Free calculator
Hourly billing rate calculator on a full-cost basis, not guesswork.
The billing rate per productive hour is the foundation of every site quote. The calculator shows minimum rate, fully loaded personnel rate, break-even rate and the recommended rate including target margin. Every value is transparent and editable.
Starting values reflect the German market. Adjust them to your company; the result recalculates live.
Hourly billing rate calculator
Formula: rate = (gross wage × target hours × (1 + social charges) + annual overhead) divided by productive hours, then divided by (1 minus target margin).
All values entered? Result in seconds.
How the calculator works
Full-cost logic separates paid hours from productive hours. This distinction is crucial: an employer pays wages for all target hours, but only the hours after vacation, sickness, public holidays and unproductive time are billable.
1. Target hours per year
Weekly hours times 52. At 39 hours per week, that is 2028 target hours per year. These are paid hours regardless of whether they are billable on site.
2. Productive hours per year
Target hours minus vacation, sickness, public holidays and unproductive share (setup, internal travel, breaks). A realistic result per full-time worker is 1500 to 1700 productive hours.
3. Annual personnel cost
Gross wage times target hours times (1 plus social charges). In Germany social charges typically run around 20 to 25 percent of gross wage.
4. Overhead per year
Materials, vehicles, admin and insurance per month times 12. These costs must be allocated to productive hours for the business to self-finance.
5. Break-even rate
Annual personnel cost divided by productive hours gives the fully loaded personnel rate. Plus overhead per productive hour gives the break-even rate. Anything below produces losses.
6. Recommended rate
Break-even divided by 1 minus target margin. The rate then actually contains the margin, not just a markup on cost.
What to watch out for in practice
The most common mistakes when pricing the billing rate:
- Using only gross wage. Skipping social charges bleeds 20 to 25 percent margin in year one.
- Underestimating downtime. 30 days vacation, 10 sick days and 11 public holidays add up to more than 400 unproductive hours at full time.
- Site-to-site travel missing. Crews with multiple sites per day can run above 10 percent unproductive share.
- Admin not allocated to the hour. Account management, quality control, quoting and bookkeeping are real costs that belong on productive hours.
- Target margin too low. For reserves and reinvestment, maintenance cleaning typically runs 15 to 25 percent; specialties run higher.
Hourly billing rate FAQ
What is the hourly billing rate in commercial cleaning?
It is the amount a cleaning company must invoice per productive hour so that all costs are covered and the target margin is achieved. It is derived from gross wage, social charges, downtime, overhead and margin.
What billing rate is typical in Germany in 2026?
In maintenance cleaning, the break-even rate for the productive hour often lands between 26 and 34 EUR depending on region, company size and overhead. With margin, many companies land between 30 and 40 EUR. The calculator returns your specific value.
How many productive hours does a full-time cleaner have per year?
At 39 hours per week, target hours are 2028. After 30 vacation days, 10 sick days, 11 public holidays and around 8 percent unproductive time, roughly 1550 to 1650 productive hours remain.
What goes into the billing rate?
Gross wage, social charges (statutory contributions, accident insurance, levies), downtime (vacation, sickness, holidays), unproductive share (travel, setup, breaks), overhead (materials, vehicles, admin, insurance) and a realistic target margin.
How high are social charges for cleaning in Germany?
Employer social charges cover statutory social security, accident insurance, U1 and U2 levies and insolvency levy. In cleaning they currently run between 20 and 25 percent of gross wage.
Does the rate differ for subcontractors?
Yes. A subcontractor invoice replaces your own personnel cost, but adds coordination and margin. In this calculator you enter wages and social charges for your own crew. A dedicated subcontractor calculator is planned.
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