Hourly rate calculator for sole traders
Free hourly rate calculator for Australian sole traders, contractors and freelancers. Most people set their rate by looking at what others charge. This works the other way: start from the money you want to take home, allow for holidays, the hours you cannot bill, your business costs, tax and super, and see the hourly and day rate that gets you there, both ex-GST and inc-GST.
What you want to earn
The amount you want in your pocket after tax, in a year.
Holidays, public holidays and sick days. Employees get about 6 to 8 weeks all up.
Hours you can invoice, not hours you work. Admin, quoting and chasing invoices are not billable.
Software, insurance, tools, vehicle, phone, accountant, marketing.
Share of pre-tax income to put away for income tax and Medicare. 30% suits most incomes between $60k and $150k.
Sole traders are not required to pay their own super, but employees get 12% and you may want to match it.
Where the money goes
Email me these results
The numbers above, then a few short emails on getting your BAS done. Unsubscribe any time.
How it works
- Your take-home income is grossed up for tax first. At a 30% set-aside, taking home $80,000 means earning about $114,000 before tax. Super, if you include it, is added on top of that pre-tax figure.
- Business costs are added to get the revenue you need for the year. That total is divided by your billable hours: working weeks (52 minus weeks off) times billable hours per week, not total hours worked.
- The result is your ex-GST hourly rate. If you are registered for GST, add 10% on the invoice and pass it to the ATO. The day rate is eight billable hours.
FlowFi does this automatically, every quarter
Upload your bank statement and the AI categorises every transaction, works out the GST, tracks your deductions and builds a BAS you can lodge in minutes. Pro is $29 a month or $290 a year. The first 14 days are free and there is no card to enter.
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