The problem
Dividing desired income by 2,080 assumes 40 billable hours every week. Service businesses also spend time on sales, admin, editing, travel, quoting, bookkeeping, and follow-up.
Free service-business rate calculator
How Much Should I Charge Calculator
Estimate the hourly rate your service business may need by accounting for income goals, overhead, reserves, non-working weeks, and billable time.
Why 2,080 hours is misleading
Not every working hour is billable.
The formula
Required revenue = income goal + overhead + expenses + planning reserve. Billable hours = working weeks x weekly hours x billable percentage. Rate = revenue / billable hours.
Planning reserve
The reserve field is only for planning. It is not tax advice and does not replace advice from an accountant or qualified advisor.
Who uses this
Useful before pricing real projects.
Creative and events
Helpful for photographers, wedding planners, DJs, videographers, florists, and event professionals.
Professional services
Consultants, agencies, designers, and freelancers can use it to pressure-test hourly and day-rate assumptions.
Next step
Once you know your rate, use the Proposal Pricing Calculator to price a specific project.