FREE SEO FREELANCER TOOL
Is that monthly retainer workable for you?
Compare a monthly fee with delivery hours, your internal hourly cost, direct client costs and payment fees. Then estimate how many similarly scoped clients fit within the delivery hours you have available.
Currency selection does not convert amounts. Estimates use your inputs and exclude personal taxes. No account is needed; this calculator does not submit its input values.
READ THE BREAKDOWN
Separate revenue from delivery contribution.
Monthly delivery cost is client hours × your internal hourly cost, plus direct monthly client costs. Payment fees are a percentage of the retainer. Subtract these amounts from the retainer to estimate its delivery contribution. Divide that contribution by the retainer for the contribution margin.
At a fee of 300, 12 delivery hours, an internal hourly cost of 12, direct costs of 30 and a 5% fee, contribution is 111 per month: 300 − 144 − 30 − 15. That is a 37% contribution margin before any costs you did not include and before personal taxes. This is not an income guarantee.
PLAN CAPACITY
Leave room for the work behind the report.
Available delivery hours should exclude time reserved for your own sales, administration, leave and training. Client hours should include research, implementation, reporting, meetings and routine communication where they belong in scope. If you leave those out, the calculated capacity can be unrealistic.
The tool divides available monthly delivery hours by hours per client and rounds down. With 96 delivery hours and 12 hours per client, the mathematical capacity is eight clients. That assumes comparable clients and reliable estimates; differing deadlines and urgent issues can reduce practical capacity.
A negative contribution is a useful warning about the assumptions, not a calculation error. Review the scope, hours, price and costs. You may need a smaller service, more efficient delivery or a different fee rather than simply adding more clients.
KEEP THE PROPOSAL CLEAR
A retainer should describe recurring work.
State what is included each month, which tasks depend on client approval, and how additional work is handled. Use this calculator to test the delivery model before promising fixed page quantities or unlimited revisions.