If you are working solo for someone else and they are charging you out at say $100 per hour, What would be the minumim hourly wage you would expect with them using a multiplier of 3 between base pay and charge out? Also, What is your percent that you are chargeable (working on contracted jobs vs. marketing, vacation/holiday pay...)?
Thanks for the input.
Paul
Looks as if you have answered your own question. Working backwards with your multiplier, you should receive $33/hr.
It really should be based on an actual analysis of annual costs, to arrive at percentages for general and administrative (G&A) and other costs.
The way I usually develop a cost buildup is to start with hourly rate, then add in wage tax burden, plus medical benefits, corporate benefits (e.g. vacations, et cetera) to arrive at direct cost. Depending on the accounting rules in place, you may or may not be able to tack on any pieces of overhead that you can directly associate with labor cost as a percentage and include it in direct cost as well. If you can't include it in direct cost, then it and the remainder G&A like business development are tacked on outside of direct cost, again usually expressed as a percentage. And then, to that total of all, you add a percentage fee (profit) to arrive at the fully loaded rate.
A lot of companies just fake it with generic ballpark multipliers, or back into their numbers the way you are trying to do, but when you get into larger projects, for example with state or federal agencies, those buildups often have to be broken out with specificity and have to be auditable and defensible, for example pass DCAA audits.
Paul..IT depends....
Are you subcontracting ? or are you an employee solo operator?
Subcontracting you want all your costs. eg insurances , an office component even if at home, holiday , instrument replacement, vehicle, holiday etc.
IF Employee, then these come out from the employer figure. Boss should make 30% plus investment on you. So depends how many chargeable hours per week. So if you reckon you are worth $100K wage pa so roughly 2K week , so min $50/hr whether productively working or not. Boss then can set his charge out rate accordingly .
RADU
Paul..IT depends....
You say working solo.
Do you mean you are doing everything except signing the plat?
In that case, the rate would be more like 90% of whatever he is billing out.
If you are a full time employee and they are supplying truck, gas, equipment, support, ss, medicare, unemployment ins., liability ins, workmans comp ins., cell phone, etc., I doubt they could pay more than$20- $22/hr and stay in business.
I had all of the above and $32 per hour.
> I had all of the above and $32 per hour.
Operative word here is "had" times have changed.
Going rate for a PC who can work solo is in the $20/hr range in Oregon right now and there are a lot of out of work people.
One thing to consider - while the charge out rate is $100/hr, how much of that is actually collected? How much of your time turns out to be unchargeable or uncollected because the job is over budget or the client just doesn't pay? And how much of the necessary office support time goes uncollected? Your boss may have a rate sheet that lists $100/hr but that doesn't mean he gets anything like that for every hour you work.
Bottom line, is the boss living an extravagant lifestyle? New houses, fancy cars, boats, vacations? If not then your calculation is likely missing something.
If your boss has discovered something the rest of are missing and is making big money surveying he has no particular obligation to share it with you. He can get another to do your work at the going rate for a person of your abilities.
Of course, if you believe that you are the unique individual that will make your boss, whoever he may be, the big money you are free to sell your talents to the highest bidder. Surveyors everywhere are searching for such a person.
Reading the posts confirms what I have known all along... I am getting screwed!
Mark,, I say Surveyors are being screwed as they are all
bad business men... ! They are carrying on like prostitutes ! Under valuing their product worth. Wonder how long before a low baller is sued and has no insurance....and is turned inside out and left motherless broke!
RADU
Thanks for this post Dave(?)...I really want to come up with "real" numbers. Whether I use them or not, I don't know yet. I'll have to see how they compare to the going market wages and rates I use now - but I am ready to stop continuing on in the blind with my business finances. The micro-economics class I am taking has inspired me!
> ...I really want to come up with "real" numbers.
Dan Beardslee's book contains a spreadsheet designed to do just that.
Thanks Mark. I actually have that book but haven't ever gotten around to reading it.
how soon not now becomes never.....M. Luther
