From Chaos to Flow - Part 7: Managing Finances in a Real Product Team
Managing money inside a real product model means tracking effort lightly, forecasting in realistic bands, charging funded programmes fairly, and linking finance reviews to delivery flow. Finance is not the enemy of product flow, it is part of sustaining it with trust and freedom.
Signal Boost: “Money”, Pink Floyd
You cannot ignore the money flow. You have to manage it without letting it drag you down. The goal is not control. The goal is freedom.
Money Matters, Even When You Are Agile
It is easy to talk about discovery and delivery flow like they live in a pure world of outcomes and learning loops. But real product teams have real financial responsibilities too.
Salaries ... Employee Benefits ... Programme recharges ... Platform investment.
If you do not manage the money flow well, it slowly eats away at your team's freedom to operate. I learned this the hard way.
In a real product model, financial management is part of the flow. Not a spreadsheet afterthought.
The Challenge: Two Worlds, One Team
In a healthy product model, your team is mostly funded by platform budgets.
But at the same time, some of your people will support funded transformation programmes. And when they do, you need to recharge that effort fairly and cleanly.
You have to balance:
- Protecting core platform capacity
- Charging funded programmes appropriately
- Forecasting future demand before it blindsides you
All without drowning in admin.
How to Manage Product Team Finances Without Killing Flow
1. Track Effort Lightly and Honestly
No painful timesheets. No fantasy allocations.
Just simple signals:
- Tag backlog work as Platform or Programme
- Review rough % of time spent each sprint or month
Keep it simple enough that teams can actually maintain it.
2. Forecast in Bands, Not in Fictional Precision
You do not need to know if someone spent exactly 4.25 hours on a programme.
You need realistic bands:
- Product Owner: 80% Platform, 20% Programme
- Engineer: 70% Platform, 30% Programme
- Designer: 60% Platform, 40% Programme
We once thought we were running 80% Platform and 20% Programme. Turned out we were closer to 50/50.
Without a light check-in, drift happens. Update the bands quarterly based on real flow.
3. Charge for Real Work, Not for Overheads
Funded programmes should pay for:
- Discovery, shaping, delivery, testing
- Essential support or consultancy
They should not be charged for:
- Platform ceremonies
- General maintenance
- Dead time
Recharge fairly. Recharge visibly. Build trust.
4. Link Financial Reviews to Delivery Flow
Do not manage finance in isolation.
Every month:
- Review Demand vs Actual vs Forecast effort
- Check recharge assumptions
- Update visible capacity boards
Every quarter:
- Refresh future forecast bands
- Share a short budget story with leadership about how the team's time is flowing
Money flow and work flow should move together.
Your Financial Management Rhythm
| Rhythm | Focus |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Focus on backlog and delivery. Flag if funded work demand suddenly rises. |
| Monthly | Review effort split. Adjust recharge assumptions. Update platform capacity visibility. |
| Quarterly | Refresh effort forecasts. Health check recharge balance. Tell the leadership story. |
What It All Comes Down To
Managing finances inside a real product model is not about spreadsheets. It is about protecting your team's ability to flow.
It took me years to realise finance was not the enemy of flow. It was an essential part of it.
When you manage effort, recharge, and capacity honestly and lightly, you earn the right to keep moving.
You stay trusted. You stay empowered. You stay alive.
In the next post, we will shift into another reality of product work that often gets ignored: risk management, and how to deal with the real uncertainty that comes with real delivery.
Next Up: Part 8: Managing Uncertainty in a Real Product Team.
Risk is not failure. Risk is a signal. Surface it early, act fast, and protect product flow by making escalation safe, visible, and honest.
