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.