← Glossary Business glossary Day rate calculator
What is Day rate?
What you charge for a day of your time, which is not your salary divided by 260.
A day rate has to cover far more than the day. Out of it come holiday, sick days, admin, marketing, chasing invoices, software, insurance, pension and tax, and the days you simply do not have work.
The arithmetic most people skip: there are about 260 working days in a year, but a realistic billable figure is nearer 130 to 180 once non-billable time and gaps are counted. Dividing your target income by 260 sets a rate that cannot get you there.
Work backwards instead. Target income, plus costs, plus tax, divided by the days you will genuinely bill.
Run the numbers for real.
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