Billable vs Non Billable Hours

You’re having a difficult moment: One of your clients is not too happy about a recent invoice and thinks he’s been billed for time on a job that your agency should have absorbed as a non-billable internal task. 

And just last week one of your account managers faced an uphill struggle trying to explain to another of your clients why a “quick call” wasn’t a free call.

We’ve probably all been there. These things are just part of agency life. So for the sake of clarity, here’s a quick reminder of the difference between billable and non-billable hours.

What are billable hours

These are the working time you spend directly on client projects that you can clearly charge for and add to an invoice.

Billable hour examplesare such things as: Client-facing project work, strategy, creative production and delivery, consulting and advisory work.

What are non-billable hours

Non-billable hours examples are the time spent on internal tasks, administration, or business growth that you cannot charge to a client.

These include activities like internal meetings, admin, new business, employee training, process improvement, administrative work, recruiting and interviewing.

While non-billable hours don’t generate revenue directly, they’re vital to support operations, develop employees, win new business, and improve service delivery.   

The problem is that clients are often unable to see the difference between what’s billable and what isn’t.

Agencies sometimes struggle to communicate this difference clearly, and disagreements over who should be paying for what can create an atmosphere of distrust. Often the issue is timing. Clients only find out something was billable when the invoice lands, and by then it’s a difficult conversation to have.

This is where co.agency can help. It’s a client communication platform built for agencies, and its ticketing system moves that conversation to the start. When a client raises a request, you can see straight away whether it’s covered by their retainer or will need billing, so expectations are set before any work begins rather than explained afterwards.

Because requests, files and updates live in one branded space instead of being scattered across inboxes, there’s also a clear record of what was asked for and when. That makes the next “quick call” conversation far easier to have.

Fewer surprises on invoices, fewer awkward conversations and a client relationship built on clarity.

Start your free trial, or book a demo.