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Worked value is a rumor until it is collected cash.
Professional services lose revenue in three leaks: hours worked but never billed, bills discounted before invoicing, and invoices never collected. This calculator computes billing realization, invoice realization, collection realization, and the overall rate — plus the dollar leakage — so you can see which leak is actually costing you.
Firm partners use it at year-end to find which leak is costing them — write-downs, unbilled time, or collections. Solo attorneys and consultants run it quarterly; a 5-point realization gain is pure found revenue with zero new clients.
Industry surveys put average billing realization around 88–91% and collection realization around 85–91%, for an overall rate near 80–84%. Elite firms hold overall realization above 90%. Below 80%, the problem is usually write-downs at billing time, not client payment behavior.
In order of typical size: write-downs before the invoice goes out (partners discounting to keep clients happy), unbilled time that never makes it onto a bill, and then collections. Most firms watch collections hardest while the bigger leak is the silent discount at billing.
Bill promptly (invoices sent within a week of month-end collect faster and with fewer disputes), record time daily instead of reconstructing it, scope fixed-fee work tightly, and require retainers from clients with slow-pay history. A 5-point realization gain on a $400,000 practice is $20,000 — with zero new clients.