Cost of Doing Business Calculator
Enter your total annual expenses and the days you can actually bill to find the daily rate that covers your costs.
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Enter annual expenses and billable days to see the daily rate.
Worked example
With these example inputs:
- Annual expenses$80,000
- Billable days per year220
Daily rate to break even: $363.64
- If the first figure were 10% higher$400.00
Frequently asked questions
How is the cost of doing business calculated?
Divide total annual expenses by the number of days you can bill. $80,000 of expenses over 220 billable days means you must earn about $364 a day just to break even.
Why use billable days instead of all days?
Weekends, holidays, admin and downtime are not billable, so spreading costs over working days only would understate your rate. Profit and taxes are then added on top of this break-even figure.
What counts as an annual expense here?
Include every cost of running your business for a year. That means rent, software, tools, insurance and your own salary too. Many people forget to pay themselves and undercharge as a result. Add up all of these to get a true total.
Why are my billable days so much less than 365?
Weekends, holidays and sick days remove a large part of the year. Admin, marketing and writing quotes also eat into your time. What is left is the number of days you can actually charge for. For many people that is well under 200 days.
Should I charge exactly the break-even rate?
No, the break-even rate only covers your costs with zero profit. You need to add a margin for income, growth and quiet spells. Treat the result as a floor and price comfortably above it. Charging at break even leaves nothing to live on.