How to calculate team capacity and build a resource plan
Updated on · Capalane
In short. A person's capacity over a period = (working days − public holidays − leave) × allocation rate. The resource plan compares this capacity with the time projects need, by person and by week or month. Keep a 10 to 20% buffer and check it every month against actuals.
A wrong resource plan is easy to spot: teams overloaded on paper that deliver on time, or comfortable schedules that slip. Either way, capacity was miscalculated: forgotten public holidays, leave not deducted, part time ignored, one person allocated 100% to three projects.
The capacity formula
For one person over a given period:
capacity = (working days − weekday public holidays − planned leave) × allocation rate- Working days: the Monday-to-Friday days of the period.
- Public holidays: those of the person's country, when they fall on a weekday. A team spread across France, Belgium and Morocco does not share the same holidays.
- Leave: paid leave, time off in lieu, training, absences known in advance.
- Allocation rate: the share of the person's time reserved for the project (100%, 50%, 20%…). For part-time staff it cannot exceed their activity rate.
Worked example: May 2026 in France
May 2026 has 21 weekdays and four public holidays on weekdays: Friday 1 May, Friday 8 May, Thursday 14 May (Ascension) and Monday 25 May (Whit Monday). That leaves 17 working days.
| Person | Leave | Allocation to the project | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claire | 2 days | 80% | (17 − 2) × 0.8 = 12 days |
| Hugo | 0 | 100% | 17 days |
| Inès | 5 days | 50% | (17 − 5) × 0.5 = 6 days |
| Team | 35 days |
If the work planned for May adds up to 40 days, the team is 5 days over capacity before any buffer. Better to know it on 1 May than on the 31st.
Over the year: 252 working days in 2026
2026 has 261 weekdays. In France, nine public holidays fall on a weekday, leaving 252 working days. After five weeks of paid leave (25 days), 227 days remain. These figures change every year depending on which days the holidays fall on: a calculation frozen in a spreadsheet becomes wrong on the following 1 January.
Building the resource plan
- List the assignments: who works on which project, at what rate, from when to when.
- Calculate capacity for each person, by week or month, with their holidays and leave.
- Estimate demand for each project over the same periods.
- Compare: by person (no one should exceed their activity rate across projects) and by project (does demand fit within the allocated capacity?).
- Decide: shift, reassign, reinforce or reduce scope before the gap becomes a delay.
Closing the loop with actuals
A resource plan that is never compared with the time actually spent does not improve. Every month, reconcile planned capacity with time entries: if a team regularly logs 15% of its time outside projects (meetings, support), that is the right buffer to plan.
Capalane deducts public holidays (France and Tunisia), leave and allocation rates automatically, and shows each person's capacity, time logged and remaining time to log, week by week.
Frequently asked questions
How many working days are there in 2026 in France?
There are 261 weekdays, of which 9 public holidays fall on a weekday (1 January, Easter Monday, 1 May, 8 May, Ascension, Whit Monday, 14 July, 11 November, 25 December): 252 working days. 15 August and 1 November fall on a weekend. Every country has its own calendar, so a distributed team needs one per country.
What is the difference between capacity and demand?
Capacity is the time available: working days, minus public holidays and leave, multiplied by the activity and allocation rate. Demand is the time projects need. The resource plan compares the two, by person and by period.
Should we keep a buffer on capacity?
Yes. Internal meetings, unplanned support and unexpected absences mean that planning at 100% of capacity guarantees delays. A 10 to 20% buffer is common; measure it afterwards by comparing plan and actuals.
How do we handle a person assigned to several projects?
With an allocation rate per project whose sum does not exceed their activity rate. A person working 80% can be allocated 50% to one project and 30% to another; each project's capacity uses its own rate.
Track your projects and resources in one place
Capalane calculates capacity with public holidays and leave, collects time in a grid that types like Excel and produces reports by project, by PI and by person.
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