Hourly rate calculator for service businesses
Most owners price off what the last guy charged. This works it out from your real costs, the hours you can actually bill, and the profit you want to keep.
Run your numbers
Crew wages, payroll taxes, and what you pay yourself.
Trucks, fuel, insurance, tools, phones, software, office.
Hours the whole team actually bills, not hours worked.
Take out holidays, weather days, and slow season.
Profit as a share of price. Twenty percent is a common floor.
- Rate you should charge
- $59.66 / hour
- Break-even rate
- $47.73 / hour
- Billable hours per year
- 5,280
- Total cost to run the year
- $252,000
- Profit at the target rate
- $63,000
Everything is worked out in your browser. Nothing you type here is sent to us or saved.
How do I calculate my hourly rate?
Add up what it costs to keep the business running for a year, including pay, trucks, insurance, fuel, tools, and software. Divide that by the hours you can actually bill, which is always fewer than the hours you work. Then add the profit margin you want. The number you get is the lowest rate that keeps you whole, and anything under it is a job you are paying to do.
Questions owners ask about rates
Why are my billable hours lower than the hours I work?
Because driving, quoting, invoicing, chasing payment, and fixing schedules are all real hours nobody pays you for directly. Most field crews bill between 55 and 70 percent of the hours they are on the clock, so pricing off a 40 hour week overstates what you can sell.
Should overhead include my own pay?
Put your pay in the labor line, not overhead, and pay yourself a real wage for the work you do. Profit is what is left after everyone including you is paid, and if your pay is hiding inside profit the business looks healthier than it is.
What margin should I aim for?
Twenty percent is a common floor for field service work, and healthy operations run 25 to 35 percent. If your rate needs a margin under 15 percent to look competitive, the problem is usually unbilled drive time or too few billable hours, not the rate.
Know your rate. Now hold the line on it.
Pinstripe Fleet keeps the hours and costs on every job, so you can see which work is actually paying your rate and which is not.
Pinstripe Fleet Management is built and supported by Pinstripe Business Services.