How to Set Rates for Freelance Jobs

Setting rates for freelance jobs can be a difficult decision. The difficulty lies in the need for the freelancer to balance their need to make enough to survive off of the income that they earn and the need to keep their rates reasonable to attract business.

Whether you are just starting out as a freelancer or you’ve been freelancing for a while and are unsure of your rates, here’s a guide on how to set rates for freelance jobs.

Determine Desired Income from Freelancing

In order to determine what your freelance jobs rate should be you must first decide on your desired annual income. You should take into consideration all your living costs, your bills, and any supplies that may be used for your job.

Once you have determined how much income is needed to meet your yearly living expenses, you can then decide how much you want to earn after your living expenses have been met. Keep your goals realistic for your field. Doing a little research to learn what the average annual salary earned in your field according to experience level wouldn’t hurt. In fact this could take away a lost of the stress from wondering if you are charging too much or too little.

Decide Billable Hours from Freelance Jobs

Determining whether you will be working full time or part time will determine the weekly goal that you set to help you reach your desired annual salary. You also need have an idea about how many hours you plan on working each week so that you are able to calculate an hourly rate. Without clear expectations of the amount of time you will devote to freelancing, you will not be able to meet your objectives.

Being consistent and sticking to the allocated hours will be important to achieving your established goals and insure that you do not fall short of your desired annual income. Being consistent will help you to plan freelance projects and schedules so you can keep track of your earnings.

Determine An Hourly Rate

After determining the desired annual salary that you would like to earn and the billable hours that you desire to work as a freelancer, you can calculate the hourly rate based on how many billable hours you plan on working. Simply divide your desired yearly income by the billable hours you plan on working. The outcome will be your going hourly rate for freelance jobs

This is the most reliable way to determine what your freelance job rates should be. Whatever your rate is, it’s important to remember that you should never over charge or under charge for your freelance services. While you need to earn enough income to meet your living expenses, you don’t want to run off potential clients by charging too much.

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