Freelance bookkeepers: is this monthly client actually paying you? Free, no signup.
The effective rate you want to earn on every client. Everything below is measured against it.
Presets are editable starting points, not industry standards. Adjust everything to your client.
Set your bar first: the target hourly rate you want to earn on every client ($60 default). The tool measures everything against it. Pick the client preset: Solopreneur, Small biz, E-commerce, or Multi-entity. Each fills the monthly retainer you charge, the number of bank, card, and loan accounts you reconcile, transactions per month, and hours per month for reconciling, reports, and client calls. Every field is an editable starting point, not an industry standard. Then add the two silent killers: cleanup or catch-up hours this month, which are billed at zero when a flat retainer is involved, and software cost you are eating when it is not billed separately. The results card shows the line-item breakdown (monthly retainer, unbilled software, what you keep net, total real hours, transactions per month, net per reconciled account), your big effective hourly rate, and a PRICED RIGHT, CLOSE BUT LEAKING, or UNDERPRICED verdict with the exact retainer raise to the nearest $25 that hits your target. Net per account also tells you which clients are cheap relative to their workload.
Example only, not typical pricing. Load the Small biz preset against a $60 bar: $400 retainer, 4 accounts, 300 transactions, 6 real hours. You keep $400 across 6 hours, so the effective rate is $66.67 per hour: PRICED RIGHT, and net per account is $100. Now add 4 cleanup hours this month: total real hours become 10, the effective rate drops to $40 per hour, and the verdict flips to UNDERPRICED. The tool says you would need $600 to hit your rate, a raise of $200. Add $30 of unbilled software instead: net is $370 across 6 hours, or $61.67 per hour, and it is still PRICED RIGHT. Cleanup hours are the silent killer, and this is how you prove it.
**How does the tool compute the recommended retainer?**
It multiplies your total real hours by your target rate, adds back any software cost you are eating, and rounds up to the nearest $25. The math is shown in the breakdown so you can explain the raise to the client.
**Why does the verdict say the unbilled hours are the silent killer?**
Because a flat retainer pays the same dollars no matter how many cleanup or catch-up hours a client dumps on you. Those hours dilute the effective rate, and the tool counts them as real hours.
**What does net per reconciled account tell me?**
Your net divided by the number of accounts you reconcile. It is a quick way to compare clients: two clients at the same retainer can have very different per-account effort.
**What does CLOSE, BUT LEAKING mean?**
Your effective rate is below your target but within 85 percent of it. The verdict shows the recommended retainer that closes the gap.
**Are the presets official bookkeeping rates?**
No. The note says they are editable starting points, not industry standards. The footer says estimates are for planning only, and rates vary by market.