What is utilization rate?

Utilization rate shows how much of a person’s available working capacity is actually being used. It compares the hours someone tracked to the hours they were expected to work in a given time period.

In Harvest, utilization is calculated as:

Tracked hours ÷ Capacity

Tracked hours include both billable and non-billable time.

The result is shown as a percentage:

• 100% means the person worked exactly their expected capacity
• Below 100% means they worked fewer hours than expected
• Above 100% means they worked more than their expected capacity

You can see utilization rate in the Detailed Time Report, alongside tracked hours, to better understand how time worked compares to capacity.

Why utilization rate is useful

Utilization helps teams understand how work is distributed and whether expectations match reality. In practice, it’s useful for:

• Resource planning. If many people are consistently above 100%, it may indicate that more resources are needed. 
• Performance and workload monitoring. Someone regularly exceeding capacity could be overloaded or may be struggling to manage their workload efficiently. 

• Project planning. Projects with high utilization may require more time or effort than originally planned.

   

How capacity is defined and calculated

By default, weekly capacity is set at the team level on a weekly basis. You can configure it by going to Settings → Preferences. If needed, this default can be overridden for an individual person:

1. Go to Team
2. Select the person 
3. Click Edit 
4. Open Basic Info 
5. Update the Capacity field

This allows you to account for different working hours, part-time schedules, or individual arrangements.

Capacity is stored on a weekly basis and is calculated based on the number of working days in the selected Total capacity in a given time range is calculated based on the number of working days within the selected period. This means that if you select a custom date range that includes only working days, the utilization metric remains accurate. Tracked hours aren’t diluted by weekends, ensuring that utilization stays meaningful and reflects actual working time.

Important note about edge cases

If you select a date range that includes only non-working days (for example, Saturday–Sunday), utilization won’t be available. This is expected behavior and not an error.