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The mistake almost every solo tradesman makes: charging 40 hours of rate when only 20–25 hours are actually billable. The rest disappears into quotes, supply runs, driving and callbacks — but payroll taxes and overhead still come due.
So the rate is worked backwards: take-home you want, grossed up for taxes, plus twelve months of overhead (insurance, truck, tools, licenses), divided by real billable hours. A $60,000 target with 25 billable hours and $800 of overhead needs about $69 an hour — not $30.
That rate is the floor for every bid. Jobs below it are you paying for the privilege of working.
Handymen, read this twice: the same math decides handyman rates, and the US market runs $50–85/hour in most metros (California and coastal cities higher, rural lower) — but self-employed handymen carry their own payroll taxes, insurance and tool wear, so the sticker rate is not take-home. Small-job specialists can charge above the band because nobody else wants a two-hour job; that inconvenience premium is real pricing power. Run your own numbers below — the honest hourly rate is usually 30–50% higher than what neighbors charge.
Electricians, same math, higher band: licensing and insurance push the rate up — US residential electricians bill $50–100/hour in most markets (HomeGuide's electrical work pricing guide runs $40–100, national survey averages reach $130 for licensed masters in coastal metros), and a $75–125 service-call fee — usually applied as the first hour — is standard practice: it prices the truck roll before any work starts. Emergency and after-hours calls run $150–250 (Angi). If your napkin rate lands under $50, you're pricing like a handyman while carrying an electrician's insurance and license bill.
Painting crews live and die by the hourly math — interior labor runs $20–75/hour depending on prep work and paint quality. Work out your crew rate here, then build the full per-square-foot quote in the painting estimate calculator.
Keep going with these tools — they build on this calculation: Labor Cost Calculator, Restaurant Break-Even Calculator, Markup vs Margin Calculator and Restaurant Profit Margin Calculator.
When your prices look right, print the menu with the Menu Maker — free templates, PDF & PNG. Want us to set the whole system up for you? Ask about concierge setup.
Want it on paper? The Handyman Price List Template — Job bundles beat hourly at the door — five classic jobs, printed, no negotiation.
Twenty to twenty-five is realistic for most trades — the rest of a 40-hour week goes to quotes, supply runs, site cleanup and driving. Anyone budgeting 40 billable hours is planning to work for free half the time.
Everything that bills whether or not you worked: insurance, truck payment and fuel, tool replacement, licenses and permits, accounting, phone. Monthly it, and the calculator spreads it across your billable hours.
Materials should be passed through at cost plus a separate markup — mixing them into your labor rate makes bids hard to compare. Price the labor here, mark materials up separately on the quote.
Most residential electricians bill $50–100 per hour, with licensed masters in high-cost metros up to $130 (HomeGuide's electrical work pricing guide; national survey data). Charge a $75–125 service-call fee on top — typically applied as the first hour — so the truck roll is covered before work begins. Emergency calls run $150–250/hour (Angi).