Professional services
Law Practice Revenue Per Employee Calculator
Measures revenue per head, where the support ratio is what the number is really testing.
Result
An average hides a lot. One strong performer and one struggling one produce the same average as two mediocre ones, and the management action is completely different.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Revenue divided by total headcount, including support staff, with each role's contribution after its cost. Compared against revenue per attorney it shows what the support structure costs in revenue terms, which is the comparison that makes the figure worth calculating at all.
What moves the number
- Support staff ratio to attorneys.
- Whether paralegal time is billable.
- Attorney billable hours, which support staff influence.
- Automation, which changes the ratio needed.
Where this one goes wrong
A falling revenue per employee is not automatically bad, because adding support that raises attorney billable hours can be the right decision while lowering the per-head figure. Read it alongside revenue per attorney: if that rises as revenue per employee falls, the support is working. The figure becomes a problem when both fall together, which means headcount was added without the billable capacity rising to match.
Before you quote
- Read it alongside revenue per attorney, not alone.
- Count billable paralegal time as revenue-producing.
- Investigate when both measures fall together.
Questions
About this calculator
Is falling revenue per employee a problem?
Not necessarily. Adding support that raises attorney billable hours lowers the per-head figure while improving the practice. Read it alongside revenue per attorney: if that rises as the per-head figure falls, the support structure is doing its job.
When is it a warning?
When revenue per attorney and revenue per employee fall together, which means headcount was added without billable capacity rising to match. That is the pattern worth investigating, and it usually traces to a hire justified by activity rather than by billable hours freed.
Should paralegals count as support or production?
In areas where their time is billable they are production, and counting them purely as support understates what the practice produces. Tracking their billable hours separately is what makes the distinction visible rather than assumed.
The formula
revenue per unit = revenue / number of units; contribution = gross profit - cost of the unit
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Please keep the attribution line. It is the only thing we ask in return.
How to use this calculator
- Number of employees. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.
- Revenue per month ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $68,000.
- Cost of one employee per month ($). Wages with burden, vehicle, tools, phone.
- Gross margin (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 58%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to revenue per employee, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of employees | 5 |
| Revenue per month | $68,000 |
| Cost of one employee per month | $7,200 |
| Gross margin | 58% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employee main result | $13,600 |
| Per employee per year | $163,200 |
| Gross profit each employee generates | $7,888 |
| Contribution after their own cost | $688.00 |
Each employee brings in $13,600 a month and contributes $688.00 after covering their own cost. Anything below zero there means adding people makes things worse, not better.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only revenue per month, this is what happens to revenue per employee. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Revenue per month ($) | Revenue per employee |
|---|---|
| $34,000 | $6,800 |
| $51,000 | $10,200 |
| $68,000 example above | $13,600 |
| $102,000 | $20,400 |
| $136,000 | $27,200 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Number of employees
- A number, between 0 and 2000, starting at 5.
- Revenue per month ($)
- A money amount, starting at $68,000.
- Cost of one employee per month ($)
- Wages with burden, vehicle, tools, phone.
- Gross margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 58%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employee | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Per employee per year | A money figure. |
| Gross profit each employee generates | A money figure. |
| Contribution after their own cost | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.