Auto repair & detailing
Auto Repair Hourly Rate Calculator
Work backwards from your overhead and the hours you can genuinely sell to the door rate the shop has to charge.
Result
The billable share is the number most people get wrong. Quoting, driving, chasing parts and fixing warranty callbacks are all paid and none of them are billed, which is why the honest figure is rarely above two thirds.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Billable hours per technician per year, which is far below hours worked once holiday, training and downtime are removed.
- Fixed overhead: premises, lifts, diagnostic equipment, software subscriptions and insurance.
- The margin you intend to keep, set deliberately rather than left as whatever remains.
Where this one goes wrong
Setting the door rate by looking at the shop down the road. Their rate reflects their overhead, their bay count and their technician mix, none of which are yours. Matching it is how a shop stays busy and unprofitable.
Questions
About this calculator
How many billable hours should I assume per technician?
Fewer than you would like. Start from hours actually invoiced last year rather than from hours worked, because the difference is where the rate goes wrong.
Should different work carry different rates?
Often yes. Diagnostic work, mechanical repair and bodywork carry different skill, equipment and risk. One blended rate subsidises the expensive work with the cheap work.
How often should the rate be reviewed?
At least annually, and whenever wages, rent or insurance move. A door rate set three years ago is being eaten by every cost increase since.
The formula
rate = (income + overhead) / (working hours x billable share)
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How to use this calculator
- Income you need per year ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $85,000.
- Annual overhead ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $252,000.
- Working weeks per year. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 48.
- Paid hours per week. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 40.
- Share of hours you can bill (%). Travel, quoting, admin and warranty calls are paid but not billed.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to rate you need to charge, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Income you need per year | $85,000 |
| Annual overhead | $252,000 |
| Working weeks per year | 48 |
| Paid hours per week | 40 |
| Share of hours you can bill | 62% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Rate you need to charge main result | $283.10 |
| Billable hours per year | 1,190 |
| Total to recover | $337,000 |
| If every hour were billable | $175.52 |
To take home $85,000 after $252,000 of overhead you need $283.10 per billable hour. Charging $175.52, the figure you get by ignoring unbillable time, leaves you short every week.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only income you need per year, this is what happens to rate you need to charge. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Income you need per year ($) | Rate you need to charge |
|---|---|
| $42,500 | $247.40 |
| $63,750 | $265.25 |
| $85,000 example above | $283.10 |
| $127,500 | $318.80 |
| $170,000 | $354.50 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Income you need per year ($)
- A money amount, starting at $85,000.
- Annual overhead ($)
- A money amount, starting at $252,000.
- Working weeks per year
- A number, between 0 and 52, starting at 48.
- Paid hours per week
- A number, between 0 and 100, starting at 40.
- Share of hours you can bill (%)
- Travel, quoting, admin and warranty calls are paid but not billed.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Rate you need to charge | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Billable hours per year | A number. |
| Total to recover | A money figure. |
| If every hour were billable | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.