8 ways to turn non-billable time into profit for your consultancy

21 July 2025

Many surveying and consultancy firms have large amounts of time each month either labelled vaguely as “admin” or unrecorded altogether.

This untracked time is often overlooked, yet it can hold significant value. Without understanding where non-billable hours really go, firms risk wasting resources, undermining margins and missing opportunities to improve operations.

Recording admin time is better than ignoring it but treating it as a single bucket quickly becomes a dead end. Teams diligently log project work but then drop anything else into “admin” without a second thought.

It might feel like progress because utilisation looks clearer, but that single category hides a world of insight.

If you choose to break it down properly, you can uncover patterns that will help your firm work smarter, not just harder.

Here are eight ways analysing non-billable time can transform a surveying or consultancy business:

1. Reveal true cost of sales

Winning new contracts is resource-heavy. Time spent on tenders, fee proposals, client meetings or site inspections can eat up senior time without any guarantee of return. By recording this properly, you can understand what it costs to secure new work, identify which bids are worth the effort and plan business development more strategically.

2. Training and development investment

Professional development is critical in consultancy and surveying. When staff attend CPD events, complete accreditations or deliver internal training, those hours need to be visible. This helps demonstrate commitment to staff growth, supports performance reviews and ensures your investment in quality is not hidden.

3. Track investment in tools and methodologies

Your processes, templates, standard reporting formats and technical innovations are part of your intellectual capital. Time spent improving them, including the adoption and integration of new software, should be tracked. This visibility allows you to evaluate ROI, prioritise improvements, and maintain your competitive edge.

4. Understand marketing effort

Marketing in surveying and consultancy firms is usually built around expertise rather than big advertising campaigns. Preparing technical articles, running seminars, networking and attending industry events all require time. Logging this activity properly gives you a clearer view of what drives leads and strengthens your reputation.

5. Customer relationship management

Maintaining existing client relationships often requires time that is not directly billable. Regular check-ins, progress updates, and relationship building meetings can be essential but untracked. Separating these from admin lets you see which clients need more attention and helps you plan account management resources.

6. Quality assurance work

Surveying and consulting firms rely on robust QA to reduce risk and deliver reliable results. Time spent on internal reviews, double-checking calculations, equipment calibration and maintenance, or conducting audits is critical but often hidden. Recording it properly ensures you resource quality appropriately and can justify this effort to clients.

7. Plan for compliance and operational needs

Activities like health and safety meetings, ISO requirements, regulatory updates, internal policy training, data protection protocols, and data cleansing and maintenance are mandatory but easy to ignore in reporting. Capturing them gives you a realistic view of operational demands so you can budget and plan effectively.

8. Support internal collaboration and knowledge sharing

In consultancy and surveying practices, valuable time is often spent informally helping colleagues. Whether answering technical queries, supporting junior staff, or sharing insights across teams. This knowledge transfer strengthens overall capability but rarely gets captured. By recognising and tracking collaborative contributions, you can highlight team players, improve onboarding and mentorship, and promote a culture of continuous learning and support.

Every firm will have its own mix of non-billable activities but understanding them in detail is the first step to working more efficiently, controlling costs and supporting your people better. It is not just about better time-tracking; it is about building a more resilient, profitable and professional practice.

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