Comments on: Will my boss still want me when I freelance? Ask Anne The Pro Writer

By: annew

annew — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:15:05 +0000

Thanks Spike – http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/

By: Spike

Spike — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:08:28 +0000

There’s an excellent rate calculator over at Freelance Switch (freelanceswitch.com/rates) that takes into account a whole pile of stuff that most of us forget to count. The results can be really surprising – my “base rate” came out at about the same as I like to charge, though I’d have to be a full-timer to support myself on the money, of course. Still, I was pleasantly surprised that I’d randomly picked the right number!

By: Karl Rohde

Karl Rohde — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:57:47 +0000

Exceptions. There is a reason New Zealand is in the bottom quartile of productivity per hour in the OECD. .-= Karl Rohde´s last blog ..White Papers vs. Blogs – Your Opinion? =-.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:55:39 +0000

I’ve sailed with some Kiwis – they weren’t lazy, but hard do-ers

By: Karl Rohde

Karl Rohde — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:48:43 +0000

The advantage of being a freelancer is you dictate how many holidays you get I never actually knew US only get about 2 weeks a year.

If New Zealand workers knew how good they really have it I suspect they would be a little more productive (read “less lazy”). But that’s another topic.
.-= Karl Rohde´s last blog ..White Papers vs. Blogs – Your Opinion? =-.

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:38:21 +0000

Excellent Karl – although I suspect our us based folks will be surprised at 7 weeks off… American’s are lucky to get two… here corporations and profit rule, not people

By: Karl Rohde

Karl Rohde — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:08:00 +0000

A good rule of thumb for the sort of work you likely do for them is as follows:

Annual Salary / ((52 – 4) – 2 – 1) / 40 = Salaried Base Rate /Hour

4 = 4 weeks annual leave
2 = 2 weeks “statutory holidays” (varied per country)
1 = 1 week allowance for being sick

So, if you had a base salary of $30,000 as an employee your base “rate” is $17 rounded up.

It does not stop here. You need to account for your own “equipment”, travel (that you can’t directly charge for), emails, phone calls and incidentals that are very hard to “charge for”. Also, accounting and IRS (IRD in NZ) compliance and what ever other “tax collection” you have to do on behalf of your government(s).

Basically, add 50% to the base. So as per above it would be around $25/hour based on a $30,000 “employee” salary.

This is just rough, and you may need to adjust based on the market in your area.

Once you get to a certain level, assuming you are in ICT, you can charge what it is worth to your client, rather than what you used to get paid. My base rate in New Zealand is $100/hour, much higher than I could get with the above formula based on my previous employment roles.

Hope this is useful to you.
.-= Karl Rohde´s last blog ..White Papers vs. Blogs – Your Opinion? =-.

By: Of Note: About Freelance Writing : WritingThoughts

Of Note: About Freelance Writing : WritingThoughts — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:04:26 +0000

[...] Freelance Writing contains a good mix of advice, book reviews, and job listings. (Yep, for everyone who has asked me where you can find a freelance [...]

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:23:47 +0000

Consultants (such as freelancers) normally charge more than the salaried employee, given that they must pay taxes, health coverage and other incidentals not paid by staffers. I usually have a special pita rate I charge for high maintenance clients.

Ed’s last blog post..Chicago Sun-Times Files For Chapter 11

By: SpikeTheLobster

SpikeTheLobster — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:41:02 +0000

Brilliantly put, if I may say so, Anne. I think I’d have said “Charge them your highest rate and, if they don’t like it, laugh.”

SpikeTheLobster’s last blog post..12 Reasons Writing Is Better Than Sex