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How to Improve Utilization Rate

Improve your team's utilization rates with Harvest, a tool designed to balance billable and non-billable work effectively. Automate administrative tasks to enhance productivity.

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How much revenue is your team leaving on the table?

Most agencies run at 55-60% utilization. Even a small improvement means significant revenue. See what closing the gap looks like for your team.

Number of people who track billable time
$
Blended rate across roles (junior, senior, lead)
55%
Percentage of total hours that are billable. Industry average is 55-60%.
75%
A realistic target for service businesses is 70-80%.
Monthly revenue gap $0
Revenue at current utilization $0/mo
Revenue at target utilization $0/mo
Extra billable hours needed per person/day 0h
Annual revenue opportunity $0

Start tracking team utilization

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 and Calculating Utilization Rates

The utilization rate is a key performance metric that indicates how efficiently resources are being used within an organization. This rate is calculated as the ratio of total billable hours to total available hours, expressed as a percentage. For instance, if an employee bills 34 out of 40 available hours in a week, their utilization rate is 85%. Utilization rates are critical for assessing productivity and identifying areas for operational improvement.

Industry benchmarks vary, with professional services typically achieving utilization rates between 70% and 85%. High utilization rates can signify effective resource use, but rates consistently over 100% may indicate potential burnout or poor planning. Therefore, maintaining a balance between billable and non-billable hours is crucial. Harvest helps organizations achieve this balance by providing tools to track both billable and non-billable hours, ensuring optimal resource utilization.

Strategies for Balancing Billable and Non-Billable Work

Balancing billable and non-billable work is crucial to improving utilization rates without risking employee burnout. On average, knowledge workers spend about 60% of their time on 'work about work,' such as administrative tasks that contribute little to direct productivity. To counteract this, organizations should streamline administrative processes and enhance workflow efficiency.

Harvest aids in this balance by allowing users to track both billable and non-billable hours with flexible rates. This feature helps organizations manage their time effectively and prioritize tasks that contribute directly to profitability. By automating time tracking and integrating with tools like Asana and Slack, Harvest reduces the time spent on administrative duties, freeing up more time for billable work.

Using Technology to Boost Utilization Rates

Leveraging technology is essential for boosting utilization rates and improving overall productivity. Tools that automate repetitive tasks and enhance resource management can significantly reduce non-billable time. For example, implementing project management software can streamline task assignments and improve workflow efficiency.

Harvest offers robust functionality to track project budgets and profitability, helping teams manage their time more effectively. Integrations with popular platforms such as GitHub, Trello, and QuickBooks extend Harvest's capability to automate and manage tasks seamlessly. This comprehensive approach not only improves utilization rates but also ensures projects remain within budget and on schedule.

Setting Realistic Utilization Targets

Setting realistic utilization targets is essential for maintaining a balanced workload and preventing employee burnout. Utilization rates should align with industry standards, which for professional services range from 70% to 85%. These targets must account for non-billable activities such as training and administrative tasks, which are vital for long-term employee development and organizational efficiency.

Harvest provides insights into utilization rates by tracking time allocation across different activities. This data-driven approach allows managers to set informed targets and adjust workloads as necessary. By using Harvest's detailed reporting features, organizations can continuously monitor and optimize their resource utilization to meet these targets effectively.

Improve Utilization Rates with Harvest

See how Harvest tracks and improves utilization rates by balancing billable and non-billable work efficiently.

Harvest dashboard showing utilization rate tracking

How to Improve Utilization Rate FAQs

  • Utilization rate measures the efficiency of resource usage, calculated as the ratio of billable hours to total available hours. For example, if an employee bills 34 hours in a 40-hour week, their utilization rate is 85%.

  • Balancing billable and non-billable work involves streamlining administrative tasks and focusing on high-impact activities. Harvest assists by tracking both types of work, helping you manage time and prioritize effectively.

  • Strategies include setting realistic utilization targets, optimizing resource allocation, and leveraging technology to automate tasks. Harvest facilitates these strategies by offering comprehensive time tracking and reporting features.

  • Tracking utilization rates is crucial for optimizing resource efficiency and identifying areas for improvement. It helps ensure that resources are used effectively, balancing productivity with employee well-being.

  • Yes, utilization rates can exceed 100% if overtime is involved. However, consistently high rates may indicate understaffing or poor resource planning, which can lead to employee burnout.

  • Harvest improves utilization rates by automating time tracking, managing project budgets, and integrating with tools like Asana and Slack. This helps streamline processes and optimize resource allocation.

  • Tools like Harvest provide comprehensive tracking and reporting capabilities, allowing you to monitor utilization rates accurately and make data-driven decisions.