Freelance Rate Calculators
Monday, June 9th, 2008When making the move from a full time job to freelancing, or even if you decide to freelance in the weekends and evenings, the biggest question is usually how much do I charge?
Even if you charge your clients by the project, that number is usually determined by how long you think the project will take multiplied by your hourly rate.
Most people grossly underestimate both pieces of this equation.
Projects takes longer than you think, changes in scope and temperamental clients can exhaust your hours rapidly. Leaving you in the hole.
On the other end of the equation people often forget many of the costs associated with running a freelance business. Hiring an accountant, a lawyer, and higher tax rates are the most forgotten expenses, but people also forget to account for vacation time, sick time and the time they spending working on their business and not doing client work.
Whilst estimating the time the project will take is still somewhat of black art, and involves managing the client as much as your own time, there are a couple of tools that help you determine exactly what your hourly rate should be.
Whilst you may not be able to charge these rates right way, it will help you determine what you need to be charging to run a profitable freelance business.
FreelanceSwitch: Hourly Rate Calculator
http://freelanceswitch.com/rates
We have developed this hourly rate calculator to give you a guide based on your costs, number of billable hours and desired profit. It is a simple tool for you to play with.
Remember your hourly rate should always take into account factors like market demand, industry standards, skill level and experience – things that unfortunately we can’t put into a calculator!
Use these calculations as a guide and then modify to suit your circumstance and conditions.
It will take you about 5-20 minutes to complete depending on how much attention you give each calculation.
