Billable utilization
Billable utilization is the share of hours worked that you invoice to clients: billable hours divided by hours worked, times 100. It measures time, not revenue, and uses a different denominator than the activity rate.
Definition
Billable utilization is the share of working time that ends up billed to clients. The formula works on hours: billable hours divided by hours worked, times 100. The numerator is a volume of hours, never an amount. Revenue is a separate figure and does not enter the formula, which is why the metric is described as time based.
In French practice the name is often used loosely as a synonym of the activity rate. The difference is the denominator: billable utilization divides by hours actually worked, while the activity rate divides by available days net of leave. Both figures say something about activity, and both should be read with their label.
Formula
Billable utilization = billable hours / hours worked x 100. It is a time measure: the numerator is hours, never revenue.
Example: Of 35 hours worked in a week, 28 are billable: 28 / 35 x 100 = 80%.
Why it matters
Billable utilization shows whether your team spends its week on client work or on something else. A 100% reading usually signals a logging problem, not peak performance, because internal time always exists. Sustained rates above 90% leave no room for training, pitching, or internal improvement, and the team loses the slack needed to absorb surprises. Below 70%, a large share of worked time goes out the door unbilled: overly broad presales, unmanaged internal time, or poorly calibrated assignments.
Improve your billable utilization
- 1
Log internal time honestly: a 100% billable rate is a logging problem, not performance, and it distorts every decision taken on top of the number.
- 2
Review non-billable time every month and decide which of those hours are investments, training or presales, and which are plain waste.
- 3
Set a target per role: presales-heavy roles bill less by design, and one shared target flattens that reality instead of making it visible.
How Okouro shows it
Billable and non-billable hours come from the same validated monthly sheets, so the rate needs no extra logging. Dashboards track it continuously, per team and per profile, and a free plan lets you start without a commitment.