Billable Hours Target Calculator
Enter a revenue target and your hourly rate to see the billable hours you need — per week and per day after time off — the utilization that takes, and whether the target fits.
Billable Hours Target Calculator calculates in your browser.
Turn a revenue target into billable hours
A revenue goal is easier to plan when it is a number of hours a week. This calculator divides your target by your billing rate, spreads the hours across the working weeks you have after time off, takes away hours already booked, and shows the utilization the plan needs. It also says plainly when a target needs more hours than exist. It is for freelancers, consultants, and anyone with a billable-hours goal. Revenue isn’t take-home pay: to set a rate from the income you want, use the Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator.
How to use the Billable Hours Target Calculator
- Choose whether the target is gross revenue or income after business expenses (and enter the expenses).
- Enter the target and your hourly billing rate.
- Enter the working weeks in the period, hours a week, and days a week, and any time off.
- Optionally enter billable hours already booked in the period.
- Read the hours needed in total, per week, and per day, and the utilization needed.
The formula
Revenue needed = target (+ business expenses, for an after-expenses target)
Billable hours needed = revenue needed ÷ hourly rate
Available hours = (working weeks − time off) × hours a week
Utilization needed = billable hours needed ÷ available hours
Examples use 52 working weeks of 40 hours. Adding $20,000 of expenses and six weeks off turns a comfortable 72% plan into one that needs 92% of every remaining hour billed. The last row can’t be reached at all at $100 an hour.
| Target | Rate | Time off | Hours needed | A week | Utilization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $150,000 | $100/hr | — | 1,500 hours | 28.85 hours | 72.1154% |
| $150,000 | $100/hr | 6 weeks | 1,500 hours | 32.61 hours | 81.5217% |
| $150,000 after $20,000 expenses | $100/hr | 6 weeks | 1,700 hours | 36.96 hours | 92.3913% |
| $90,000 | $75/hr | 4 weeks | 1,200 hours | 25 hours | 62.5% |
| $300,000 | $100/hr | 4 weeks | 3,000 hours | 62.5 hours | 156.25% |
Calculated on your device
- The calculation runs in your browser as you type; nothing is sent to a server.
- Your targets, rates, hours, and results are not sent to Looty Tools or stored.
- The calculator area is masked from session-recording analytics, so what you enter isn’t captured in recordings.
Limitations
- This turns a revenue goal into hours at one billing rate. Revenue is not take-home pay: taxes, and any expenses you haven’t entered, still come out of it. It assumes every billable hour is billed at this rate and paid.
- One billing rate for every hour. With several rates, use a weighted average rate.
- Taxes are not included, and only the expenses you enter are added.
- Hours a week up to 168 and weeks up to 52; results are rounded to two decimal places for display.
Related calculators
- Annual Work Hours CalculatorAdd up work hours across a year from the schedule you enter.
- Billable Utilization CalculatorSee what share of work hours is billable.
- Freelance Hourly Rate CalculatorEstimate an hourly rate from freelance income goals you enter.
Guides
- Billable Hours NeededTurn a revenue goal into billable hours: the formula, a rate-by-rate table for a $120,000 target, what to do when the hours don’t fit, and how booked work changes the plan.
- 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.
Billable Hours Target Calculator FAQ
- How many billable hours do I need to hit a revenue target?
- Divide the revenue target by your hourly rate. $150,000 at $100 an hour takes 1,500 billable hours — about 28.85 hours a week over 52 weeks, or 32.61 a week if you take 6 weeks off.
- Is a revenue target the same as take-home pay?
- No. Revenue is what clients pay. Business expenses and taxes come out of it before you take anything home. Choose “Income after business expenses” to add your expenses on top of the target; taxes are still not included.
- How does time off change the hours I need?
- It doesn’t change the total, but it squeezes the same hours into fewer weeks. 1,500 hours over 52 weeks is 28.85 a week; over 46 weeks it is 32.61 a week. Paid or unpaid, time off is time you can’t bill.
- What utilization does a billable hours target need?
- Required billable hours ÷ available hours. 1,500 hours out of 2,080 available is about 72% utilization. Above 100%, the target can’t be reached in the time entered.
- What if my target needs more hours than I have?
- The calculator says so and shows the shortfall, plus the rate you would need even if every available hour were billed. $300,000 at $100 an hour needs 3,000 hours; with 1,920 available, that would take $156.25 an hour.
- Are the amounts I enter sent anywhere?
- No. The calculation runs in your browser as you type. The amounts, rates, and results are not sent to Looty Tools or stored, and the calculator area is masked from session-recording analytics. Refreshing the page clears it.
