The Approval Latency Tax: Why Sign-Off Speed Sets Agency Margin

Every day an asset sits in a client's inbox waiting for sign-off is a day the agency has already paid for the work but cannot bill it. Approval latency is the hidden tax on retainer margin, and it compounds: slow feedback loops push delivery into the next billing cycle, erode scope, and turn fixed-fee projects into loss leaders. The agencies winning on margin are not the ones with the best creative, they are the ones who have compressed time-to-approval from weeks to days.