Free tool · BASE Calculator

Your business floor.

The BASE number is the minimum monthly revenue your business has to generate to cover your real personal life. From the Entrepreneurial Trades Academy — if you don’t know your BASE, every job you bid is a guess.

Inputs

Monthly household expenses Mortgage/rent, utilities, food, insurance, transportation, child care, debt payments, everything you actually spend.

Partner monthly income (optional) Net take-home from a spouse / partner that contributes to household. Subtracted from what your business has to cover.

Billable days per year Start from 365, subtract weekends, holidays, vacation, sick days, weather days. Most contractors land between 180–240. We default to 220.

days

Giving / savings already in your monthly Uncheck if you don’t currently include charitable giving and savings — we’ll gross-up by 25%.

Your BASE

Monthly BASE

What your business must generate every month to cover your life.

Annual BASE

Business annual target

Assumes 50% gross margin

Daily floor rate

Hourly floor rate

Daily ÷ 8

Bid below your hourly floor and you’re losing money to keep the lights on at home. Bid above it consistently and you start funding the things ETA calls BALLs — the raises you give yourself for hitting milestones.

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