The offer letter says £38,000. The business pays £58,903, and the hire has to bill £412 a day just to stand still
Next Hire Break-Even Calculator
A salary is never the number. Put the salary, employer costs, overhead share and your honest utilisation in and see the full annual cost, the billable hours behind it and the day rate the hire has to earn before they add a penny of profit.
Next Hire Break-Even Calculator
The next fee-earner's full cost against the capacity they really add: the day rate they break even at, and the margin they should make.
Hire against demand, not against hope
The demo hire: £38,000 of salary is £58,903 of full cost with employer NIC, pension and the overhead share. At 65 per cent utilisation that is 1,144 billable hours, breaking even at £412 a day.
At the agency's realised £610 day the hire earns £87,230 and makes £28,327 of margin, IF the hours exist. The calculator prices capacity; only the pipeline can promise demand.
The honest test before any offer letter: is the team already over target utilisation with work being declined? Hire into that. Hiring into hope buys £58,903 of cost and a utilisation problem.
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The hire case in Excel: cost, capacity, break-even and the margin at your realised rate.
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