Billable Hours Calculator
Calculate your projected revenue, effective hourly rate, and time lost to administrative tasks. A free tool for lawyers and law firms.
Your Details
Industry average: 80–90% of billed hours are collected.
Your Revenue Projection
Monthly Revenue (Net)
$39,270
Gross: $46,200
Annual Revenue (Net)
$471,240
Gross: $554,400
Effective Hourly Rate
$223/hr
Based on total hours worked (including admin)
Hours Lost to Admin / Month
44 hrs
2 hours/day on non-billable work
Billable Hours Benchmarks
Industry-average annual billable hour targets by role at law firms.
| Role | Low Target | High Target | Hours/Day* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Associate | 1,800 | 2,200 | 8.5 |
| Senior Associate | 1,900 | 2,100 | 8.1 |
| Non-Equity Partner | 1,600 | 1,900 | 7.3 |
| Equity Partner | 1,500 | 1,800 | 6.9 |
| Of Counsel | 1,200 | 1,600 | 6.2 |
| Government / Public Interest | 1,400 | 1,700 | 6.5 |
* Based on 260 working days/year (52 weeks x 5 days). Actual targets vary by firm and jurisdiction.
What Are Billable Hours?
Billable hours are the portions of a lawyer's working time that can be directly charged to a client. They include time spent on legal research, drafting documents, court appearances, client communications, and case strategy. Non-billable hours — such as administrative work, marketing, and internal meetings — are not charged to clients but still consume a significant portion of a lawyer's day. Understanding the distinction is critical for maximizing revenue and managing workload effectively.
How to Calculate Billable Hours
The basic formula for calculating billable hours revenue is straightforward:
Revenue = Billable Hours x Hourly Rate x Collection Rate
For example, if you bill 6 hours per day at $350/hour over 22 working days with an 85% collection rate, your monthly net revenue would be: 6 x 22 x $350 x 0.85 = $39,270. Your effective hourly rate (based on an 8-hour workday) would be lower than your billing rate because you spend time on non-billable activities. This is why tracking billable versus non-billable time is essential for law firm profitability.
Tips to Increase Your Billable Hours
- Track time in real-time. Studies show lawyers who use timers capture 20–30% more billable time than those who reconstruct their day after the fact. Start a timer for every task, no matter how small.
- Minimize context switching. Group similar tasks together. Batch your emails, phone calls, and research sessions. Each time you switch between tasks, you lose 15–25 minutes of productive time.
- Automate administrative work. Use practice management software to handle invoicing, document management, and scheduling. Every hour saved on admin is an hour you can bill to a client.
- Set daily billable targets. Break your annual target into daily goals. If you need 1,900 billable hours per year, that's roughly 7.3 hours per working day. Knowing your daily number keeps you accountable.
- Bill for all legitimate work. Many lawyers under-bill by not charging for short phone calls, quick email responses, or brief file reviews. If it advances the client's matter, it's billable. Use minimum billing increments (typically 0.1 hours / 6 minutes) to capture these moments.
Track Your Billable Hours Automatically
Stop losing revenue to forgotten time entries. Barristr helps lawyers capture every billable minute with smart timers, automated time tracking, and one-click invoicing.
Try Barristr FreeNo credit card required. Free plan available.