How are billable fees calculated?

For each timekeeper the fee is simply their hourly rate multiplied by their hours. The matter total is the sum across all timekeepers, and the blended rate is the total fee divided by total hours — the single average rate the client effectively pays.

What is a tenth-of-an-hour billing increment?

Law firms typically bill in increments of one tenth of an hour, where 0.1 equals six minutes. A four-minute call rounds up to 0.1, and a fifteen-minute task is recorded as 0.3 (rounded up from 0.25). This tool accepts decimal hours directly so you can enter either form.

What does the blended rate tell me?

The blended rate is the matter's total fee divided by its total hours. It reveals the average cost per hour once partner, associate, and paralegal work is mixed together, which is useful for comparing matters or proposing a flat blended rate to a client.

Can I model a discount or write-down?

Yes. Enter a percentage write-down to reduce the total fee — for example a 10% courtesy discount or a write-off of non-productive time. The summary shows both the gross fee and the net amount after the adjustment.

Does it store my client data?

No. Every entry stays in your browser and nothing is transmitted or saved to a server. Refreshing the page clears the inputs, so copy or export the summary before you leave.

Billable Hours Calculator

A billable hours calculator converts a matter’s time entries into a clean fee summary in seconds. Law firms bill multiple rate tiers on a single matter — partners, associates, and paralegals each at a different rate — and clients want to see the breakdown plus the effective blended rate. This tool sums hours per timekeeper, applies each rate, and reports per-tier subtotals, the total fee, and the average rate across the work.

How it works

The arithmetic is straightforward but easy to fumble across many entries. For each timekeeper the fee is rate × hours. The matter total is the sum of every timekeeper’s fee. The blended rate — the headline figure clients ask for — is total fee ÷ total hours, the single average hourly rate once all tiers are combined.

Legal time is conventionally recorded in tenths of an hour, where 0.1 equals six minutes. The tool accepts decimal hours directly, so a 0.3 entry (eighteen minutes) and a 2.5 entry (two and a half hours) both sum exactly. An optional write-down percentage reduces the gross fee to a net amount, modelling a courtesy discount or a write-off of unproductive time.

Total fee = Σ (rate × hours); blended rate = total fee ÷ total hours.

Example and notes

A matter has a partner at $550/hr for 3.2 hours, an associate at $320/hr for 8.5 hours, and a paralegal at $150/hr for 5.0 hours. The subtotals are $1,760, $2,720, and $750, for a total of $5,230 over 16.7 hours — a blended rate of about $313/hr. Apply a 10% courtesy write-down and the net fee falls to $4,707.

Use the blended figure when proposing a single rate to a price-sensitive client, and the per-tier breakdown for the formal invoice. All figures stay in your browser; copy the summary before closing the tab.