Harvest
Time Tracking
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How to Calculate Billable Hours

Harvest helps professionals accurately track billable hours, preventing annual revenue losses of up to $50,000. Its features ensure precise billing in six-minute increments.

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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

Walk through the entire flow below. Start a timer, check your reports, and create a real invoice — all in three clicks.

Go ahead — start tracking!

One click and you're timing. Try it right here: start a timer, add an entry, edit the details. This is exactly how it feels in Harvest.

  • One-click timer from browser, desktop & mobile
  • Works inside Jira, Asana, Trello, GitHub & 50+ tools
  • Duration or start/end — your call
  • Day, week & calendar views to stay on top of it all
  • Friendly reminders so no hour gets left behind
Acme Corp
Website Redesign
Homepage layout revisions
1:24:09
Content Strategy
Blog calendar planning
1:30:00
SEO Audit
Technical audit report
0:45:00
Brand Guidelines
Color system documentation
2:15:00
Logo Concepts
Initial sketches round 1
1:00:00
Today's total 6:54:09

Understanding Billable Hours and Their Impact

Billable hours are crucial for professionals who charge clients based on time spent on their work. They represent the time that can be billed directly to clients, generating revenue. In contrast, non-billable hours cover essential activities such as administrative tasks that do not directly earn income. Accurate tracking of these hours is vital because firms that fail to do so can lose up to $50,000 annually. For instance, attorneys billing at $350 per hour might see losses between $50,000 to $75,000 if time is not tracked immediately.

In legal settings, billing increments are typically set at 0.1-hour or 6-minute intervals. This standard helps law firms capture 15-20% more revenue than larger time increments. By maintaining accurate records and using consistent billing increments, firms can improve transparency, efficiency, and client satisfaction. Harvest can aid in this process by supporting precise time tracking that aligns with industry standards.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Calculating Billable Hours

To calculate billable hours effectively, professionals should follow a structured approach. First, agree on billable tasks and rates with the client, which should be clearly defined in the project scope. Next, set up projects with tasks, budgets, and billable rates, ensuring all team members know their responsibilities. Harvest facilitates this by allowing users to set flexible per-project and per-person rates, optimizing team management.

Tracking both billable and non-billable hours as work happens is essential. Waiting to log time can lead to significant revenue loss—up to 50% if not recorded by the end of the week. Finally, multiply the total billable hours by the agreed hourly rate to generate invoices. Harvest streamlines this process through its invoicing features, reducing manual errors and enhancing transparency.

Maximizing Efficiency and Billable Hours

Maximizing billable hours involves implementing best practices that enhance efficiency. Real-time tracking is crucial, as it prevents loss of billable time and ensures accuracy. Use consistent increments, such as the 6-minute (0.1-hour) standard, to align with industry norms. Harvest's time tracking capabilities support these practices, enabling professionals to log time efficiently.

Providing detailed descriptions for each time entry enhances client transparency and reduces billing disputes. Regular reviews of time-tracking data can identify inefficiencies and inform future billing rates. Harvest's detailed reports offer insights into productivity and profitability, helping firms make informed decisions and improve client service.

Choosing the Right Tools for Time Tracking

Selecting the right time tracking tool is essential for accurate billable hour calculation. Tools like Harvest offer comprehensive features that streamline tracking and invoicing processes. Integrations with platforms such as Asana, Trello, and Slack further enhance productivity by connecting with existing workflows.

Harvest allows firms to track billable hours with ease, using features like one-click timers and manual time entry for retroactive logging. Its detailed reporting capabilities provide insights into team utilization, project budgets, and uninvoiced amounts, ensuring that firms can manage resources effectively and maximize revenue.

Calculate Billable Hours with Harvest

See how Harvest tracks billable hours in six-minute increments, optimizing revenue and client satisfaction for legal services.

Screenshot of Harvest tracking billable hours for legal services.

How to Calculate Billable Hours FAQs

  • Billable hours are the time spent on client work that can be charged directly, generating revenue. They contrast with non-billable hours, which cover necessary but non-revenue-generating tasks like admin work.

  • Calculate billable hours by logging time spent on client-related tasks in real-time. Use industry-standard increments, such as 6-minute intervals, to ensure accuracy. Multiply these hours by the agreed rate to determine charges.

  • Tracking billable hours accurately is crucial for revenue calculation, client transparency, and efficiency analysis. It prevents revenue loss, which can be up to $50,000 annually if not tracked immediately.

  • Harvest provides tools for precise time tracking, allowing users to log billable hours in 6-minute increments. Its reporting features offer insights into productivity and profitability, enhancing client satisfaction.

  • The standard billing increment in legal services is 0.1-hour or 6 minutes. This increment helps law firms capture more revenue by aligning with industry norms and improving billing accuracy.

  • Maximize billable hours by tracking time in real-time, using consistent increments, and providing detailed activity descriptions. Regularly review tracking data to identify inefficiencies and optimize billing practices.

  • Yes, Harvest integrates with project management tools like Asana, Trello, and Slack, enhancing productivity by connecting time tracking with existing workflows.