The formula
needed = target income + overhead. billed hours = weeks × hours per week × utilisation. hourly = needed ÷ billed hours. day = hourly × hours in a day. retainer equivalent = day × days per month.
Worked example
The placeholders start at 100,000 income, 12,000 overhead, 46 weeks, 40 hours, 50 percent billed, 8-hour days. That is 112,000 needed from 920 billed hours, about 122 an hour and 973 a day. A 4-day retainer equivalent is about 3,891 a month. Overwrite every input.
The relationship-led fork
Generic rate calculators stop at hourly. If your work comes from people you already know, selling hours trains the buyer to count units. Selling days per month trains them to buy a container. Use the retainer calculator when the conversation is already a seat.
Questions
FAQ
How is the hourly rate calculated?
Target income plus overhead, divided by weeks times hours times utilisation. Utilisation is the percent of those hours you will actually bill.
Why include a retainer equivalent?
If most of your work comes from people you already know, selling days per month is often cleaner than selling hours. The equivalent is day rate times days per month.
UK or US units?
Pick GBP, USD, or EUR. Day rate is a UK search cluster. The maths does not change.
Do I need an account to see the result?
No. The result updates on this page from the numbers you type.
Where do the numbers come from?
You. Placeholder values are labelled as overwrite-me. There are no hidden market-rate tables.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is arithmetic plus a way to say the number in a proposal. You still decide what to charge.
When you want it run for you
Talk to the founder
Thirty minutes on your real data, not generic slides. Nynch tells you who to talk to today, why, and what to say.
Talk to the founder30 minutes. On your real data. Not generic slides.