What it is
Unbilled time ages quickly, and the longer it sits the less of it gets billed. A weekly look at WIP by engagement is the cheapest way to improve realization and cash.
The workbook takes time at standard, expenses, billings and collections for each engagement and shows unbilled WIP, billed receivable, percent of budget used, days since last bill and realization to date. A Bill now flag fires on your dollar or day triggers, and the Summary tab ages WIP and ties it to the ledger.
When to use it
- Weekly or monthly WIP review meetings.
- Month-end WIP reconciliation to the general ledger.
- Before partner billing decisions.
What’s inside
- 40 engagements with budget, standard value, expenses, billings and collections
- Unbilled WIP, receivable, budget used and realization formulas
- Bill-now and billed-ahead flags
- Summary with WIP aging and ledger tie-out
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 is realization?
Billings divided by the standard value of the time and expenses. Overall realization shows how much of the work at standard rates the firm bills.
What does negative WIP mean?
The client has been billed ahead of the work done. It is shown separately so it does not offset real unbilled time.
Are there default rates?
No. All amounts are inputs from your time system.
Related templates
- Staff Utilization and Realization Tracker (Excel)
- Time and Budget Variance Workbook (Excel)
- Engagement Profitability and Realization Analysis (Excel)
- CPA Firm KPI Dashboard (Excel)
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.