Rate Card Calculator
Turn a loaded hourly cost into a published rate, and see the margin after discount.
What this calculator does
Margin and markup are separate calculations chosen by the user; rounding is always upward to the step chosen, so the stated margin is never eroded by rounding.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Loaded cost per hour
- — number value.
- Pricing method
- — Margin is a share of the price. Markup is an addition to cost. They are not the same number..
- Margin or markup
- — number value.
- Client discount
- — Leave at 0 for the list rate..
- Round the published rate
- — choice value.
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
List rate = Loaded cost ÷ (1 − Margin) for a margin, or Loaded cost × (1 + Markup) for a markup; Published rate = rounded up to the chosen step; Discounted rate = Published rate × (1 − Discount)
Worked example
$85 loaded cost at a 40% margin
Shows the list rate, the discounted rate and the margin that survives the discount.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
Results depend entirely on the figures you enter and are rounded for display. They are for general information and education, not professional advice.
Reference: OpenStax — Principles of Accounting, Volume 2: Managerial Accounting
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Formula, source and verification
Cost-plus pricing with the chosen method, an explicit rounding step and an explicit discount.
The question it answers: What should we publish as our hourly rate, and what survives a discount?
The formula
List rate = Loaded cost ÷ (1 − Margin) for a margin, or Loaded cost × (1 + Markup) for a markup; Published rate = rounded up to the chosen step; Discounted rate = Published rate × (1 − Discount)
- C — Loaded cost per hour
- (currency/h). Fully loaded cost of delivering an hour.
- m — Margin
- (%). Share of the rate kept as gross profit.
- k — Markup
- (%). Percentage added to cost.
- d — Discount
- (%). Client discount off the published rate.
Units: Currency per hour; percentages.
What kind of calculation this is
Business input model. The answer depends on business figures only you can supply, such as your own costs, rates or volumes. No market or benchmark values are assumed for you.
Method
Margin and markup are separate calculations chosen by the user; rounding is always upward to the step chosen, so the stated margin is never eroded by rounding.
Assumptions built into the result
- Mathematical: The loaded cost entered already includes every cost the rate has to cover.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No standard margin, markup or discount is assumed.
Limitations
- Shows the rate the inputs imply; it does not say what the market will pay.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- Cost-plus pricing (OpenStax, Principles of Accounting Volume 2: Managerial Accounting — cost-plus pricing, margin and markup.)
- Published source
- OpenStax — OpenStax (CC BY)
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Academic
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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