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Capacity planning template for agencies
Free Excel download, Google Sheets compatible. Weekly capacity vs booked work, by role. No sign-up.
Free. No sign-up. Example data included. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
A capacity planning template shows whether your team has enough hours for the work that's booked and the work that's coming.
Work out each person's available hours, add them up by role, then compare them each week with confirmed and tentative work.
Available hours = contracted hours − time off − non-project time
Free hours = capacity − confirmed − tentative
% booked = (confirmed + tentative) ÷ capacity
In the example file:
- 82.1%of agency capacity booked in week 1
- 162.5%design in week 3 if the Orbit pitch is won, with Asha on holiday
- 141.2%development from week 5 once Orbit's build starts
Preview: the example in the file
Example data: every name, project and number is invented.
| Role and measure | W1 (2 Nov) | W2 (9 Nov) | W3 (16 Nov) | W4 (23 Nov) | W5 (30 Nov) | W6 (7 Dec) | W7 (14 Dec) | W8 (21 Dec) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design: Capacity (h) | 108.38 | 121.12 | 89.25 | 121.12 | 121.12 | 121.12 | 121.12 | 121.12 |
| Design: Confirmed (h) | 105 | 105 | 105 | 105 | 105 | 105 | 45 | 45 |
| Design: Tentative (h) | 0 | 0 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Design: Free (h) | 3.38 | 16.12 | -55.75 | -23.88 | -23.88 | -23.88 | 36.12 | 36.12 |
| Design: % booked incl. tentative | 96.9% | 86.7% | 162.5% | 119.7% | 119.7% | 119.7% | 70.2% | 70.2% |
| Design: status | Near capacity | Near capacity | Over | Over | Over | Over | OK | OK |
| Development: Capacity (h) | 127.50 | 127.50 | 108.38 | 127.50 | 127.50 | 127.50 | 127.50 | 127.50 |
| Development: Confirmed (h) | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Development: Tentative (h) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| Development: Free (h) | 7.50 | 7.50 | -11.62 | 7.50 | -52.50 | -52.50 | -52.50 | -52.50 |
| Development: % booked incl. tentative | 94.1% | 94.1% | 110.7% | 94.1% | 141.2% | 141.2% | 141.2% | 141.2% |
| Development: status | Near capacity | Near capacity | Over | Near capacity | Over | Over | Over | Over |
| Agency total: Capacity (h) | 344.62 | 352.12 | 306.38 | 357.38 | 357.38 | 357.38 | 357.38 | 357.38 |
| Agency total: Confirmed (h) | 283 | 283 | 283 | 283 | 268 | 268 | 198 | 198 |
| Agency total: Tentative (h) | 0 | 0 | 50 | 50 | 110 | 110 | 110 | 110 |
| Agency total: Free (h) | 61.62 | 69.12 | -26.62 | 24.38 | -20.62 | -20.62 | 49.38 | 49.38 |
| Agency total: % booked incl. tentative | 82.1% | 80.4% | 108.7% | 93.2% | 105.8% | 105.8% | 86.2% | 86.2% |
| Agency total: status | OK | OK | Over | Near capacity | Over | Over | Near capacity | Near capacity |
What's in the template
- SettingsFirst week (a Monday), working days, your roles or teams, and example thresholds for over-booked, near capacity and under-booked.
- TeamEach person's role, contracted hours, non-project time % and optional start and end dates. A visible block works out available hours per week.
- Time offDays off per person per week: holidays, sick leave, training away from work.
- WorkConfirmed and tentative work, as hours per role per week.
- Capacity vs bookedThe output: capacity, confirmed, tentative, free hours, % booked and a status for every role and week, plus an agency total.
How to fill it in (15 minutes)
- Set the start week on Settings, and rename the roles to match how your agency staffs work.
- List your team with contracted hours and non-project time: the share of the week that never goes on project work.
- Add holidays and other days off on the Time off tab.
- Add confirmed work by role: hours per week from each live project and retainer.
- Add tentative work from your pipeline (pitches, proposals, likely extensions).
How to calculate team capacity
Time off comes off first, then the non-project share is applied to what's left. A role's capacity is the sum of its people's available hours.
Available hours = (contracted hours − days off × hours per day) × (1 − non-project %)
Worked example. Asha works 37.5 hours with 15% non-project time: 37.5 × 0.85 = 31.875 available hours a week. Ben is off for 2 days in week 1, so 15 hours come off first: (37.5 − 15) × 0.85 = 19.125 hours.
Add Cleo (part-time, 25.5 hours) and Dami (31.875), and design has 108.375 hours in week 1 against 105 confirmed: 96.9% booked.
Capacity planning vs resource allocation
Capacity planning is supply against demand in aggregate. It tells you that design is 55.75 hours short in week 3, not which designer should move. For a full worked month, read the agency capacity planning guide.
To decide who works on which project each week, use the resource allocation template. It plans by person, project and week.
For a quarter-ahead plan of people across every project, with pitches weighted by their chance of winning, use the agency resource planning template.
What to do when a role goes over 100%
- Move or phase the work. If the crunch is one week, shift a deadline or split a deliverable.
- Bring in a freelancer for the weeks the role is short, and line them up before the pitch is won.
- Delay a start date on tentative work, or agree a later kick-off before you sign.
- Say no to a pitch if winning it would put a role well over capacity with no way to cover it.
- Hire when a role is short for many weeks in a row, not for a one-week peak.
Grey cells matter too: a role under 60% booked is time you pay for and don't sell. For utilisation targets by role, use the billable utilisation calculator.
Join Kavaro
When a spreadsheet stops working
The sheet is right on the day you fill it in. Capacity changes every time someone books leave, a pitch is won or a project slips, and nobody re-enters twelve weeks of numbers.
Kavaro is resource management software for agencies and consultancies, and it keeps the same picture live. The Schedule shows each person's bookings across the coming weeks, with tentative work shown separately from confirmed work and open roles as their own rows. The weekly Feed lists who is on the bench. For people with finance access, the hiring card looks 4, 8 and 12 weeks ahead at open roles and suggests internal cover.
See next quarter's capacity by role, live: try Kavaro freeQuestions people ask
How do you calculate capacity for a team?
For each person, take contracted hours, subtract time off, then subtract the share of time that never goes on project work. Add those available hours up by role or team for each week. Compare the total with the hours of confirmed and tentative work.
What's the difference between capacity planning and resource planning?
Capacity planning asks whether you have enough hours, by role, for the work coming in. Resource planning goes further and decides which people work on which projects and when. Most agencies check capacity first, then allocate people.
Should tentative work count in capacity planning?
Yes, but keep it separate from confirmed work. Counting pitches and likely extensions shows the crunch a win would cause before you win it, so you can line up a freelancer or move a start date in time.
How far ahead should an agency plan capacity?
Most agencies plan in detail for the next few weeks and roughly for the next quarter. This template covers 12 weeks, which is long enough to see a pitch land and short enough to keep up to date.
Can I do capacity planning in Excel?
Yes. This template runs in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice with plain formulas and no macros. The limit is keeping it up to date as leave, wins and slips change the numbers every week.