Billable Hours Calculator
Hours times your rate, minus the time nobody pays for
Enter the time you tracked, your hourly rate and - if you want the realistic figure - the share of that time you cannot put on an invoice. The result is the invoice total, plus the effective rate every tracked hour actually earned. Amounts are shown without a currency symbol, so use whatever you bill in.
Leave the non-billable share empty or at 0 if every tracked hour goes on the invoice.
Time tracked
37:30 (37.50)
Non-billable time
3:45 (3.75)
Billable hours
33:45 (33.75)
Effective rate per tracked hour
67.50
How this billable hours calculator works
Two steps, in this order. First the tracked time is split: the non-billable percentage is taken off, leaving the hours that go on the invoice. Then those hours - as decimal hours, because that is the only form you can multiply - are charged at your rate and the amount is rounded to the nearest cent.
Billable minutes = tracked minutes x (1 - non-billable % / 100)
Billable hours = billable minutes / 60
Invoice total = billable hours x hourly rate
Effective rate = invoice total / tracked hours
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The time tracked field accepts hh:mm (37:30) or decimal hours (37.5) - the same number either way.
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The non-billable share is a percentage of tracked time, not a number of hours.
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Billable time is rounded to whole minutes, and the money to whole cents, each rounded once.
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Nothing is added for tax, expenses or fees. This is the hours times rate line of an invoice, no more.
Worked example
A full week tracked, an hourly rate of 75, and a tenth of the week spent on work no client pays for:
Tracked 37:30 = 2250 minutes = 37.50 hours
10% non-billable = 225 minutes = 3:45
Billable 2025 minutes = 33:45 = 33.75 hours
33.75 x 75 = 2,531.25 invoice total
2,531.25 / 37.50 tracked hours = 67.50 effective rate
The gap between the 75 you quote and the 67.50 you earn per tracked hour is what the non-billable share costs you. Cutting it in half is worth as much as a rate rise, and it is usually easier to negotiate with yourself than with a client.
Why the non-billable share is the number to watch
Almost nobody bills every hour they work. Quotes, invoices, your own bookkeeping, tool upgrades and the call that should have been an email all consume working time and produce no line on an invoice. Ignoring that time makes an hourly rate look better than it is and makes fixed-price work look worse than it is.
The only honest way to know your share is to track everything for a few weeks, including the admin, and then look at what was billable. Guessing at it produces a comfortable number rather than a true one.
Stop retyping your hours
This calculator needs one figure you have to already know: the hours. TickTappy is a one-tap timer for exactly that - start it on client work, start it on admin, and the split is measured instead of guessed. Free, no account needed.
FAQ
How do I calculate billable hours?
Multiply the hours you can bill by your hourly rate. The hours have to be decimal first: 33 hours 45 minutes is 33.75, and 33.75 x 75 is 2,531.25. Multiplying 33:45 by 75 directly is not a calculation you can do.
What counts as non-billable time?
Anything a client will not pay for that still came out of your working week: quoting, invoicing, your own admin, tool setup, unbilled research, and the meeting that turned out to be about next quarter. Rather than borrow a percentage from an article, track a few weeks with the admin included and read your own share off your own numbers.
Why show an effective rate as well as the total?
Because the effective rate is the honest number. If you tracked 37.5 hours, billed 33.75 of them and charged 2,531.25, your headline rate was 75 but every tracked hour earned 67.50. When you compare two clients, or a retainer against hourly work, that is the figure to compare.
Does this include tax, VAT or expenses?
No. The total is hours times rate, nothing else. Add tax, expenses, discounts and platform fees in your invoice, where the rules for your country and client actually live.
Should I bill in fifteen minute increments?
Many people do, because a quarter hour converts to an exact decimal (0.25, 0.50, 0.75) and is easier to defend on an invoice than 0.28. It also rounds in your favour about half the time. Whatever you choose, round the tracked time before this step, and use the same rule every week.
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