Why Your Technicians Are Only Billable 30% of the Day (And How the Top 10% Hit 50%)
Your technicians clock in at 7 AM and clock out at 4 PM. Nine hours on the clock. But if you're like most North Texas contractors, they're only generating billable revenue for 2.4 of those hours. The other 6.6 hours? That's $247,500 in annual labor cost producing exactly zero revenue.
The $420,000 Opportunity
Top 10% of contractors achieve 50% utilization. That 20% difference equals $420,000 in additional revenue per year for a 12-tech shop. Same trucks. Same techs. Same market. Different systems.
Last month in Plano, an HVAC owner showed me his ServiceTitan reports. Twelve technicians, all "busy" every day. Customer complaints about wait times. Overtime every week. Classic signs of a thriving business, right?
Then we dug deeper. His actual technician utilization rate? 28%.
He was paying for 2,080 hours per tech annually but billing for just 582 hours. That's like buying twelve trucks but only using three and a half of them.
The Utilization Crisis Nobody Talks About
What Is Technician Utilization Rate?
Simply put: Utilization Rate = Billable Hours ÷ Total Paid Hours × 100
If your tech works 8 hours and bills 3 hours, that's 37.5% utilization. The other 62.5% of their time? You're paying for it, but customers aren't.
Most contractors confuse utilization with productivity or efficiency. They're not the same:
- •Productivity = How much work gets done
- •Efficiency = How well work gets done
- •Utilization = How much time is billable
The Shocking Industry Benchmarks
Industry Utilization Rates
Real North Texas Numbers
Here's what we're seeing across DFW:
- • DFW HVAC contractor (8 techs): 31% utilization
- • Plano plumbing company (15 techs): 29% utilization
- • Fort Worth electrical (6 techs): 34% utilization
- • Arlington general contractor (10 field staff): 27% utilization
The Financial Impact Calculator
For a Typical Tech:
- • Annual salary: $65,000
- • Total employment cost: $85,000 (with benefits/taxes)
- • Hours paid: 2,080
- • At 30% utilization: 624 billable hours
- • At 50% utilization: 1,040 billable hours
- • Difference: 416 hours × $150/hr = $62,400 per tech
Scale to Full Shop:
- 10 techs:$624,000 additional revenue potential
- 20 techs:$1,248,000 additional revenue potential
Where the Other 70% of Time Goes
We tracked every minute for 30 days across multiple contractors. Here's where your techs' time actually goes:
The Time Vampire Breakdown
1. Windshield Time (25-35% of day)
- • Average 2.3 hours daily in DFW traffic
- • First call travel: 45 minutes
- • Between calls: 30-40 minutes each
- • Return trip: 35 minutes
- • Supply house runs: 45-60 minutes
2. Administrative Burden (15-20% of day)
- • Morning meetings: 15-20 minutes
- • Paperwork/invoicing: 20 minutes per job
- • Phone calls with office: 15 minutes
- • Inventory management: 20 minutes
- • End of day reports: 15 minutes
3. Customer Acquisition Time (10-15% of day)
- • Waiting for customer to arrive: 15-20 minutes per job
- • Explaining findings: 20-30 minutes (not all billable)
- • Collecting payment: 10 minutes
- • Upselling/education: 15 minutes
4. Non-Billable Problem Solving (10-12% of day)
- • Callbacks (warranty work): 8% of total time
- • Helping other techs: 15 minutes daily
- • Training/mentoring: 20 minutes daily
- • Troubleshooting with technical support: Variable
5. The Hidden Time Thieves (8-10% of day)
- • Wrong address/customer not home: 20-30 minutes
- • Parts not on truck (return trips): 45 minutes
- • Incomplete job information: 15 minutes figuring it out
- • Supply house closed/out of stock: 60+ minutes to alternate
Case Study: One Day in the Life
Total: 9 hours paid, only 2.5 hours billable = 28% utilization
How the Top 10% Hit 50% Utilization
The contractors achieving 45-52% utilization aren't working their techs harder. They've eliminated the friction that eats productive time. Here's exactly how:
Strategy #1: Route Optimization Intelligence
What Average Shops Do:
- • First-come, first-served dispatch
- • Geographic zones (north/south)
- • "Whoever's free takes it"
What Top Performers Do:
- • Dynamic routing considering traffic patterns by time of day
- • Job complexity matched to tech skills
- • Parts inventory on each truck factored in
- • Batch jobs by geographic clusters
- • Schedule P.M. jobs near tech's home
Result: 35% reduction in drive time, saving 45-60 minutes daily
Strategy #2: Parts Inventory Mastery
The Problem:
- • Average truck stocks 300-400 SKUs
- • Only 60% first-time fix rate
- • 2.3 trips to supply house weekly per tech
The Solution:
- • Data-driven van stock optimization by zip code
- • Seasonal parts pre-staging
- • Neighbor route sharing (Tech A carries Tech B's parts)
- • Mobile supply house partnerships
Result: 87% first-time fix rate, saving 2+ hours weekly
Strategy #3: Eliminating Administrative Friction
Digital-First Documentation:
- • Voice-to-text notes while working
- • Photo documentation (before/during/after)
- • Digital signature capture
- • Automatic invoice generation
- • Mobile payment processing
Office Support Structure:
- • Dedicated dispatch coordinator
- • CSR handles all follow-ups
- • Automated appointment reminders
- • Pre-call customer qualification
Time Saved: 45 minutes daily per tech
Strategy #4: The "Setup for Success" System
Pre-Day Preparation (Night Before):
- • Review tomorrow's calls
- • Pre-pull special parts
- • Customer history review
- • Gate codes/special instructions loaded
- • Weather-adjusted scheduling
Morning Launch Protocol:
- • 6:45 AM tech arrival
- • Pre-loaded job information
- • First call parts verified
- • No morning meeting (weekly instead)
- • On the road by 7:00 AM
Result: Extra billable hour in the morning = $150/day revenue
Strategy #5: Callback Prevention Program
Reducing Warranty Work from 8% to 2%:
- • Quality checklist completion required
- • Photo verification system
- • Peer review on complex jobs
- • Customer sign-off on specific outcomes
- • 24-hour follow-up call program
Time Saved: 6% of total tech time = 125 hours annually
The Arlington Success Story: From 28% to 47% in 90 Days
The Starting Point (January 2025)
- Company: ArlingtonPro HVAC
- Size: 12 technicians
- Utilization rate: 28%
- Annual revenue: $3.2M
- Problem: "Busy but not profitable"
The Diagnosis
- • 2.8 hours average daily windshield time
- • 23% of calls required return trips for parts
- • Callbacks running at 7%
- • No route optimization
- • Morning meetings eating 30 minutes
The 90-Day Implementation
The Results (April 2025)
47%
4,992/year
$748,800
1,400%
Your 30-Day Utilization Improvement Plan
Week 1: Baseline and Quick Wins
Day 1-3: Measure Current State
- □ Calculate actual utilization rate
- □ Time study on 3 techs
- □ Identify biggest time vampires
Day 4-7: Implement Quick Wins
- □ Eliminate/shorten morning meetings
- □ Move first call 30 minutes earlier
- □ Pre-load job information night before
Week 2: Route and Parts
Day 8-10: Route Optimization
- □ Implement clustering strategy
- □ Test dynamic routing tool
- □ Measure drive time reduction
Day 11-14: Parts Inventory
- □ Audit top 20% most-used parts
- □ Ensure 95% stock rate on these
- □ Partner with supply house
Week 3: Process and Technology
Day 15-17: Digital Documentation
- □ Train on mobile tools
- □ Implement voice notes
- □ Set up automatic invoicing
Day 18-21: Administrative Support
- □ Reassign follow-ups to office
- □ CSR handles scheduling changes
- □ Tech focus: fix things only
Week 4: Optimize and Scale
Day 22-24: Callback Prevention
- □ Implement quality checklists
- □ Photo verification system
- □ Customer outcome sign-offs
Day 25-30: Standardize
- □ Document new processes
- □ Create training materials
- □ Set utilization targets
Technology Stack for 50% Utilization
Essential Tools & ROI
Route Optimization
Digital Documentation
Inventory Management
$200-400/month per tech
$5,200/month per tech
Payback Period: 2-3 weeks
Common Objections and Solutions
"My techs are already working hard"
This isn't about working harder—it's about eliminating friction. Top performers are often less stressed despite higher utilization.
"We're a small shop"
Smaller shops often see bigger improvements. Less complexity = faster implementation.
"DFW traffic makes this impossible"
Top performers in DFW hit 50%. It's about working around traffic, not through it.
"Quality will suffer"
The opposite happens. Better systems = fewer mistakes = fewer callbacks = higher quality.
"This will cost too much"
30-day ROI is typical. One extra billable hour per tech per day pays for everything.
The Bottom Line: The Choice Is Yours
Every day you operate at 30% utilization, you're paying for 70% waste. That's not judgment—that's math.
The contractors hitting 50% utilization aren't superhuman. They're not in easier markets. They've just decided that paying techs for 2,080 hours while billing for 624 is unacceptable.
Your Next Steps:
- 1.Calculate your true utilization rate today
- 2.Identify your biggest time vampire
- 3.Implement one improvement this week
- 4.Track daily, adjust weekly
The top 10% didn't get there overnight. But they all started with the same realization:"We're leaving half our revenue potential on the table."
In North Texas's competitive market, utilization rate might be the difference between thriving and just surviving. Same techs. Same trucks. Same market. Double the billable hours.
The only question: Are you ready to join the top 10%?
Related Articles:
- The 60-Day Revenue Black Hole →
How DSO impacts your ability to invest in efficiency improvements
- Why HVAC Companies Lose $20k+ Monthly →
Utilization is just one of four major revenue leaks
- The 7 KPIs You're Not Tracking →
Beyond utilization: other metrics that predict success
Get Your Free Utilization Audit
Discover your true utilization rate and see exactly where your tech hours are going. Our 7-day analysis includes current baseline, improvement potential, and custom action plan.
No commitment. No sales pressure. Just data.
About North Texas Operations: We help DFW home service contractors recover $20K-$50K in monthly revenue through operational monitoring and efficiency optimization. Our utilization tracking system has helped local contractors increase billable hours by an average of 42% without adding staff.