How many hours do you really bill? (the number that changes everything)
The gap nobody measures
Ask a tradesperson how many hours they work: "fifty, easily." Ask how many they invoice: silence. Track it for two weeks and the answer is usually between 50 % and 65 % of hours worked.
That is not a personal failing — quoting, driving, supply runs, admin and dead time are the job. But if you price as though you bill 40 hours when you actually bill 26, every single quote you write is wrong.
Measure it for two weeks, crudely
You don't need software. A note on your phone, four buckets:
- Billable — on a client's job, hands on the work.
- Travel & supplies — driving, the merchant, loading.
- Sales — site visits, quotes, follow-up calls.
- Admin — invoicing, chasing payment, bookkeeping.
At the end: utilisation rate = billable ÷ total worked. Round to the nearest half-hour; precision doesn't matter, the ratio does.
What the number means
- Below 45 % — something structural is wrong: too much unpaid travel, quoting far too many jobs you don't win, or admin out of control.
- 50–65 % — normal for a solo tradesperson. This is the realistic planning figure.
- Above 70 % — either you're excellent at scheduling, or you're not counting your evenings honestly.
Then use it where it matters: your hourly rate must be calculated on billable hours, not worked hours (the full calculation). This is the single most common reason a rate that "looks fine" leaves nothing at the end of the month.
The three biggest leaks and their fixes
Travel. Two supply runs a day is 5+ hours a week. Fix: one weekly stock order, batch jobs by area, keep consumables in the van.
Quoting. If you quote 10 jobs to win 3, seven quotes were unpaid work. Fix: qualify on the phone (budget, timeline, decision-maker) and quote on site so you don't do it twice — see the follow-up sequence.
Admin. 5–8 hours a week for most solo artisans, nearly all of it re-entering information you already had. Fix: the evening-paperwork audit.
Reclaimed hours are pure margin
An hour moved from admin to billable is worth your full rate — with no extra marketing, no extra travel, no extra risk. Reclaiming 3 hours a week at $85 is roughly $13,000 a year. That is why quoting on site matters: with Pro Speak Artisan the estimate is done before you leave the driveway, not at 9 pm.