Calculate a Consulting Day Rate From Income and Capacity
Enter target owner income, business costs, realistic billable days and a buffer. The calculator shows required annual revenue and the minimum amount each billable day must contribute.
Set the minimum consulting day rate
The default example funds $150,000 of income and costs across 140 billable days plus buffer.
- Required annual revenue
- $165,000
- Average monthly revenue target
- $13,750
- Non-billable days out of 230
- 90 days
Target income plus costs, increased by buffer and divided by billable days.
Price limited billable days instead of every calendar day
Calculate a consulting day-rate floor from target owner income, annual business costs, billable days and a risk buffer.
Compare hourly capacity in the freelance rate calculator and connect delivered days to invoices with the recordkeeping guide.
Use realistic billable days
Remove sales and admin days
Only days that can genuinely be sold belong in the denominator.
Keep travel and direct costs separate
Project-specific costs may sit above the floor.
- Calculation method
- Target income plus costs, increased by buffer and divided by billable days.
- Best used for
- Setting a consulting day-rate floor before travel and project-specific costs.
- Keep outside the result
- Personal tax, travel, subcontractors, scope risk and collection delay.
Capacity is the scarce input
An annual income target spread across too many imaginary billable days produces an unsustainable rate.
Separate business and personal layers
Business revenue must cover business costs before it can support owner income and personal tax.
Review realised days
Compare forecast billable days with contracted, delivered and collected work during the year.
Set the minimum consulting day rate in a worked example
The default example funds $150,000 of income and costs across 140 billable days plus buffer. Target owner income and business costs create the annual revenue requirement, while the buffer protects uncertainty. Dividing by realistic billable days exposes the minimum day-rate floor. Removing sales, administration, leave and gap days from capacity prevents unpaid work from being hidden.
- Target annual owner income
- $120000
- Annual business costs
- $30000
- Realistic billable days per year
- 140
- Business risk buffer
- 10 %
Minimum consulting day rate: $1,178.57
Add project travel, urgency, intellectual property and payment terms where they change the engagement.
- Required annual revenue
- $165,000
- Average monthly revenue target
- $13,750
- Non-billable days out of 230
- 90 days
Calculation rule: Target income plus costs, increased by buffer and divided by billable days. Boundary: Personal tax, travel, subcontractors, scope risk and collection delay.
Consulting day-rate questions
Why are billable days lower than working days?
Business development, administration, leave and gaps consume capacity.
Does the rate include personal tax?
No. It is a business revenue floor before personal tax.
Can I divide the day rate by eight?
Only if the engagement and day length make that comparison useful.
Turn the floor into a defensible client proposal
Track salary, freelance, rental and business income with source-level records, cash timing, direct costs and a separate tax reserve.