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How many hours must you bill to get paid?

Start from the income you want and the cost of running the practice, then work backwards through your rate and how much of it you actually collect. You get the hours you must bill a week to break even and to hit your goal.

To hit your goal, bill

17 hours a week

That is 780 billable hours a year to collect $156,000, at an effective $200 an hour.

3.9 ha week just to cover overhead, before you pay yourself anything.

What it means for your week

At 60% billable, that is about 28.3 working hours a week. If that number is not realistic, the levers are your rate, your realisation, your overhead or your goal. See the billable hours calculator and tracking billable hours in Notion.

How the calculation works

The calculator works backwards from the money you need. The steps are simple arithmetic, so you can check them by hand:

Revenue needed = the take-home you want + your annual overhead.
Effective hourly rate = your standard rate × realisation. At a standard rate of $250 and 80 percent realisation, you earn an effective $200 for each billable hour.
Billable hours a year = revenue needed ÷ effective rate.
Billable hours a week = billable hours a year ÷ working weeks.
Break-even hours a week = overhead ÷ effective rate ÷ working weeks.
Working hours a week = billable hours a week ÷ utilisation.

A worked example

A solo wants to take home $120,000 a year, has $36,000 of overhead, charges $250 an hour, works 46 weeks, collects 80 percent of standard value and has 60 percent of working time billable.

Revenue needed: $120,000 + $36,000 = $156,000.
Effective rate: $250 × 0.8 = $200 an hour.
Billable hours a year: $156,000 ÷ $200 = 780.
Billable hours a week: 780 ÷ 46 ≈ 17.
Break-even: $36,000 ÷ $200 ÷ 46 ≈ 3.9 hours a week.
Working hours a week: 17 ÷ 0.6 ≈ 28.

The result is humane: about 28 working hours a week. If the same lawyer collected only 60 percent, the effective rate falls to $150, billable hours rise to 1,040 a year and about 23 a week: realisation matters as much as rate.

The five levers, and what each is worth

Rate. A higher standard rate cuts the hours needed in proportion. Test it against your market and your realisation.
Realisation. Capture time as you work, bill promptly and chase payment. Each point of realisation is worth real money; see the billable hours calculator.
Overhead. Software, space and staff; audit them annually (see how much a solo should spend on software).
Income goal. Be explicit about what you need, not what you wish.
Utilisation. Raise the share of time that is billable by cutting admin through systems, not by working longer.

Definitions

Realisation: collected value as a share of standard-rate value of the work done.
Utilisation: billable hours as a share of working hours.
Effective rate: what each billable hour earns after write-offs and non-payment.
Break-even: the work needed to cover costs with nothing left for you.

Common mistakes

Using your standard rate as if every hour were collected at that rate.
Forgetting that a fixed fee changes the hours-to-money relationship.
Leaving out holidays, sickness and slow months when setting working weeks.
Treating the answer as a target to work to, instead of a prompt to change a lever.

Frequently asked questions

How many billable hours does a solo lawyer need to bill?

It depends on your income goal, overhead, rate and how much of your standard value you actually collect. Work backwards: income goal plus overhead gives the revenue you must collect; divide by your effective hourly rate (rate times realisation) to get billable hours a year, then by working weeks. This calculator does that arithmetic.

What is realisation?

The share of your standard-rate value that you actually collect. If you work 100 hours at your standard rate but only collect for the equivalent of 80, your realisation is 80 percent. It is reduced by time that is written off, discounts and unpaid bills.

What is utilisation?

The share of your working hours that are billable. If you work 40 hours and 24 are billable, utilisation is 60 percent. The rest is administration, business development, learning and rest.

What is break-even for a law firm?

The amount of billable work needed just to cover overhead, before paying yourself anything. The calculator shows it as hours per week at your effective rate.

What overhead should I include?

Everything it costs to run the practice for a year: rent or workspace, software, insurance, regulatory fees, staff, marketing, accounting and any other regular business costs. Exclude your own drawings and personal tax.

Does the calculator include tax?

No. It works with the take-home figure you give it before personal tax, and does not model tax, benefits or cash-flow timing. Add those to your income goal if you want them reflected.

What if the answer is more hours than I can work?

Then something has to change: raise your rate, improve realisation, reduce overhead, lower the goal, or raise utilisation. The calculator shows the effect of each as you change the inputs.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Use it to frame decisions and check them with your accountant.