers appear once you start filling in the Matrix.
This is the heart of the platform. It's a grid: your clients down the left, all group services across the top. Each cell says “does this client currently buy this service, or could they?”
Click any cell to open the editorWhen you click a cell, a panel slides in. Set the status:
Currently buys — this client already uses this service. Enter the monthly value.
Opportunity — they don't buy it yet, but they could. Set the potential value, who the current provider is, and how likely a win is (Green/Amber/Red).
Unlikely — not a fit right now. Note why if you like.
Your matrix entries now feed the projections. Use the conversion rate slider to model: “What if we close 10% of these opportunities? 25%? 50%?” The board can toggle Green/Amber/Red filters to see best-case and worst-case.
You don't need everything perfect on day one. Over the coming weeks, add prospects to the Pipeline, lapsed clients to Winback, and track real KPIs in the Scorecard. The platform is designed to grow with your knowledge.
The executive summary. Shows current group revenue, then stacks up each growth lever: cross-selling, capacity improvements, pipeline, winback, upsell, expansion, and price increases. Each layer adds or subtracts from the total.
How to use it: Drag the conversion rate slider to model scenarios (Conservative 10%, Base 25%, Optimistic 50%). Toggle the Green/Amber/Red filters to include or exclude opportunities by likelihood. Toggle individual levers on/off to see their impact in isolation. The preset scenario buttons (Conservative, Base, Optimistic) set everything in one click.
A KPI grid tracking performance across Marcus’s three growth levers: Leads (how many are coming in), Sales Conversion (how many close), and Customer Lifetime Value (how much each client is worth). Each KPI has a target, a current value, an owner, and a RAG status per agency.
How to use it: Click any cell in the grid to set the owner, target value, current value, and notes. The RAG status auto-calculates (green if current ≥ target, red if far below) but you can override it. Review monthly to spot trends.
The cross-sell grid — every client down the left, every group service across the top. Cells are colour-coded: blue = currently buys, green/amber/red = opportunity at that likelihood, grey = unlikely, empty = not yet assessed. This is where most of the platform's value comes from.
How to use it: Click any cell to open the editor. Set the status, provider, potential value, RAG, notes, and owner. Use the agency filter chips above the grid to focus on one agency's clients at a time. Shift+scroll to pan horizontally on wide grids. The pencil icon next to client names lets you rename them inline. Admins can add new clients and services via the “Manage agencies” button.
Models what happens if each agency improves its day rate and utilisation. Shows a revenue bridge chart: current revenue → target day rate uplift → target utilisation uplift → new total. Also shows sensitivity analysis and per-agency breakdowns.
How to use it: Adjust the target day rate and target utilisation sliders. The gap between current and target is the capacity uplift. This feeds into the Dashboard as the “Charging more & filling more time” layer.
Prospects already in conversation who could buy services from the wider group. Each prospect has a stage (Lead, Qualified, Proposal) and cross-sell cells just like existing clients.
How to use it: Click “+ Add prospect” to add a new lead. Set their stage using the dropdown in the table. Click any cell in their row to map which group services they might buy. Pipeline prospects feed into the Dashboard as a separate growth layer, weighted by stage and win rate.
Clients who left your agency in the past but might come back — especially now the group offers a wider range of services. Tracks when they left, why, the potential monthly value if won back, and the plan to re-engage.
How to use it: Click “+ Add past client” to add a lapsed client. Click any row to edit the details: year lapsed, previous value, reason for leaving, winback potential, RAG likelihood, intro opportunities, plan, and owner. Winback feeds into the Dashboard as its own growth layer.
The flip side of growth — how much revenue you expect to lose from client departures this year. Set a target churn rate per agency and see what it costs the group.
How to use it: Adjust the churn rate sliders per agency. The Dashboard automatically deducts churn from the baseline revenue. The goal is to reduce churn below the target — every percentage point saved drops straight to the bottom line.
A priority-ranked list of every cross-sell opportunity, scored from P1 (highest priority) to P3. The score combines potential value, RAG likelihood, ease of win (based on provider type), strategic importance of the service, and the depth of the existing client relationship.
How to use it: Focus on P1 actions first — these are the opportunities with the best combination of value and likelihood. Each row shows the recommended next step. Click any row to jump to the cell editor in the Matrix.
Opportunities to sell more of a service a client already buys. For example, increasing a £3k/mo PPC retainer to £5k/mo. Different from cross-sell (which is selling a new service).
How to use it: Click “+ Add upsell opportunity” to log one. Select the client and service, set current and target monthly values. Track status from identified through to won.
When a client has sister companies, regional offices, or divisions that could also buy from the group. For example, if you serve Mitsubishi Residential, Mitsubishi Commercial is a warm expansion lead.
How to use it: First create a client group (e.g. “Mitsubishi”), then add expansion opportunities to it with the target region, service, and potential value.
Tracks planned price increases client by client. Shows current day rate, years since last increase, and the target increase percentage. Revenue impact rolls up to the Dashboard.
How to use it: Click “+ Add price increase” and select the client. Set current day rate, how long since the last increase, and your target percentage. Track status from planned → communicated → accepted/rejected.
A 12-month forward revenue projection combining all streams: retainer revenue, cross-sell wins, upsell, expansion, new business, and churn losses. Gives the board a month-by-month view.
How to use it: Entries are added per company per month. As you close deals and update the matrix, update the forecast to reflect reality vs plan.
Contract renewal dates and terms for every client. Flags contracts approaching expiry so you can plan renewal conversations early.
How to use it: Click “+ Add contract” to log a contract. Set start/end dates, monthly value, auto-renew status, notice period, and owner. Contracts nearing expiry are highlighted automatically. Click any row to edit.
Per-salesperson metrics: leads received, meetings booked, proposals sent, deals won/lost, revenue won, average deal size, and days to close.
How to use it: Add entries per person per period. Compare across agencies to identify best practices and bottlenecks.
A referral tracker for cross-sell introductions between agencies. When you spot an opportunity for another agency's service, log it here. Track it from “referred” through to “won” or “lost”.
How to use it: Click “+ New referral” to create one. Select the client, the service you're referring to, and the receiving agency. The referral moves through stages: referred → intro made → meeting booked → proposal → won/lost. Commission values are tracked automatically.
A live feed of everything happening on the platform: who edited what, new opportunities logged, referrals made, and AI-suggested cross-sell matches based on the data.
How to use it: Scan it periodically to stay aware of what other agencies are doing. The AI suggestions highlight opportunities you might have missed.
A friendly competition view — which agency and which person is driving the most referrals, the most revenue from cross-sell, and the most activity?
How to use it: Just look at it. It updates automatically from referral and activity data. Use it in team meetings to celebrate top contributors.
These tabs are only visible to Board and Admin users. They contain the data needed for merger due diligence and deal structuring.
Model different merger configurations. What if you include all four agencies? What if you drop one? Each scenario shows the combined revenue, cross-sell opportunity, and EBIT impact.
How to use it: Click “+ Add scenario”, give it a name, and select which agencies to include. The platform recalculates everything for that subset.
What is each agency worth? Shows EBIT multiples (UK agencies typically sell for 4–7× EBIT), earnout structures, and adjustments. Lets you model different deal structures side by side.
How to use it: Set the EBIT multiple and any adjustments per agency. Add earnout terms (percentage, years, conditions). The total deal value updates automatically.
One-off and ongoing costs of bringing the agencies together: rebranding, systems migration, legal, office moves, etc. Shows a payback timeline — how long until the cross-sell revenue pays for the integration.
How to use it: Click “+ Add cost item” to log a cost. Set the category, one-off amount, monthly ongoing cost, and duration. Click any card to edit or delete it.
Revenue synergies (cross-sell, combined pitches), cost synergies (shared tools, reduced duplicates), and capability synergies (new services the group can offer that none could alone). Each tracked from identified → validated → in progress → realised.
How to use it: Click “+ Add synergy” to log one. Set the category, annual value, confidence level, timeline, and owner. Click any card to update its status as it progresses.
A structured checklist for the merger process: financial documents, legal reviews, commercial assessments, HR matters, technology audits, and compliance checks. Tracks status per item per agency.
How to use it: Add items per category with priority and due dates. Update status as documents are requested, received, reviewed, or flagged. Filter by agency or status to see what's outstanding.
A one-page executive summary that pulls the key metrics from every tab. Designed for monthly board meetings or investor updates.
How to use it: Just open it — it auto-generates from the latest data. Use the export button to download it for sharing.
Automatically flags when two agencies serve the same client with the same type of service. These need to be resolved before a merger — the client can't have two SEO providers from the same group.
How to use it: Review flagged conflicts. For each one, decide: keep one provider, merge the teams, or split the scope. Click to resolve with a note explaining the decision.
Shows how dependent each agency is on its biggest clients. If one client represents 30% of revenue, losing them would be devastating. Healthy is below 20% for any single client.
How to use it: Review the concentration chart per agency. Agencies with high concentration need a plan to diversify — the cross-sell matrix is the tool for that.
Who holds the critical client relationships at each agency? If they leave, how much revenue is at risk? Tracks retention plans and contract end dates.
How to use it: Click “+ Add key person” to log someone. Set the agency, revenue they influence, risk level, and retention plan. Click any card to edit or delete. High-risk people with no retention plan should be escalated.
Staff capacity by department: available hours vs billable hours, day rates, and utilisation percentages. Flags under-utilised people and duplicate roles across agencies.
How to use it: Click “+ Add team member” to add staff. Set available hours, billable hours, and day rate. The utilisation bar shows at a glance who's busy and who has spare capacity. Click any row to edit.
Tiers every client as Gold (high margin), Silver (decent), or Unprofitable based on revenue vs cost to serve. Helps the group focus on clients that actually make money.
How to use it: Click “+ Add client profitability” to set revenue and cost for a client. The tier auto-calculates. Override the tier if needed. Review quarterly — unprofitable clients need a price increase conversation or a managed exit.
Uses the Gallup Q12 framework to measure employee engagement at each agency. Culture is the number one reason mergers fail — this tab helps you spot problems early.
How to use it: Score each agency on the 12 Gallup dimensions (1–5 scale). Compare agencies side by side to see where cultures align and where they clash. Run the survey quarterly to track trends.
Merger milestone tracker across six phases: Discovery, Due Diligence, Negotiation, Legal, Integration, and Post-Merger. Each milestone has a due date, owner, and completion status.
How to use it: Review milestones regularly. Mark them as complete or blocked. The timeline helps the board track whether the merger process is on schedule.
Add, remove, and manage platform users. Set roles (Employee, Manager, Board, Admin) and assign people to companies. Manage granular permissions per user.
How to use it: Fill in the form at the top to add a new user. Click “Permissions” on any user row to customise what they can see and do. Passwords must meet complexity requirements (12+ characters, upper, lower, number, special character).
Every opportunity in the platform has a Red / Amber / Green likelihood rating. This is the single most important field to get right — it controls what shows up in the Dashboard projections and the priority actions list.
On the Dashboard, you can toggle each RAG level on/off to model different scenarios. Board members often look at “Green only” for the conservative case and “Green + Amber” for the base case.
Manage Agencies — Admins: click this button on the Matrix tab to add new agencies, services, or clients without touching any code.
Scenario presets — On the Dashboard, click Conservative / Base / Optimistic to instantly set the conversion rate and RAG filters for common board presentations.
Export your data — Use the footer bar to download a full JSON backup, opportunities as CSV, or the action plan as a spreadsheet.
Rename clients — Click the pencil icon next to any client name in the Matrix or Pipeline to rename it inline. Press Enter to save, Escape to cancel.
Dark mode — Click the sun/moon icon in the top-right corner to switch between light and dark themes. Your preference is saved.
Password & security — Change your password any time via the API (/api/password/change). Admins can generate password reset tokens for other users.