The basic formula
Billable utilization = billable hours ÷ available hours × 100.
If a consultant has 160 available hours in a month and records 120 billable hours, their billable utilization is 75%.
Getting available hours right
Available hours are the hours a person could work, not the hours in the month. Subtract public holidays, approved time off and, for part-time staff, the hours they are not contracted for. Using a flat 40 hours a week for everyone makes part-timers and people on leave look underused.
Billable, non-billable and investment time
- Billable: work you can invoice a client for
- Non-billable client work: work for a client you have chosen not to charge for
- Internal: sales, training, admin and internal projects
Track them separately. A team with high total hours but little billable time is a different problem from a team that is simply quiet.
Set targets by role
A junior consultant and a practice lead should not have the same target. Leaders spend time selling and managing, so their targets are usually lower. Set targets per role and compare people against their own role.
Common mistakes
- Measuring only last month, instead of looking forward at booked work
- Ignoring time off when calculating available hours
- Chasing utilization at the expense of margin: billable hours at a heavy discount still count as utilized
- Calculating it by hand from exported timesheets
Look forward, not just back
Utilization from timesheets tells you what happened. Bookings tell you what will happen. Comparing booked capacity with available capacity for the next few weeks shows who is about to run out of work, while there is still time to sell or move them. See our resource planning guide.
How Perspectiv helps
Labels show what opens first in the private beta (Q2 2027), what is being built now, and what is on the roadmap.
- Time & expenseComing soon
Timesheets, timers and expenses against the work, approved and ready to invoice.
- Resource managementComing soon
Availability, scheduling, staffing, capacity, utilization and pipeline-driven demand.
- Reporting & analyticsPlanned
Operational and financial reports, dashboards and KPIs across every area, with drill-down to the records.
Questions
What is a good utilization rate?
It depends on the role and the firm. Delivery-focused roles typically carry higher targets than leaders, who also sell and manage. Set targets by role rather than one number for everyone.
What is the difference between utilization and capacity?
Utilization measures how time was used. Capacity measures how much time is available to book. You need both to plan.