Free tools / Practice
Utilisation and Capacity Planner
Work out how much fee your studio can actually deliver before you promise it.
Why this exists. Utilisation is the most misquoted number in practice because almost nobody states the denominator. Tools that hide it produce answers that flatter the firm.
United States, Canada and UK
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Realistic annual fee capacity$528,0004,800 billable hours across 4 people at $110 an hour.
- Utilisation on paid hoursIndustry reports 58.9% to 64%
- 57.7%
- Utilisation on available hoursAfter holiday and leave
- 63.8%
- Available hours per person
- 1,880 hrs
- Firm billable hours per year
- 4,800 hrs
- Capacity at a 65% utilisation target
- $537,680
- Hours needed for the work you are bidding
- 3,636 hrs
- Months of studio capacity that pipeline represents
- 9.1
The same studio reports 57.7% on paid hours and 63.8% on hours actually available. Always say which one you mean.
How this is calculated
- Utilisation on the hours basis and the money basis give different answers, because the money basis weights senior staff more heavily. This tool shows the hours basis and exposes the denominator.
- Capacity assumes your current recorded billable hours are sustainable. If they include unpaid overtime, the real capacity is lower.
This is a planning estimate, not professional advice. Read the full disclaimer.
Capacity problems and pipeline problems look identical from the inside.
One is solved by hiring, the other by systems. A free growth audit tells you which one you actually have.
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