Billable Time Tool

Two numbers get confused in every discussion of legal productivity: hours recorded and money received. On a normal year they differ by fifteen to twenty percent, and only the second one funds anything.

This tool follows the money from a daily habit through to collected cash, and reports what an hour of recorded time is genuinely worth once write-downs and unpaid invoices are accounted for.

Result

Cash collected

$385,268

Effective rate per hour

$279.18

Annual hours: 1,380
Monthly hours: 115
Value recorded: $455,400
Value invoiced: $409,860
Lost to write-downs and non-payment: $70,132
Overall yield: 84.6%

This tool performs arithmetic on the values you enter. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Recorded time is not revenue. Write-downs before invoicing (realization) and unpaid invoices (collection) both reduce it, and the effective rate is what remains per hour recorded.

A one point improvement in collection is usually easier to win than a rate increase of the same value.

From recorded time to cash

Stage	Value	Share of recorded
Time recorded	$455,400	100%
Invoiced after write-downs	$409,860	90%
Cash collected	$385,268	84.6%

How to use the billable time tool

Enter the billable hours recorded in a normal working day.
Enter days per week and working weeks per year, excluding leave.
Enter the rate.
Apply real realization and collection percentages, then read the collected value.

What people use this for

Understanding the gap between billed and collected.
Setting a target that reflects cash rather than hours.
Quantifying what a billing discipline improvement is worth.
Comparing an hourly practice against a fixed-fee one on collected revenue.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

A typical year

6 hours a day, 5 days, 46 weeks at $330, with 90% realization and 94% collection.

Cash collected: $385,268
Effective rate per hour: $279.18
Annual hours: 1,380

The same hours, tighter billing

Realization at 96% and collection at 98%.

Cash collected: $428,440
Lost to write-downs and non-payment: $26,960
Overall yield: 94.08%

Realization and collection measure different failures

Realization is what happens before the invoice: hours written down for over-servicing, scope creep or work a client would not accept. Collection is what happens after: invoices unpaid, paid late, or written off.

Each has a different remedy, and reporting only the combined figure hides which one the practice actually has.

The comparison worth making

A five percent rate increase and a five-point collection improvement produce broadly the same revenue. The first requires every client to agree and puts relationships into play; the second requires invoicing on time and following up.

Firms reach for the rate increase first because it feels like a business decision rather than an administrative one. On the arithmetic it is usually the harder route to the same place, and it carries a risk the alternative does not: a rate letter gives every client a reason to review the whole relationship at a moment nobody chose.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

Annual hours = hours per day × days per week × weeks per year.
Recorded value = hours × rate; realization then collection are applied in sequence.
The effective rate divides collected value by hours recorded.
The tool performs arithmetic or date counting on the values you enter. It does not interpret a rule, a statute or a contract.
Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This website provides general informational and productivity tools and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.

The date and deadline tools count days exactly as you instruct them. They do not interpret court rules, statutes of limitation, filing requirements or any other legal authority, and they do not know the rules of your jurisdiction.

Always verify any date, fee, or calculation against the governing rule, the court calendar and your own professional judgement. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

What billable hours per day is realistic?

Considerably fewer than hours worked. Administration, supervision, business development and matter switching all consume unbillable time.

Where do I find my realization rate?

Compare the value of time recorded at standard rates against the value invoiced, over a full year. Most practice management systems report it.

Should write-offs of old debt count?

Yes, in the collection rate. Excluding them produces a figure that looks better and describes less.

Does this work for a whole firm?

Yes - enter firm-wide averages. The interpretation is unchanged.

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