Charge-out rate calculator. What an hour on the tools has to be billed at so the wage, the super, the van and a profit all get paid out of the hours a customer actually pays for.
Australian figures, checked 19 September 2026. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
The hours nobody pays for.
A tradie is paid for 38 hours and bills for 28 on a good week. The other ten are driving, quoting, the supplier run, the phone, the invoice at night. They don't disappear; they have to be earned inside the 28. That's why the rate you need is never the wage plus a bit, and why two sparkies on the same wage can need rates $30 apart.
The calculator spreads a year of wages, super and overheads over a year of billable hours, then adds the margin you want. Change the billable hours and watch what happens to the rate. That number moving is the whole argument for getting the admin off your plate.
What goes into the rate.
Wage
Every paid hour, all 52 weeks, including the weeks you're on leave. Super at 12% on top.
Overheads
Vehicle, tools, insurance, phone, software, licences, the accountant. The cost of being in business at all.
Billable hours
Only the ones a customer pays for. Be honest; 28 out of 38 is normal, 34 is rare.
Weeks worked
52 minus leave, public holidays and the sick days. 46 is a fair start.
Profit
Not your wage; that's already in. This is what the business earns for existing. 15 to 25% is common.
Then GST
The rate is before GST. Add 10% on the invoice; the GST calculator does the sum.
Get four hours back and the rate drops.
The fastest way to a better rate isn't charging more; it's billing more of the hours you already work. An AI that answers the phone, sends the quote, writes and chases the invoice and orders the parts gives a tradie back four to six hours a week. That's what we build, for a fixed price, and the ROI calculator will tell you what those hours are worth at your rate.
Questions people ask.
How do I work out my charge-out rate?
Add up what a year on the tools costs: the wage for every paid hour, super on top, and all the overheads. Divide that by the hours a customer will actually pay for in the year, not the hours you work. Then add the profit you want as a margin. That's the rate per billable hour, before GST.
What's a typical charge-out rate for a tradie in Australia?
Somewhere between $90 and $150 an hour for most trades in the cities, higher for specialists and emergency work, and lower in some regions. But the right rate is the one that covers your own costs, and the calculator is there because two plumbers with the same wage can need very different rates depending on their overheads and billable hours.
Why do billable hours matter so much?
Because everything has to be earned inside them. If you're paid for 38 hours but can only bill 28, every billable hour has to carry ten minutes of driving, quoting, supplier runs and admin as well as itself. Lift billable hours from 28 to 32 and the rate you need drops by more than 10%.
What counts as overheads?
The vehicle and its fuel, rego and insurance; tools and their replacement; public liability and income protection; phone, software, the accountant, licences, uniforms, training, advertising, and any rent. Anything you pay to be in business rather than to do one particular job.
What super rate should I use?
The superannuation guarantee is 12% from 1 July 2025, and the calculator uses that. If you're a sole trader you're not required to pay yourself super, but you should be putting something aside, and pricing as if you were.
Is the charge-out rate before or after GST?
Before. Add 10% GST on the invoice if you're registered, which at these rates you will be. The GST calculator on this site does that step.
Photo to come: Cal.
Calum Buchanan.
Melbourne. Ran the systems behind a services business, the phones, the invoices, the marketing, the reporting, and spent the last few years handing them to AI that works. This is that, for yours.