Hourly rate calculator for the trades

Charging too little is the fastest way to go broke while staying busy. Plug in your numbers and see what you actually need to charge per hour to hit your target pay and turn a profit.

Target take-home pay (per year)

What you want to actually earn for yourself.

Yearly business expenses

Truck, tools, insurance, fuel, phone, software, etc. (not materials you bill to jobs).

Weeks worked per year

Billable hours per week

Only hours you can actually bill, not driving, quoting or admin. Be honest, it is usually lower than you think.

Profit margin %

Profit on top of your pay and costs, to reinvest and cover slow spells.

recommended hourly rate

Billable hours per year0

Pay + expenses to cover$0

Revenue you need (with margin)$0

Recommended rate$0/hr

This is a starting point for labor. Bill materials on top, and adjust for your market. Round up, not down.

Know your rate? Put it to work. Save it as a line item in the free invoice generator, or in a free KSV Backoffice account so every quote and invoice uses your real numbers automatically.

How this hourly rate is calculated

It is simple math that most tradespeople never actually run. First, your target take-home pay and your yearly business expenses are added together, that is what your work has to cover. Then a profit margin is added on top so the business earns more than it spends. Finally that total is divided by the hours you can genuinely bill in a year, not the hours you work. The big gap between "hours worked" and "hours billed" is why so many trades undercharge.

Why billable hours matter so much

If you work 40 hours a week but only 25 are billable (the rest is driving, quoting, buying materials and paperwork), your rate has to cover the unbillable time too. Lowering the billable-hours number is the single biggest reason your rate needs to be higher than an employee's wage.