How to calculate Revenue per Employee

Formula

Revenue per employee = revenue in period ÷ average headcount in period

SQL query

This example assumes: revenue(period, amount), headcount_snapshots(as_of, headcount). It is written in PostgreSQL syntax; date functions differ slightly in MySQL, BigQuery and SQLite, and your column names will differ from these.

SELECT r.total_revenue / NULLIF(h.avg_headcount, 0) AS revenue_per_employee
FROM (SELECT SUM(amount) AS total_revenue FROM revenue
      WHERE period >= DATE '2026-01-01' AND period < DATE '2027-01-01') r,
     (SELECT AVG(headcount) AS avg_headcount FROM headcount_snapshots
      WHERE as_of >= DATE '2026-01-01' AND as_of < DATE '2027-01-01') h;

Common mistakes that make Revenue per Employee wrong

• Contractors and part-timers need a consistent rule (full-time equivalents are better).
• Capital-heavy and labour-heavy businesses are not comparable on this measure.
• Using year-end headcount in a fast-growing company understates productivity.

Ask for Revenue per Employee in plain English

Instead of writing the query yourself, you can type the question. SchemaChat turns it into SQL against your connected database or uploaded file, runs it, and shows the SQL and the figures it used so you can check the answer before you share it. It does not replace your judgement about the definition: check that the query matches the formula your business uses.

• What was revenue per employee each year?
• How does revenue per FTE compare across business units?