Most people starting a business undervalue their rates because they count only “at‑the‑computer” hours. Yet a sold hour must cover the hours no one pays for.
Price is not a gut‑feeling number nor an average from ads. It’s a calculation: how much you need to earn for the business to survive and make sense, divided by the hours that can realistically be sold. Let’s do it together.
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Step 1: Your annual cost
Add up: the net salary you want (e.g., 8 000 PLN × 12), contributions and taxes (in Poland for many forms an additional 30–40 percent), business costs (equipment, software, accounting, marketing, office) and a reserve of 10 percent for downtime and illness.
Step 2: Billable hours
A year has about 250 working days. Subtract vacation (25 days), holidays and sick leave (10), and from the remaining 215 days only about 60 percent of the time is client work — the rest is sales, administration, learning. The result is ~1 000 billable hours, not 2 000.
Step 3: Minimum rate
Example: 96 000 PLN net + 38 000 PLN taxes/contributions + 24 000 PLN costs + 16 000 PLN reserve = 174 000 PLN ÷ 1 000 h = 174 PLN/h. Below this amount every hour is a subsidy from your own pocket.
Step 4: From hourly rate to value
An hourly rate penalizes experience (you work faster — you earn less). When you know the scope, price by project: hours × rate × 1.2 (for revisions and communication), and for services with measurable impact (more sales, time savings) — price based on the value to the client. Offer three packages: basic, recommended, extended; most will choose the middle one.
How to talk about price
- Give the price after describing the scope and outcome, never at the start of the conversation.
- Instead of a discount, reduce the scope: “In this budget we will do A and B, C we’ll add in the second stage.”
- Raise prices for new clients by 10–15 percent each year; inform regulars with 2–3 months’ notice.
A price that reflects reality isn’t “expensive”. It’s simply fair — also to you.
Sources
- Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, “Report on the state of the SME sector in Poland” (2024).
- Harvard Business Review, “A Quick Guide to Value-Based Pricing” (2016).
- ZUS / MF — current contribution rates and forms of business taxation.
