The real, fully-loaded cost of a hire — and the month they pay for themselves.
The salary is rarely more than 60% of what a new hire actually costs. Add employer on-costs (tax, pension, insurance), equipment, software seats, benefits, one-off training, and the manager hours spent supervising — the loaded monthly cost is usually 1.5×–2× the headline salary.
The Employee True Cost Calculator strips out the optimism: it gives you the true monthly cost, the annual cost, the net contribution after expected revenue, and a payback period in months. It also flags when a hire doesn't pay for itself at the expected revenue contribution.
True monthly cost = salary + employer on-costs + equipment + software + benefits + (manager hours × manager hourly cost). True annual cost = true monthly × 12 + one-off training. Monthly net contribution = (expected monthly revenue × gross margin) − true monthly cost. Payback months = ramp-up period + (training + ramp-up × true monthly) ÷ monthly net contribution.
Enter the monthly salary and the employer on-costs percentage
On-costs include statutory employer taxes, pension contributions, insurance — typically 10–30%.
Add equipment, software, and benefits costs (monthly)
Add one-off training and equipment costs
Enter manager hours per month spent supervising the hire, and your manager hourly cost
Enter the expected monthly revenue the hire will generate, the gross margin on that revenue, and the ramp-up period in months
Read the payback months and the net contribution — and the warning if the hire doesn't pay for itself at the current expected contribution
Under 6 months is a strong case. 6–12 months is workable — make sure the expected revenue is dependable. Over 12 months and you're betting on the future; only do it if the revenue contribution is essentially guaranteed.
Use the time they save you (or another team member) × that person's loaded hourly cost as the 'revenue contribution'. The maths is the same; the payback question is 'when does the time saved exceed the cost'.
Because it's a real cost that gets ignored. A senior owner spending 8 hours a month supervising a junior hire is 8 hours not earning at their billable rate. Including it stops you from accidentally hiring yourself out of a profitable job.
It's included in Founding Lifetime Access (€99 one-time).
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