Why is my billable rate higher than I expected?

Because you can't bill every working hour. Driving, quoting, invoicing, and admin are unbilled, so your billable hours are far fewer than your worked hours. Your rate has to cover all of it.

Should overhead include my own pay?

No. Keep your take-home pay separate from overhead. Overhead is everything else: truck, fuel, insurance, software, phone, and office costs. The calculator adds them together to find your rate.

How do I use this for a flat-price quote?

Estimate the billable hours a job will take, multiply by this rate for your labor figure, then add materials and your markup. Revcore's estimating builds this into the quote for you.

Job cost & hourly rate calculator

Charging by gut feel leaves money on the table. Plug in your target take-home, overhead, and billable hours, and get the hourly rate that actually covers your business and your profit.

Your numbers

Take-home pay you want

What you want to pay yourself for the year.

Annual overhead

Truck, insurance, software, phone, admin, everything but the job itself.

Billable hours / week

Hours you actually bill, not hours worked.

Weeks worked / year

Profit margin on top

A cushion for slow weeks and growth.

Hourly rate to charge

$102/hr

Break-even rate: $87/hr
Billable hours / yr: 1,440

The gap between your billable hours and the hours you actually work is where most rates go wrong. At 15% margin you would need to bill $102/hr to cover your pay and overhead and still keep a profit.

How to use it

Step 1
Set your targets
Enter the pay you want and your annual overhead, the real cost of being in business.
Step 2
Be honest about hours
Only count hours you actually bill, not every hour you work.
Step 3
Charge the right rate
Use the rate as your floor so every job covers your business and your profit.

Common questions

Why is my billable rate higher than I expected?: Because you can't bill every working hour. Driving, quoting, invoicing, and admin are unbilled, so your billable hours are far fewer than your worked hours. Your rate has to cover all of it.
Should overhead include my own pay?: No. Keep your take-home pay separate from overhead. Overhead is everything else: truck, fuel, insurance, software, phone, and office costs. The calculator adds them together to find your rate.
How do I use this for a flat-price quote?: Estimate the billable hours a job will take, multiply by this rate for your labor figure, then add materials and your markup. Revcore's estimating builds this into the quote for you.