---
name: rate-card
description: "Build a consulting/freelance rate card and pricing structure — and the floor rate to not go broke. Use when asked to set freelance/consulting rates, build a rate card, decide what to charge, package services, or move off hourly billing. Produces a rate card — your minimum viable rate (from real targets), tiered packages, pricing models (hourly/day/project/retainer/value), and how to present and defend it."
---

# Rate Card Skill

Most freelancers and consultants underprice because they pick a number that "sounds okay" instead of one
the math supports — and they bill hourly, which caps income and punishes efficiency. This skill builds a
rate card grounded in your real targets (income, billable capacity, costs), then packages it into
tiers/models that move you toward value-based pricing — with the language to present and hold it.

## Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:

- **Target income** (annual take-home you need), and your **costs/overhead** + tax allowance.
- **Realistic billable capacity** — billable days/hours per year (not 100% — admin, sales, holidays eat ~30–40%).
- **Your services** — what you offer, and which are commodity vs. high-value.
- **Market context** — rough rates peers charge, and your positioning (junior/senior/specialist).

## Output Format

### Rate Card: [you / practice]

**1. Your floor rate (the math)** — derive the **minimum viable rate**: target income + costs + tax, divided by *realistic* billable days/hours. This is the number below which you lose money — most people's "gut" rate is under it. Show the calc.

> e.g. (£90k target + £20k costs + 30% tax buffer) ÷ 130 billable days ≈ **£1,200/day floor**.

**2. Rate models** — present the options and when each fits:
- **Hourly** — only for open-ended/uncertain work; caps your income and signals commodity.
- **Day rate** — cleaner; still time-for-money.
- **Project/fixed** — priced to value + a risk buffer; rewards efficiency.
- **Retainer** — recurring, predictable; price for access/outcomes, not hours.
- **Value-based** — a % of the value created; the highest ceiling. Note when it's viable.

**3. Packaged tiers** — 3 productised offers (e.g. Audit / Sprint / Partner) with what's included and a price each — so clients choose "which," and you sell outcomes not hours.

**4. Presenting & defending it** — how to state the rate without flinching, anchor on value, handle "that's expensive" (it's about ROI, not cost), and when to hold vs. walk. Raise rates on new clients first.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] The floor rate is computed from real targets + realistic (not 100%) billable capacity
- [ ] Multiple pricing models are explained with when-to-use-each
- [ ] Productised tiers turn "how much per hour?" into "which package?"
- [ ] Includes language to present and defend the rate (anchor on value/ROI)
- [ ] Pushes away from pure hourly toward value/project pricing where it fits

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not pick a rate by gut — compute the floor from income/costs/capacity, or you'll quietly run at a loss
- [ ] Do not assume full billable capacity — ~30–40% goes to sales/admin/holidays; pricing on 100% underprices badly
- [ ] Do not default to hourly — it caps income and penalises you for being fast; package and value-price where possible
- [ ] Do not justify price by effort/cost — clients pay for ROI; anchor there
- [ ] Do not present one rate — tiers convert better and lift the average deal

## Based On

Freelance/consulting pricing practice — minimum-viable-rate math, value-based & productised pricing, rate-anchoring.

## Example Trigger Phrases

- "Set freelance/consulting rates."
- "Build a rate card."
- "Decide what to charge."
- "Move off hourly billing."