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How to Calculate Billable Hours in France

Harvest helps teams and freelancers in France accurately calculate and document billable hours, ensuring compliance with labor laws and efficient time management.

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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.
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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 French Labor Law for Billable Hours

In France, understanding how to calculate billable hours involves navigating both legal and practical frameworks. The legal definition, known as "temps de travail effectif," is crucial for salaried employees. According to Article L3121-1 of the French Labor Code, this refers to the time employees are under the employer's direction, including any period they cannot freely pursue personal activities. This regulation is foundational, as it dictates how time is considered billable in a legal sense.

The standard workweek in France is set at 35 hours, established to promote work-life balance. Overtime, which is any time worked beyond these 35 hours, must be carefully documented and compensated. Overtime compensation typically involves a 25% premium for the first eight hours beyond the standard week, increasing to 50% thereafter. Understanding these details ensures compliance and proper accounting of employee time, crucial for both employers and employees.

Calculating Overtime in Compliance with French Laws

Accurately calculating overtime in France requires adherence to specific guidelines. The law stipulates that overtime begins after 35 hours of work per week, with exceptions for certain sectors and roles. For instance, managerial staff may have different standards due to their status. Overtime is compensated at higher rates, starting at a 25% increase for the first eight hours and escalating to 50% for subsequent hours.

Failure to comply with these regulations can lead to significant penalties. For instance, companies not adhering to these standards might face fines and damage to their reputation. Therefore, precise documentation is vital. Tools like Harvest can aid in tracking these hours by allowing users to tag time entries as overtime, ensuring clarity and compliance.

Documenting Billable Hours for Compliance

Proper documentation of billable hours is a critical aspect of compliance with French labor laws. This involves maintaining accurate records of all hours worked, including regular and overtime hours. In the case of inspections, comprehensive records can protect businesses from penalties.

Harvest offers robust features for maintaining these records. With detailed time tracking and reporting capabilities, Harvest enables users to create specific tasks for overtime and track time against these tasks manually. This functionality helps ensure that all billable hours are documented accurately, allowing businesses to meet regulatory requirements efficiently.

Practical Tools for Tracking Billable Hours

Tracking billable hours effectively requires tools that provide flexibility and detailed reporting. Harvest stands out as a valuable solution for both freelancers and teams in France. With its one-click timers, users can easily log time spent on tasks and projects, ensuring no billable hour goes untracked.

For retroactive logging, Harvest allows manual time entries, which is essential for capturing all hours worked. Additionally, its integration capabilities with platforms like Asana and Slack enhance workflow efficiency. By leveraging Harvest's detailed reports, businesses can easily assess team utilization and uninvoiced amounts, crucial for maintaining financial accuracy and legal compliance.

Calculate Billable Hours with Harvest

See how Harvest helps track billable hours in France, ensuring compliance and efficient project management.

Screenshot of Harvest's time tracking interface for calculating billable hours in France

How to Calculate Billable Hours in France FAQs

  • The legal working hours in France are set at 35 hours per week. This standard is designed to promote a balance between work and personal life. Overtime begins after 35 hours and must be compensated accordingly.

  • Overtime in France is calculated starting at a 25% premium for the first eight hours beyond the standard 35-hour workweek, escalating to a 50% premium for additional hours. Accurate documentation is essential to comply with these regulations.

  • Certain roles, such as managerial positions, may have different standards regarding the 35-hour workweek due to their specific duties and responsibilities. These exceptions must be clearly outlined in employment contracts.

  • Documenting billable hours for compliance involves maintaining accurate records of all working hours, including overtime. Tools like Harvest offer detailed time tracking and reporting features to help manage this process effectively.

  • Penalties for non-compliance with French labor laws can include fines and damage to a company's reputation. Ensuring accurate tracking and documentation of work hours is crucial to avoid such penalties.

  • Yes, Harvest can help track overtime by allowing users to create specific tasks for overtime and manually log time against these tasks. This feature ensures accurate documentation and compliance with labor laws.

  • Harvest integrates with various platforms like Asana, Trello, and Slack, enhancing workflow efficiency. This integration capability allows seamless time tracking across different tools and platforms.