Are You Actually Earning What You Think?
Most freelancers and small business owners set an hourly rate based on a standard 40-hour work week. However, the "Real World" rarely works that way. Between marketing, invoicing, and administrative tasks, a significant portion of your week is unbillable.
If you don't account for this "invisible" time, your take-home pay will always be lower than your projections. This tool helps you bridge that gap by calculating your Effective versus Sustainable rates.
Understanding the Results
Effective Hourly Rate: This is your "Reality Check." It’s what you actually earn for every hour you spend at your desk, including the time you can’t bill to a client.
The Sustainable Rate: This is your target. To maintain your desired lifestyle, you must charge this rate during your billable hours to "subsidize" the time you spend running and growing your business.
The Profit Buffer: We’ve included 20% and 30% buffers to protect you against "Scope Creep"—those small, extra requests from clients that tend to eat away at your profit margins.
Now that you know your sustainable rate, use our Pricing Tier Calculator to turn that number into professional service packages.
Knowing your gross income is only half the battle. Use the Project Net-Pay Estimator to see how much of that hourly rate actually stays in your pocket.
Next Step: Turn this rate into a Proposal. Take your Sustainable Rate and plug it into our Proposal Generator to send a professional, profitable offer to your next client today.