What to Charge an Hour to Make $95,000 a Year
Charge at least
$108.30 per hour
48 weeks, 40 hours a week, 70% of them billable, $36,000 of annual overhead and 10% profit.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- What you want to earn a year95000 $
- Annual overhead: truck, insurance, phone, office, software36000 $
- Weeks you actually work48
- Hours a week on the tools40
- Percent of those hours you can bill70 %
- Profit on top, as a margin10 %
Charge at least$108.30 per hour
| Hours worked a year | 1,920 |
|---|---|
| Billable hours at 70% | 1,344 |
| Pay plus overhead to cover | $131,000.00 |
| Break even rate | $97.47 /hrat this rate you make zero profit |
| With 10% profit margin | $108.30 /hr |
| Day rate, 8 hours | $866.40 |
| Revenue this implies | $145,555.56 a year |
Billable share of the week compared
Billable percent is the whole game. Nothing else on this page moves the rate as far.
| Billable share of the week | Charge at least | Billable hours at 70% |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | $151.62 per hour | 960 |
| 60% | $126.35 per hour | 1,152 |
| 70% | $108.30 per hour | 1,344 |
| 80% | $94.76 per hour | 1,536 |
| 90% | $84.23 per hour | 1,728 |
What else matters here
Pay of $95,000 with $36,000 of overhead needs $97.47 an hour to break even and $108.30 to make the ten percent, which is $866.40 a day and $145,556 of revenue.
An hourly rate on its own does not survive a small job. A forty minute repair at $108.30 is $72, and getting to it took a phone call, a scheduling slot, a drive each way and a stop for a part. The rate is correct and the job still loses money.
That is what a minimum charge is for. A one hour minimum plus a trip charge means the drive and the overhead attached to showing up are paid for before the first minute of work, and everything after the first hour bills at the rate. Publish both numbers when the job is booked rather than explaining them on the invoice, because the argument about a minimum charge only ever happens after the work is done.
What this calculator assumes
- Billable percent is the whole game. Estimating, driving, buying material, chasing payment and answering the phone are all real hours that no customer pays for. 70 percent is optimistic for a one man operation.
- Profit is separate from your pay. Your pay is a cost of the business. Profit is what the business earns for carrying the risk, and it is what funds the next truck.
Questions people ask
What hourly rate do I need to make $95,000 a year?
$108.30 an hour at 1,344 billable hours a year, with $36,000 of overhead and 10 percent profit. Break even is $97.47.
Should I charge a minimum or a trip charge?
Both, on short jobs. A forty minute call at $108.30 bills $72 and still costs a phone call, a scheduling slot, two drives and a parts stop. A one hour minimum plus a trip charge covers the cost of showing up.
Is my pay the same thing as profit?
No, and mixing them is the most common reason a busy contractor has no money. Your pay is a cost of the business, the same as a wage you would pay somebody else. Profit is what the business earns for carrying the risk, and it is what buys the next truck.
The hourly rate calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.