Work, pay & shifts
How Many Billable Hours Do You Need?
A revenue goal is easier to work towards as a number of hours a week. The conversion is a single division, but the answer only means something once it is spread over the weeks you will actually work and compared with the hours you actually have. This guide does both.
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Revenue ÷ rate
Billable hours needed = revenue target ÷ hourly rate. $150,000 at $100 an hour is 1,500 billable hours. Over 52 weeks that is 28.85 hours a week; over 46 working weeks it is 32.61.
How the rate changes the hours
A $120,000 revenue target over 46 working weeks of 40 hours (1,840 hours available):
| Rate | Hours needed | Per week | Utilization needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60/hr | 2,000 hours | 43.48 hours | 108.6957% |
| $80/hr | 1,500 hours | 32.61 hours | 81.5217% |
| $100/hr | 1,200 hours | 26.09 hours | 65.2174% |
| $150/hr | 800 hours | 17.39 hours | 43.4783% |
At $60 an hour the target needs more hours than there are. At $150, under half the available time is billable — leaving room for finding clients and everything else.
When the target doesn’t fit
- Raise the rate: the lowest rate that could work is revenue ÷ available hours — $120,000 ÷ 1,840 hours is $65.22.
- Lower the target, or extend the period.
- Add capacity: more working weeks, or someone else’s billable hours.
- Be wary of plans above about 85% utilization — they leave little time for anything but delivery.
Counting work already booked
Hours already billed or contracted in the period count toward the target. With 600 of the 1,500 hours booked, 900 remain; over 46 weeks that is 19.57 a week. The useful question becomes what share of the unbooked time has to be filled.
Billable Hours Needed FAQ
- How many billable hours a year is realistic?
- It depends on the work and how much time selling and admin take. Many full-time freelancers and consultants plan somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500, well below the 2,080 hours in a standard full-time year.
- What if I bill at more than one rate?
- Use a weighted average: 1,000 hours at $100 and 500 hours at $70 bring in $135,000 over 1,500 hours — an average of $90 an hour.
- Should I plan on 52 working weeks?
- Rarely. Holidays, vacation, sickness, and gaps between projects all come out of the year.
- Does the hours target include admin time?
- No. It counts only hours you bill. Admin, sales, and other unbilled work come on top, which is why the utilization figure matters.
- What if clients pay late?
- Billed hours become revenue only when they are paid. If some invoices are paid late or not at all, plan a little above the target.
Related guides
- Revenue vs Take-HomeRevenue, income after expenses, and take-home pay are three different numbers. Follow $150,000 of revenue down to take-home pay, and work back up from the take-home pay you want.
- Billable Hours and Time OffTime off doesn’t reduce a revenue target — it squeezes the same billable hours into fewer weeks. See how 0 to 8 weeks off changes weekly hours and utilization, and how paid and unpaid leave differ.
Open the tool
Jump into Billable Hours Target Calculator when you are ready to process your files.
