Profit per client is your retainer minus payment fees and the cost of delivering that client; divide your fixed monthly costs, including your own pay, by it to get the number of clients you need to break even. If the clients you need for a healthy margin are more than you can serve at the quality you want to be known for, the fix is a higher price, not more clients.
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Enter your numbers below: example figures are filled in. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser. Business education, not financial or tax advice.
| Number | Formula |
|---|---|
| Profit per client | Retainer × (1 − payment fee %) − delivery cost per client |
| Fixed costs | Salaried team + tools + overheads + your own pay |
| Break-even clients | Fixed costs ÷ profit per client, rounded up |
| Clients for target margin | Fixed costs ÷ (profit per client − target % × retainer), rounded up |
| Price for target margin at your cap | (Fixed costs ÷ cap + delivery cost) ÷ (1 − fee % − target %) |
Example: a £2,000 retainer with a 3% fee and £700 delivery cost leaves £1,240 per client. With £3,500 of fixed costs (including £3,000 of your own pay), you break even at 3 clients and need 5 for a 25% net margin. The book's point: decide your cap first, then set the price that makes the cap profitable, instead of chasing more clients than you can serve well.
Business education, not financial, tax or legal advice. The calculator ignores tax, VAT/GST, late payment and client churn; add a safety margin for those.
This tool puts a few of the named techniques from How Asendify Makes Its Money to work. Each line says how it relates to the tool.
See every technique in How Asendify Makes Its Money →
Take the monthly retainer, subtract payment processing fees and everything it costs to deliver that one client (freelancers, contractors, per-client tools). What is left is the contribution each client makes towards your fixed costs and profit.
Divide your fixed monthly costs, including your own pay, by the profit per client and round up. With £3,500 of fixed costs and £1,240 profit per client, you need 3 clients.
Yes. If you leave it out, the business looks profitable while it is really paying you less than a job would. Put in what you need to live on, then measure profit on top of it.
Price the outcome, not the hours: what a growing channel, booked calls or a converting site are worth to the client. Then check the price works at your cap, the number of clients you can serve at the quality you want to be known for. Hourly pricing means your income falls as you get faster.
Show the full price people will pay before they commit. For sales to consumers in the UK, the CMA's guidance under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 says the price shown must include all mandatory fees, and adding them later in the purchase (drip pricing) is prohibited. Even when you sell to businesses, showing the full total up front is the honest default.
Everything else on this page is arithmetic on your own numbers; no industry statistics are used. The approach (cap, outcome pricing, own pay as a cost) comes from How Asendify Makes Its Money, Parts 2 and 7.