Craft · Calculator
Utilisation and Break-Even Calculator
A day rate means nothing without the days you actually bill. This converts the two into utilisation, then into the break-even the rate has to clear.
Run it with your own numbers.
A day rate means nothing without the days you actually bill. This converts the two into utilisation, then into the break-even the rate has to clear.
Utilisation
Billed days over available days. It is the number that decides whether a healthy rate produces a healthy month, and it is usually lower than people assume when they set the rate.
Break-even in days
Costs divided by the rate gives the days that must be billed before anything is earned. Expressed as a percentage of available days, it says whether the rate is survivable at realistic utilisation.
Why the retainer line is short
A retainer trades some rate for certainty, and whether that trade is good depends on what else you would have done with those days. The tool converts it to days so the comparison is like for like; it cannot tell you what the certainty is worth to you.
Real questions, short answers.
Should proposal and admin time count as available days?
They are available and unbilled, which is exactly what utilisation is measuring. Excluding them flatters the figure.
What if my work is priced per project rather than per day?
Divide the project fee by the days it actually took, including the ones you did not plan for. That is your realised day rate, and it is usually the more useful number.
Is high utilisation the goal?
Not on its own. Utilisation at a low rate is just a full diary, and no capacity left is also no capacity to take better work.