Methodology
How the calculation works
Gross project rate per hour = received fee ÷ actual worked hours
Net cash earnings per hour = (received fee − expenses − payment fees) ÷ actual worked hours
What each input means
- Received project fee (USD)
- The full project amount before the expenses entered below.
- Actual worked hours (hours)
- Include planning, communication, development and testing time.
- Direct project expenses (USD)
- Out-of-pocket costs for this project; enter 0 when none apply.
- Payment / platform fees (USD)
- A flat amount, not a percentage. Enter 0 when there are no fees.
A worked example
You receive USD 2,000 for 40 hours of work, with USD 200 of expenses and USD 60 in payment fees. Gross rate is USD 50.00/hour. Net cash is USD 1,740, or USD 43.50/hour.
How to use the result
Count the time that a timesheet can hide: discovery calls, email, handover and fixes. Compare projects using the same definition of actual hours. A strong invoiced rate can become a weak cash rate when unpaid work grows.
Assumptions & edge cases
- Actual hours must be above zero for either hourly metric; otherwise the result is N/A.
- Negative cash earnings mean expenses exceed receipts.
- Personal labor valuation and tax are not deducted. This is not economic profit per hour.
All monetary values are in USD. No currency conversion is performed. Inputs must be non-negative, finite numbers of at most 1,000,000,000; intermediate values are not rounded, and displayed amounts use two decimal places. Very small nonzero values below 0.000001 are not supported.