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Free Billable Hours Calculator

Harvest provides a free billable hours calculator that simplifies the process of tracking and optimizing work hours for freelancers and consultants.

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What should you charge per hour?

Most freelancers and consultants dramatically undercharge. This calculator accounts for what most people miss: non-billable time, taxes, and overhead.

$
Accounting for vacation, holidays, sick days
60%
Most freelancers can bill 50-70% of their time. The rest goes to admin, marketing, proposals, and learning.
$
Software, insurance, equipment, accounting, taxes beyond income tax, etc.
Your break-even rate $0
Recommended rate (+20% buffer) $0
Billable hours per week 0h
Equivalent daily rate $0

Start tracking your billable hours

How this hourly rate calculator works

It works back from the income you need to the rate you must bill, accounting for the hours you can't bill.

  • Billable hours/year = working weeks × hours per week × billable %.
  • Break-even rate = (target income + business expenses) ÷ billable hours.
  • Recommended rate = break-even plus a 20% buffer for taxes, slow periods, and profit.

Raising your billable percentage or trimming expenses lowers the rate you need.

Free Billable Hours Calculator with Harvest

The preview shows Harvest's billable hours calculator, highlighting easy time tracking for freelancers and consultants.

Screenshot of Harvest's free billable hours calculator tool

Free Billable Hours Calculator FAQs

  • To calculate billable hours, multiply the total hours spent on client tasks by your hourly rate. For example, if you work 5 hours at $100/hour, the billable amount is $500. Using standard increments like 6-minute intervals can simplify this process.

  • Standard billing increments are typically 6 minutes (0.1 hour), allowing for precise and fair billing. This is common in industries like law, where accurate time tracking is critical for client billing and revenue capture.

  • Maximizing billable hours requires efficient time tracking and management. Log time in real-time to avoid underreporting and categorize tasks correctly to distinguish between billable and non-billable activities. Aim for high utilization rates by focusing on revenue-generating tasks.

  • The utilization rate measures productivity, calculated by dividing billable hours by total hours available, then multiplying by 100. A higher rate indicates more efficient use of working hours on billable tasks. Top firms often aim for a utilization rate of 75% or higher.

  • Harvest simplifies time tracking with one-click timers and manual entries, ensuring accurate logging of billable and non-billable hours. It integrates expenses into calculations, offering detailed reports for analyzing billable efficiency and optimizing work hours.

  • Yes, Harvest allows you to integrate expenses into your time tracking. This provides a comprehensive view of project costs, enhancing your understanding of profitability and aiding in financial management.

  • Real-time tracking ensures 100% capture of billable hours, reducing revenue loss. Delayed entries can result in a 10-50% drop in billable hours, significantly impacting potential earnings, especially in high-billing industries.