Calculator
Revenue Goal Calculator
Work backward from personal take-home to the gross revenue, hourly rate, project volume, retainer count, and lead volume you actually need.
Most freelancers set revenue goals by picking a number that sounds nice and hoping for the best. This calculator works backward from your personal take-home to the gross revenue, hourly rate, project volume, retainer count, and lead volume you actually need.
What this includes
- Personal take-home pay plus business expenses
- Tax, savings, and profit reserve stacking
- Retainer revenue coverage and project revenue gap
- Required project volume and lead volume
- Delivery capacity pressure test
- Optional current revenue and rate gap analysis
Use this when...
- You want to know what gross revenue you need to hit a specific personal take-home.
- You are planning next year's pricing and pipeline.
- You want to understand how many projects or retainers you actually need to sell.
- You are deciding whether to raise prices or increase volume.
Do not use this for...
- Pricing a single project or retainer. Use the Project Quote or Retainer Pricing calculators for that.
- Setting an hourly rate in isolation. Use the Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator first.
- Auditing whether a past engagement was profitable. Use the Effective Hourly Rate Calculator.
Keep these visible
Your take-home is not your revenue.
A $100,000 personal draw does not mean you need $100,000 in revenue. After taxes, expenses, savings, and profit, the real number is usually 50-80% higher. This calculator shows you the gap.
- Your personal draw is the floor, not the ceiling.
- Reserves for taxes, savings, and profit stack on top.
- Retainers reduce the project revenue you need to hunt for.
- If the required project volume is high, your prices are too low.
Result
Gross Revenue Required: $214,545
Monthly Required: $17,879
Required Hourly Rate: $143/hr
Project Revenue Still Needed: $154,545
Projects / Month
2.6
Leads / Month
7.4
Delivery Hours / Week
18.8
Verdict
Strong Plan
Your numbers are grounded, balanced, and highly achievable.
Note
Pressure-test this assumption
1500 billable hours a year means roughly 33 hours of pure delivery every week. That is doable but aggressive — make sure your numbers account for sales, admin, and the inevitable friction of running a business.
Next Actions
- Build your pipeline: Your model is sound. Focus all your energy on lead generation.
Assumptions
- Annual Billable Hours: 1500 hrs
- Tax Reserve: 25.0%
- Savings Reserve: 10.0%
- Profit Buffer: 10.0%
- Close Rate: 35.0%
- Avg Project Delivery Hours: 28 hrs
- Weekly Delivery Capacity: 24 hrs
- Working Weeks Per Year: 46
Detailed Breakdown
| Base Annual Need (Draw + Expenses) | $118,000 |
| Total Reserve Stack | 45.0% |
| Tax Reserve Amount | $53,636 |
| Savings Reserve Amount | $21,455 |
| Business Profit Buffer | $21,455 |
| Gross Revenue Required | $214,545 |
| Required Hourly Rate | $143/hr |
| Monthly Revenue Required | $17,879 |
| Weekly Revenue Required | $4,664 |
| Current Retainer Revenue | $5,000/mo |
| Annual Retainer Revenue | $60,000 |
| Retainer Coverage | 28.0% |
| Annual Project Revenue Required | $154,545 |
| Remaining Monthly Need | $12,879/mo |
| Projects Needed Per Month | 2.6 |
| Projects Needed Per Year | 30.9 |
| Qualified Leads Needed Per Month | 7.4 |
| Qualified Leads Needed Per Year | 88.3 |
| Project Delivery Hours Per Week | 18.8 hrs |
| Delivery Capacity Used | 78.0% |
| Retainers Needed To Cover Goal | 8 |
What this calculator tells you
You get the gross revenue required, the required hourly rate, the monthly and weekly revenue targets, the project volume and lead volume needed, the delivery capacity pressure, and the gap between your current revenue and the target.
Why your personal draw is not your revenue target
If you want to take home $100,000 and your business expenses are $18,000 a year, your base need is $118,000. Then taxes, savings, and profit stack on top. At a 45% combined reserve rate, your gross revenue target is over $214,000. That is the real number. The draw is just the starting point.
Formula and assumptions
Gross revenue required = (Desired owner draw + annual expenses)
÷ (1 - reserve stack percentage).
Required hourly rate = Gross revenue required ÷ annual billable
hours.
The reserve stack is the combined percentage for taxes, savings, and profit.
The calculator assumes your retainer revenue is stable and your close rate
is a reasonable estimate.
What makes a revenue goal unrealistic
The most common problem is project volume. If the calculator says you need 6+ projects a month, your prices are too low. The second most common problem is delivery capacity — if your required delivery hours exceed your stated capacity, the model is not sustainable. The third is lead volume: if you need 30+ qualified leads a month, your sales machine is the real constraint.
How to use the results
- Gross revenue required: the real target your business needs to hit.
- Required hourly rate: the effective rate your entire model needs to average.
- Projects needed per month: if this is high, raise your prices.
- Delivery capacity used: if this exceeds 100%, your model is not sustainable.
- Revenue gap: the difference between your current revenue and the target.
Common reasons the math goes ugly
The usual suspects are low prices, weak retainer coverage, unrealistic billable hour assumptions, and no profit buffer. The calculator flags each one so you can fix the right problem instead of guessing.
Related calculators and guides
- Billable Hours Calculator — check your capacity before setting revenue targets
- Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator — set the baseline rate every revenue target depends on
- Project Quote Calculator — price fixed-scope work that contributes to the goal
- Retainer Pricing Calculator — price recurring revenue that stabilizes the monthly target
- Effective Hourly Rate Calculator — audit whether delivery respected the revenue plan
- Read the revenue goal planning guide