Sales Capacity Calculator
The bookings a sales team can deliver in a quarter from its ramped reps, its new hires still ramping, realistic quota attainment — and how that covers the target.
A sales plan built from quota × headcount assumes every rep hits quota from day one.
How the sales capacity calculator works
A sales plan built from quota × headcount assumes every rep hits quota from day one. Capacity planning corrects it twice: attainment, because a team typically closes a fraction of its total quota, and ramp, because a new rep contributes little until trained and pipelined.
The calculator gives ramped capacity, the partial contribution of new hires for the months of the quarter they are productive, and the coverage of the bookings target that results.
Formula: capacity = ramped reps × quota × attainment + new reps × quota × attainment × max(0, months in quarter − ramp) ÷ months in quarter
Worked examples
| Inputs | Bookings capacity this quarter | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Team with two new hires | £1,200,000.00 | 1,125,000 ramped + 75,000 from new reps |
| Long ramp | £1,125,000.00 | new reps add nothing this quarter |
| Under-capacity | £560,000.00 | 504,000 + 56,000 = 560,000 against 800,000 |
FAQFrequently asked questions
Why not plan at 100% attainment?
Because teams rarely deliver it: a typical quarter sees around two thirds of reps hit quota, and the team as a whole closes 70–85% of total quota. Planning at 100% builds the miss into the plan.
How is a new rep's contribution estimated?
They are treated as producing nothing for the ramp months and a full share after. A two-month ramp in a three-month quarter gives one productive month, a third of a quarter of expected bookings. Longer ramps and mid-quarter start dates reduce it further.
What if reps join mid-quarter?
Add their delay to the ramp. A rep starting in month two with a two-month ramp is productive in month four — nothing this quarter — so enter a ramp of three or more.
How much over the target should capacity be?
Planners commonly want 110–125% of target in capacity, so that ordinary attrition and a few missed quotas still leave the number intact. The coverage row shows where the team sits against that.
Where these figures come from
- Reichheld (2003), Harvard Business Review — The One Number You Need to Grow — the paper that introduced Net Promoter Score
- Financial Reporting Council — the UK accounting regulator
Last checked: September 2026. These are the industry-standard definitions; where companies commonly disagree, the page says so.