How many jobs your crew can run

Divide the hours in your work day by hours per job, which is on-site time plus drive time. Eight hours with 2.5 on site and 0.5 driving is about 2 jobs. The tool uses a whole number, because a half job does not fit. Your own average job length is the number that matters.

Utilization is jobs booked divided by the jobs your crew can run. At 100 percent every billable hour is full. Above that you are over capacity and work waits. Many owners start looking at a hire well before 100 percent, because jobs run long and emergencies arrive. You set that line.

Use the average round trip between jobs, in hours, from your dispatch or timesheet records. Count paid driving, since the crew is not billing during it. If routes vary by season, use a recent month. Better scheduling can cut drive time, which raises capacity without hiring anyone.

When utilization stays above your line for several weeks and you are turning work away or pushing it out. This tool flags utilization above a line you set. Add your hiring lead time too, because a hire that starts in eight weeks has to be posted well before the crunch.

Because it differs by company and by month. Shop time, supply runs, training, admin and paid time off all eat paid hours. A guess that is too low overstates capacity and hides a staffing problem. Check last month’s timesheets, set the slider to what you see, and review it quarterly.