Draft reference — content review pending
Billable Utilization Rate
The percentage of available working hours recorded as billable client work during the selected period.
Business question
What share of available working time is being used for billable client work?
Formula
Billable utilization rate = billable hours ÷ available working hours × 100.
Calculation notes
Define available hours for the selected period, including the treatment of leave, holidays, part-time schedules, approved non-working time, and employee groups included. State how billable work, internal work, training, and business development are categorized.
Edge-case guidance
Do not treat missing timesheets as non-billable hours without evidence. Document partial periods, new starters, people between projects, approved leave, and hours that are billable in policy but not yet invoiced.
Required data
| Input | Type | Status | Available source hints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billable hoursHours recorded as billable client work under the agreed time-entry policy. | Number | Required | Project management system · Excel · Google Sheets |
| Available working hoursWorking hours available for the included people and period after applying the agreed leave, holiday, and schedule rules. | Number | Required | Project management system · Excel · Google Sheets · Manual records |
Interpretation
Use the measure to understand how capacity is allocated between billable delivery and other work. Read it with project margin, quality, deadlines, business development, training, and team health.
Caution
Maximizing utilization without limits can damage quality, delivery reliability, learning, and staff health. A lower value may be appropriate during planned capability building or business development.
Implementation recommendation
Agree on available-hour and time-entry rules with the operations and people owners, then review utilization alongside quality, margin, deadlines, and workload signals.
Target guidance
Set the first target from comparable historical performance for billable utilization rate, then adjust it for the service model, strategy, delivery capacity, seasonality, data quality, and client commitments. Review the direction with the accountable owner and consider this trade-off: higher utilization can reduce resilience and quality if it leaves too little time for planning, learning, support, or recovery.