Billable Hours

What are billable hours?

Billable hours are the hours you spend working directly on client projects that you can charge for. For freelancers, consultants, and trades billing on time and materials, billable hours are the main driver of revenue.

Non-billable time, like quoting, bookkeeping, and driving between jobs, still takes effort but does not appear on an invoice.

Tracking billable hours

Accurate tracking helps you get paid for all your work:

• Record as you go: Log time daily instead of reconstructing it at the end of the week
• Note the task: Short descriptions help clients understand what they are paying for
• Round consistently: Use a clear rule, such as 15-minute increments, and state it in your terms
• Separate by client and project: Makes invoicing faster and reporting more useful

Need a quick way to log time? Use the Invoicer time tracker to calculate work hours and generate timesheets.

Billable hours and pricing

Your utilization rate is the share of your working hours that are billable. If only 60% of your time is billable, your hourly rate needs to cover the other 40%, plus overhead and profit margin. Knowing your real billable hours helps you set rates that keep the business profitable.