Billable Utilization
Utilization is the share of your total working time that you can actually invoice to clients. It is the single most common reason service businesses underprice.
What eats non-billable time
- Sales calls and proposal writing
- Admin: invoicing, scheduling, email
- Unpaid revisions and scope-creep absorption
- Professional development and marketing
- Internal meetings (for agencies)
Typical ranges
Solo freelancers and consultants commonly land between 50-70% utilization. Agencies with dedicated sales/admin staff can push billable staff utilization to 75-85%. New businesses in their first year are often below 50% while building a pipeline.
How to measure your real number
Track total hours worked and hours actually billed for 4-6 weeks. Utilization% = Billed hours / Total working hours. Use that, not a guess, in the pricing calculators below.