Free Excel templates · 2026 and 2027 · Light and dark themes
Billable Utilisation Tracker for Excel
A packed diary does not always mean a healthy billable total. Record your project hours, see how much time you can bill and find out how many more hours you need to reach your target.
Download a free Excel tracker for 2026 or 2027 in a light or dark theme. Each person gets a full year of monthly sheets, with quarterly and annual summaries and an editable 75% billable target.
Download your billable tracker
Choose your year and theme. All four files include the same formulas and 15 worksheets.
Light theme
Light backgrounds, teal headings and amber cells for your entries.
Download 2027 light (.xlsx) Download 2026 light (.xlsx)Dark theme
Navy backgrounds, light text and warm brown cells for your entries.
Download 2027 dark (.xlsx) Download 2026 dark (.xlsx)Excel .xlsx files. No macros. Each version opens in the year shown. Clear day borders, inset labels and space around every worksheet make the tracker easier to read.
What is included?
Enter hours in the monthly grids. The two summary sheets turn those entries into monthly, quarterly and annual results.
| Worksheet | What it does |
|---|---|
| Billable summary | Shows billable hours, available hours, utilisation, achievement against target and hours still needed. Includes monthly, quarterly and annual results. |
| MBO summary | Shows a broader utilisation measure that adds concessions, work at risk and project overruns to billable hours. |
| Jan to Dec | Provides a daily grid for project hours, monthly totals, working days and leave. Each month has an Actual, Forecast or Not started status. |
| Resources | Links to related planning and reporting templates on stakeholdermap.com. |
Each month has ten rows for billable customer engagements, six for concessions and work at risk, and four for project overruns. Input checks flag invalid hours, entries outside the month and problems with available hours.
See the Excel previews
These previews show the 2027 templates. The 2026 versions use the same layout. Select an image to enlarge it.
Light theme
Dark theme
Billable summary
How billable utilisation is calculated
Billable utilisation shows how much of your available working time you have recorded as billable customer work.
Billable utilisation = billable hours ÷ available hours × 100
This template calculates available hours after deducting company holidays and personal leave:
Available hours = (scheduled workdays − company holiday days − PTO days) × hours per working day
PTO means paid time off. Use the company holiday and PTO fields consistently, and deduct each absence only once. The template starts with Monday to Friday working days and eight hours per day.
Example: how far are you from 75%?
Suppose a month has 22 scheduled workdays, one company holiday and one day of personal leave. At eight hours a day, you have 160 available hours.
You record 112 billable hours. Your utilisation is 112 ÷ 160 = 70%. A 75% target requires 120 billable hours, leaving an eight-hour gap.
- Billable utilisation
- 70%
- Billable target
- 75%
- Hours to target
- 8 hours
The workbook also shows achievement to target: 70% ÷ 75% = 93.3%. Reaching 100% achievement means you have met the 75% utilisation target.
Set the target to suit the role. Change N4 on Billable summary to use a different percentage.
Quarterly and annual utilisation use total hours divided by total available hours for the included months. They do not take a simple average of the monthly percentages.
Billable work, work at risk and the MBO summary
The three sections keep billable work separate from concessions, work at risk and overruns.
| Section | How to use it | Included in billable utilisation? |
|---|---|---|
| Billable customer engagement | Enter customer work you classify as billable. | Yes |
| Concessions & work at risk | Record customer work tracked separately from confirmed billable hours. For example, work awaiting commercial approval can go in the dedicated Work at risk row. | No |
| Project overrun | Record extra project hours you are monitoring as overruns. Put chargeable hours in billable customer engagement if they count towards your billable total. | No |
The MBO summary automatically includes all hours entered across these three sections. Its total is:
MBO hours = billable hours + concessions + work at risk + project overruns
Using the example above, another eight concession hours, four hours of work at risk and four overrun hours would give 128 MBO hours. MBO utilisation would be 80%, while billable utilisation would remain 70%.
Use row 24 on each monthly sheet for work at risk. The separate work-at-risk total reads that row; the other rows in the same section feed the concession total.
How to use the tracker
- Save one copy for each person and year. Choose the right year and give your copy a name such as
alex-billable-tracker-2027.xlsx. Keep using that copy when you add hours. - Set up the Billable summary sheet. Check the year in C4. Enter the person's name in F4, their target in N4 and hours per working day in C5. Enter the target as a percentage, such as 75%.
- Open the relevant month. Enter customer or project names in column B and hours against the correct dates in columns C to AG. Use decimal hours, such as 7.5 for seven and a half hours.
- Check the available hours. Below the grid, adjust scheduled workdays in I38 if needed. Enter company holiday days in I39 and PTO days in I40. Fractional days are allowed.
- Choose the month status in C2. Select Actual for recorded results or Forecast for planned hours. Leave unused months as Not started.
- Resolve any input messages. Check the message at the bottom of the monthly sheet. Correct invalid dates, text in hour cells, negative hours or inconsistent leave before reviewing the summaries.
- Review Billable summary and MBO summary. Compare results with the target, check the hours still needed and look at the Coverage row to see whether a quarterly or annual result includes forecasts.
Use the amber input cells in the light theme and the warm brown cells in the dark theme. Keep the calculated totals and formulas intact.
Reviewing utilisation with your team
Review each person’s workbook alongside upcoming assignments and leave. Use the difference between billable and MBO totals to find customer work that needs attention.
- Below target? Check for missing time entries, gaps between assignments and work awaiting approval.
- MBO is high but billable utilisation is low? Review concessions, work at risk and overruns to understand the difference.
- A quarter looks better than expected? Check whether Forecast months are included before treating the result as achieved.
Use one workbook per person. For a team review, compare their summaries alongside your resource plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the tracker for 2027?
Yes. Download either of the 2027 versions above. Dates and Monday to Friday working-day counts are already set for 2027. Enter company holidays and personal leave in each monthly sheet.
Can I change the 75% target?
Yes. Change N4 on Billable summary. That target feeds both summary sheets and all monthly sheets. The template uses one target per person for the year.
Why are the summaries blank?
Months marked Not started are excluded. Set the month status in C2 to Actual or Forecast and check that the message at the bottom of the monthly sheet says OK. Months with invalid inputs are also excluded.
Does the annual figure include future months?
Only months marked Actual or Forecast with valid inputs are included. The annual figure covers those months, not automatically all 12 months. The Coverage row tells you when forecasts are included.
How do I handle part-time work, training and internal meetings?
For a shorter working day, change C5 on Billable summary. For fewer working days, adjust I38 on the relevant month. The template uses one daily-hours setting for the year. Training, administration and internal meetings are not deducted automatically from available hours. Do not enter them as leave simply because they are not billable.
Can I record weekend work?
Yes. Grey columns include weekends and dates outside the month. Weekend dates within the month accept hours; dates outside the month must stay empty. If weekends form part of the person's normal working pattern, adjust scheduled workdays to match.
What does the MBO summary measure?
The MBO summary combines billable hours, concessions, work at risk and project overruns. Use the Billable summary sheet to assess the billable target.
Does this tracker calculate invoices or revenue?
No. It tracks hours and utilisation. It does not apply billing rates, calculate fees, approve timesheets or confirm that a customer has paid.
Related project templates
- Resource planning template: plan the people and time your projects need.
- Five free Excel timesheet templates: record time by task, project or shift.
- Excel project status report: report progress alongside utilisation.
- All project management templates: find more free planning and reporting downloads.