Work out the day rate you actually need to charge to take home what you want.
For sole traders and small firms pricing their time. Covers van costs, tools, insurance, tax, pension, sickness cover and the days you're not working.
Sound familiar?
- “I'm on £200 a day and I can't figure out why I've got nothing left.”
- “I've just quoted £180 a day because the competition does. I don't know if I can afford it.”
- “I want to buy a house. What do I actually need to charge?”
- “I've never factored in holidays or sick days, I just work through everything.”
What this tool does
Takes your desired take-home, fixed costs, tax position and realistic working days per year, and calculates the minimum day rate that leaves you with that take-home after everything. Shows the gap between your current rate and what you actually need.
What do you want to take home?
What you actually want in your pocket after everything. Not turnover. Not gross. The number that hits your bank account.
After tax, NI, pension, and all business costs.
Why this matters
Most tradespeople set their day rate by looking at what everyone else charges and picking a number. That's how you end up working 50 weeks a year and still not knowing where the money went.
This tool works backwards from what you actually want to earn, adds your real costs, accounts for holidays and sick days and tax, and tells you the minimum you need to charge per day to make it work.
It takes 2 minutes. It might change what you quote tomorrow.
What the law actually says
- •This is a pricing tool, not a legal one. But undercharging is the most common cause of small-firm collapse in UK construction.
- •Self-employed tradespeople have no employer pension, no sick pay and no employer NIC. Those have to be priced in.
- •A realistic working year is around 220 days for most trades once you strip out holiday, sickness, quote time, admin and rain.
What to do next
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