Utilization Rate Calculator
Calculates billable and non-billable utilization rates per team member and across the agency. Identifies capacity gaps, underutilized staff, and over-allocated resources to inform staffing decisions.
Agency - Utilization Rate Calculator.xlsx
Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
What This Spreadsheet Solves
- No visibility into how much of the team's time is actually billable
- Over-allocating senior staff while junior staff are underutilized
- Hiring decisions made without utilization data
- Profitability suffering because non-billable time is too high
- Difficulty identifying which roles or departments are capacity bottlenecks
Who This Is For
- Agency operations managers tracking team productivity
- Resource managers assigning staff to projects
- Agency partners reviewing team efficiency quarterly
- HR directors linking utilization data to hiring plans
Inputs
- textTeam member name
- #Total available hours per month
- #Billable hours per month
- #Non-billable project hours
- $Hourly cost rate
- $Hourly bill rate
Outputs
- Billable utilization rate per person
- Agency-wide average utilization
- Capacity gap (available minus allocated hours)
- Revenue per available hour
- Cost of non-billable time in dollars
How Calculations Work
Billable utilization is billable hours divided by total available hours. Non-billable utilization accounts for internal projects, admin, and training. The gap between total available hours and all allocated hours reveals spare capacity. Revenue per available hour is computed as (billable hours times bill rate) divided by total available hours. The cost of non-billable time is non-billable hours multiplied by the cost rate.
Example Use Case
Scenario: A 10-person team has 1,600 available hours/month total. They log 1,040 billable hours and 320 non-billable project hours. Average cost rate: $45/hr. Average bill rate: $150/hr.
Result: Billable utilization: 65%. Total utilization: 85%. Spare capacity: 240 hours. Revenue per available hour: $97.50. Non-billable cost: $14,400/month.
What You Get — 5 Sheets
Technical Details
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good billable utilization rate?
65-75% for most agencies. Creative agencies trend lower (55-65%). Consulting firms target higher (75-85%). Below 60% usually signals overstaffing or poor resource management.
Should PTO count against available hours?
No. Reduce available hours by PTO days so utilization reflects actual working time, not calendar time.
How do I handle part-time staff?
Enter their actual available hours per month. A half-time employee working 80 hours/month has 80 as their available hours, not 160.
What is the cost of non-billable time?
It is the salary cost of hours spent on internal work, admin, training, or bench time. It represents revenue-generating capacity that was not monetized.
How often should I track utilization?
Weekly for operational decisions. Monthly for trend analysis. Quarterly for strategic staffing reviews.
Download Utilization Rate Calculator
Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.