Pricing Reference Tables
Every figure below is computed by the hourly rate, gallery split and break-evencalculators themselves. Currency is deliberately unlabelled — the arithmetic works in any.
Hourly rate by billable hours
Take-home target 40000, overhead 8000, 46 working weeks, a 25% tax set-aside.
| Billable hours a week | Hours a year | Revenue needed | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 460 | 64000 | 139.13 |
| 15 | 690 | 64000 | 92.75 |
| 20 | 920 | 64000 | 69.57 |
| 25 | 1150 | 64000 | 55.65 |
| 30 | 1380 | 64000 | 46.38 |
The revenue column never moves. That figure is what the practice has to earn, and the rate is entirely a consequence of how much of the week converts into invoices — 139.13 an hour at 10 billable hours against 46.38 at 30. Three times the rate, same target income.
What a commission leaves you
A piece at 1200 with 200 of materials, and the retail price that would be needed to net 800.
| Commission | Their cut | Your take-home | Your profit | Retail to net 800 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0 | 1200 | 1000 | 800 |
| 20% | 240 | 960 | 760 | 1000 |
| 30% | 360 | 840 | 640 | 1142.86 |
| 40% | 480 | 720 | 520 | 1333.33 |
| 50% | 600 | 600 | 400 | 1600 |
| 60% | 720 | 480 | 280 | 2000 |
The last column is the one people get wrong. Netting a target through a commission divides by your share — it does not add the percentage on top. At 50% you must price at 1600 to keep 800, not at 800 plus a bit. Materials come out of your share afterwards, which is why profit falls faster than take-home.
Break-even on an edition
A 10% platform fee, 300 of setup cost, and 100 units planned.
| Price | Unit cost | Contribution | Margin | Break-even units | Net at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 12 | 28.5 | 63.33% | 11 | 2550 |
| 35 | 14 | 17.5 | 50% | 18 | 1450 |
| 25 | 14 | 8.5 | 34% | 36 | 550 |
| 20 | 16 | 2 | 10% | 150 | -100 |
| 15 | 16 | -2.5 | -16.67% | never | -550 |
Break-even is driven entirely by contribution margin, so a small change in the gap between price and cost moves it a long way: 11 units at the top of the table. And where the contribution is negative the calculator returns no break-even at all — the honest answer to "how many do I sell to make it up on volume", because at 15 against 16 every additional sale makes the position worse.
Educational estimates. None of these figures knows your market, and none includes shipping, returns, wastage or the time spent fulfilling orders. What they give you is the floor — the point below which the work costs you money.