Don't wait until the end of the month to find out you're short. Billing targets give you a live pulse on utilization and revenue.
Most agency owners check their billing numbers at the end of each month. By then, it's too late. If you're 20% short of target on March 31, there's nothing you can do about it. If you knew on March 10, you could have pushed to close that outstanding estimate or billed for the hours sitting in your time logs.
Set a target, track against it
A billing target is simple: how much revenue do you need this month? It might be based on your costs (payroll + overhead + margin) or on historical averages. The exact number matters less than having one.
Once you have a target, the dashboard shows you where you stand. Hours logged this month × blended rate = current billable amount. Compare to target. Are you on track or behind?
Utilization as a leading indicator
Revenue is a lagging indicator — by the time you see it, the work is done. Utilization is a leading indicator. If your team is at 60% utilization this week, you have capacity. If they're at 95%, someone's heading for burnout.
Tracking both together — utilization (are we busy enough?) and billing (are we billing for the work we're doing?) — gives you the full picture. High utilization but low billing means unbilled work. Low utilization but high billing means you're efficient but have capacity for more.