Accountants Hourly Rate Calculator Examples
Explore worked examples of accountant hourly-rate calculations for different income targets, overheads, margins and billable workloads.
These examples show how a change in available billable time, operating costs or desired retained profit can affect an average accounting charge-out rate. They are planning illustrations rather than suggested market prices.
New sole practitioner with a modest workload
Lower overheads and 20 invoiceable hours per week.
Input Summary
Target annual income
£45,000
Annual overheads
£8,000
Profit margin
5%
Working weeks
45 weeks
Billable hours per week
20 hours
Calculation Breakdown
- 1Annual billable hours45 × 20900 hours
- 2Income and overheads£45,000 + £8,000£53,000
- 3Target annual revenue£53,000 ÷ 0.95£55,789.47
- 4Hourly rate£55,789.47 ÷ 900£61.99 per hour
Result Summary
Hourly rate
£61.99 per hour
Accountants Hourly Rate Calculator
The estimated baseline rate is £61.99 per hour from a £55,789.47 annual revenue target.
Established accountant with balanced billable capacity
A balanced workload of 25 billable hours across 46 working weeks.
Input Summary
Target annual income
£60,000
Annual overheads
£15,000
Profit margin
10%
Working weeks
46 weeks
Billable hours per week
25 hours
Calculation Breakdown
- 1Annual billable hours46 × 251,150 hours
- 2Income and overheads£60,000 + £15,000£75,000
- 3Target annual revenue£75,000 ÷ 0.90£83,333.33
- 4Hourly rate£83,333.33 ÷ 1,150£72.46 per hour
Result Summary
Hourly rate
£72.46 per hour
Accountants Hourly Rate Calculator
The estimated rate is £72.46 per hour, requiring approximately £83,333 of annual client revenue.
Specialist advisory practice with higher overheads
Higher operating costs, 30 billable hours per week and a 15% profit margin.
Input Summary
Target annual income
£90,000
Annual overheads
£30,000
Profit margin
15%
Working weeks
47 weeks
Billable hours per week
30 hours
Calculation Breakdown
- 1Annual billable hours47 × 301,410 hours
- 2Income and overheads£90,000 + £30,000£120,000
- 3Target annual revenue£120,000 ÷ 0.85£141,176.47
- 4Hourly rate£141,176.47 ÷ 1,410£100.13 per hour
Result Summary
Hourly rate
£100.13 per hour
Accountants Hourly Rate Calculator
The estimated hourly rate is £100.13, supported by a £141,176.47 annual revenue target.
Part-time accountant with limited annual availability
Thirty-eight working weeks and 15 billable hours each week.
Input Summary
Target annual income
£30,000
Annual overheads
£6,000
Profit margin
10%
Working weeks
38 weeks
Billable hours per week
15 hours
Calculation Breakdown
- 1Annual billable hours38 × 15570 hours
- 2Income and overheads£30,000 + £6,000£36,000
- 3Target annual revenue£36,000 ÷ 0.90£40,000
- 4Hourly rate£40,000 ÷ 570£70.18 per hour
Result Summary
Hourly rate
£70.18 per hour
Accountants Hourly Rate Calculator
The estimated baseline rate is £70.18 per hour, despite a lower annual income target.
How to Read Your Results
The recommended hourly rate is an average baseline across all invoiced work, not necessarily a single published price.
Target annual revenue is the total client revenue estimated to cover the selected income target, overheads and margin.
Annual billable hours are a capacity assumption; reducing them raises the hourly rate needed if all other inputs stay the same.
Compare the result with your actual workload, service mix and historic write-offs before using it for planning.
For fixed-fee work, use the hourly result as one benchmark for estimating the underlying delivery cost.
Assumptions & Important Notes
- All figures are annual estimates and are expressed in pounds for illustration.
- The income target and overheads are funded entirely through client revenue.
- The stated billable hours are consistently achievable during the selected working weeks.
- Profit margin is calculated as a percentage of final revenue, not as a percentage added to costs.
Related Examples
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can a part-time accountant need a similar hourly rate to a full-time accountant?
Part-time work usually creates fewer annual billable hours over which to recover income and overheads, so the average rate may remain high.
What happens if I increase billable hours per week?
If the revenue target remains unchanged, more annual billable hours reduce the hourly rate required.
Should I use the same hourly rate for bookkeeping and advisory work?
The calculator produces an overall average. Different services can have different pricing, delivery time and complexity.
Can I calculate a rate with no profit margin?
Yes. Set the margin to zero to estimate the rate needed to cover the income target and overheads only.
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Use the live calculator with your own inputs, timing, and preferences.