Plumbing
Hourly Rate Calculator
Work backwards from the income you need and the hours you can sell to the hourly rate that has to be charged.
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 genuinely available per year after holiday, training and slow weeks.
- Overhead, which for a plumbing business includes van, insurance, licensing and stock.
- The margin you intend to keep, decided rather than left over.
Where this one goes wrong
Setting the rate by local comparison. A competitor with a paid-off van, no premises and no employees has a different cost base, and matching their rate imports their economics without their circumstances.
Questions
About this calculator
How many billable hours should I plan for?
Well below the hours in a working year. Holiday, sickness, training, quoting, travel and quiet weeks all reduce it, and the rate has to recover overhead across what remains.
Should emergency work carry a different rate?
Yes. Out of hours labour costs more, parts availability is worse and the disruption is real. Customers calling at night generally expect a premium.
How often should the rate change?
At least annually and whenever wages, insurance or fuel move. Rates left alone are eroded by every cost increase since they were set.
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 $144,000.
- 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 | $144,000 |
| 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 | $192.37 |
| Billable hours per year | 1,190 |
| Total to recover | $229,000 |
| If every hour were billable | $119.27 |
To take home $85,000 after $144,000 of overhead you need $192.37 per billable hour. Charging $119.27, the figure you get by ignoring unbillable time, leaves you short every week.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only income you need per year, this is what happens to rate you need to charge. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Income you need per year ($) | Rate you need to charge |
|---|---|
| $42,500 | $156.67 |
| $63,750 | $174.52 |
| $85,000 example above | $192.37 |
| $127,500 | $228.07 |
| $170,000 | $263.78 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Income you need per year ($)
- A money amount, starting at $85,000.
- Annual overhead ($)
- A money amount, starting at $144,000.
- 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. |
Before you rely on this number
Pipe sizing, flow and pressure figures depend on the actual fittings, the run, the material and local code. Code requirements vary by jurisdiction and override any general calculation, so check what applies where the work is happening.
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.