Billable hours

Billable hours refer to the amount of time a professional, such as a lawyer, consultant, or accountant, spends working on a client’s project that can be charged to the client. These hours are tracked precisely because clients are billed based on this time at an agreed-upon rate. For example, if a consultant spends 3 hours working directly on a client’s case and charges $200 per hour, the client will be billed $600 for that work. Accurate tracking of billable hours ensures transparency and proper compensation for the professional’s efforts.