| Base salary | |
|---|---|
| Direct labor cost per hour | |
| Loaded cost per hour (with burden) | |
| Loaded annual cost | |
| Billing rate at your multiplier | |
| Annual billable revenue |
How the math works
Direct labor cost is base salary divided by paid hours. Loaded cost adds your benefits and payroll burden percentage. The billing rate is direct labor times your net multiplier, which is how most A/E firms quote and how agencies audit rates. Annual billable revenue is the billing rate times paid hours times utilization.
The default 30 percent burden and 3.0 multiplier are starting assumptions, not BLS figures. Replace them with your own numbers from your last audited overhead rate. If you don't know your multiplier, work it out with the multiplier and overhead rate tool, then build role rates with the billing rate builder.
Worked example
A PE paid $100,000 on 2,080 paid hours costs $48.08 an hour in direct labor. With a 30 percent burden the loaded cost is $62.50 an hour, or $130,000 a year. At a 3.0 multiplier the billing rate is $144.23, and at 80 percent utilization that person bills about $240,000 a year.
Wage percentiles: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025, SOC 17-2051. Base wages only. See salaries by state and metro.
