What it is
Busy season staffing is a weekly arithmetic problem: hours available against hours assigned, by person and by level. This planner does the arithmetic. It takes standard hours, the non-chargeable share and planned time off, and subtracts them to get chargeable hours available each week.
Assignments are entered once per person and engagement. The Utilization sheet shows overload and under-use by person and week, and the Summary shows available, assigned, open capacity and utilization by level. Tie-outs catch hours assigned to people who are not on the staff list.
When to use it
- Before busy season to see whether the engagement load fits the team.
- Weekly during the season when assignments change.
- Deciding whether to hire seasonal staff or use contractors, and at which level.
What’s inside
- Settings: first Monday, overload and under-use thresholds, staff levels
- Staff, Time Off and Assignments input sheets, 30 people and 100 assignment lines over 16 weeks
- Available, Assigned and Utilization sheets, all calculated
- Summary by level with open capacity and two tie-outs
Standard cited
This template follows Firm practice. It is written in our own words, except for phrases the standard requires the document to contain, with [bracketed placeholders] for client details, amounts in USD and dates as MM/DD/YYYY. Check it against the current standard and your firm’s methodology before use.
Questions
What counts as non-chargeable time?
Time not billed to clients: firm meetings, training, administration, recruiting and business development. Enter it as a share of standard hours for each person. Leave and holidays go on the Time Off sheet by week.
What utilization is too high?
That is your policy choice. The workbook uses an overload threshold of 100% and an under-use threshold of 60% as editable starting points. Sustained overload in busy season is a quality risk, so the thresholds are there to prompt a conversation.
Does it check that people are qualified for the work?
No. It measures hours only. The engagement team still has to confirm competence, independence, licensing and review levels for each assignment.
What does the tie-out check?
That every hour on the Assignments sheet belongs to someone on the Staff sheet, and that every person has a level that appears in the Settings list. A mismatch shows a red message.
Related templates
- Busy Season Staffing and Capacity Checklist
- Staff Utilization and Realization Tracker (Excel)
- Engagement Status Tracker (Excel)
- Staff Competence and Training Matrix
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.