CALCULATOR
True hourly cost calculator
Three numbers in, a complete pricing and retention picture out: what your time really costs, what to charge, and where it quietly leaks.
Your numbers
Drives pay periods (BE 13.92, FR 12, NL 12.96), default employer charges, and effective working weeks.
The gross amount on the payslip, before social charges and tax. Self-employed? Use what you pay yourself each month.
What the employer pays on top of the gross salary. The default reflects a typical Belgian rate; rates vary by sector and contract type. Self-employed: use your own social-charges rate.
Hours actually billable or productive in a year, after holidays, sick days, training and admin.
13th month, meal vouchers, group insurance, company car, mobile, training. Typical BE: 8 to 18%, FR: 5 to 12%, NL: 4 to 10%.
Your result
Cost of one productive hour
€40.50
Every hour spent on non-billable work costs you this much, even if no one sees it on an invoice.
Internal pricing reference
Break-even reference (×1.5)
Covers cost and a thin overhead buffer. No real margin, no growth, no slack.
€60.75/h
Comfortable-margin reference (×2.5)
Funds cost, overhead and a healthy operating margin. The minimum reference for a sustainable practice.
€101.25/h
Growth-funded reference (×4)
Funds the above plus reinvestment, hiring, R&D and slack to handle the bad months.
€162.00/h
These are internal cost references, not recommended selling prices. Set your prices based on your own market positioning and competitive context.
Annual cost
€56,700.00
what this person actually costs you per year
The hidden price of internal hours
- ·A weekly 1-hour meeting with 4 people quietly costs you €7,452.00 per year.
- ·In Belgium, automatic wage indexation lifts payroll roughly in line with inflation. Each 2% indexation pass adds about €1,134.00 to this person's annual cost, before any merit raise.
- ·Keeping a wrong-fit performer one year too long costs you roughly €56,700.00 in salary and missed opportunity. Losing a top performer to a competitor costs about €28,350.00 to replace, plus 6 to 12 months of ramp-up before the new hire reaches full output.
Annual cost uses 12.96 pay periods (8% holiday allowance) and country-typical employer charges. Effective working weeks net of statutory holidays + vacation. Default 30% employer charges. Indexation assumes the standard 2% Belgian indexation step. Replacement cost uses the standard 6-month fully-loaded rule of thumb.
Not sure how to read these results?
Send us a quick email. We'll help you make sense of the numbers.
For information only. This calculator is for educational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, or legal advice. For decisions that affect your business, consult your accountant or a qualified advisor.