Available hours
Objective. Define available hours as the productive-available base that remains after non-available time is removed, and establish it as the honest denominator for utilization.
Available hours is the quietly decisive number: it is what is left for actual work after breaks, meetings, leave and other shrinkage come out. Get the denominator wrong and every utilization figure built on it is wrong.
See it in the demo
Definition
Available hours is the portion of paid time in which an employee could realistically do their core work, after subtracting time that is paid but not available for that work - breaks, meetings, training, approved leave and other shrinkage. It is capacity available for the job, not total paid time.
How it is calculated
At app-logic level: available hours equals scheduled paid hours minus the non-available categories the customer defines (shrinkage). Included: time genuinely open for core tasks. Excluded: paid breaks, scheduled meetings, training, leave and any other agreed shrinkage. Which categories count as shrinkage is configurable and materially changes the figure, so confirm the exact shrinkage definition with product and against the customer's own model - never assume it.
How to read it and the common misread
Available hours is the correct denominator for utilization - used time over available hours. The common misread is dividing used time by scheduled paid hours instead, which understates utilization by treating breaks and meetings as if they were wasted work time. The opposite error is stripping too much into shrinkage to flatter the utilization figure. State which categories are in shrinkage whenever you quote the number.
Where it appears
Available hours underpins utilization and capacity views in Time and Activity, and feeds workforce availability in Capacity Planning. Exact shrinkage categories are SME-validation-pending; confirm with product.
Interpretation check
Available hours is paid time minus agreed shrinkage, and it - not scheduled paid hours - is the correct denominator for utilization.
Practical task
For one team, identify scheduled paid hours and available hours in the demo, list which categories were removed as shrinkage, and write one line on how changing that list would move the utilization figure.
Self-check
Two customers report very different utilization for the same real behaviour. What should you check first?
The shrinkage definition behind available hours. If one counts meetings and training as non-available and the other does not, the denominators differ and the utilization figures are not comparable.
Why is dividing used time by scheduled paid hours a mistake?
It treats breaks, meetings and leave as if they were available work time, so utilization comes out artificially low. Utilization should be divided by available hours, which already removes that non-available time.
What is the risk of an over-generous shrinkage definition?
Stripping too much into shrinkage shrinks the denominator and flatters utilization. The definition must be honest and agreed, not tuned to produce a favourable number.
Verified vs demo. Available hours and utilization are shown in the Time and Activity demo; the exact shrinkage categories are configurable and SME-validation-pending - confirm with product.