What should your shop charge per hour?
Labour, overheads and machine time, in AUD, NZD or GBP with GST or VAT. Enter your numbers and the calculator does the rest. No account needed.
Labour
Overheads per year
Machine rates
Yearly cost = lease or depreciation plus maintenance. Hours = hours the machine actually runs per year.
Your shop labour rate, excluding GST
A$129.22 per hour including GST at 10%
Break-even: A$97.89 per billable hour
Billable hours a year: 4,894
Labour cost a year: A$332,120
Overheads a year: A$147,000
Machine rates (add to labour)
Press brake: A$45.00 per run hour
Laser or plasma: A$70.00 per run hour
Welders: A$4.80 per run hour
How this is worked out
Only billable hours count
Nobody pays for time spent cleaning up, waiting on steel or fixing rework. Dividing costs by billable hours, not paid hours, is why the rate is higher than most shops expect.
Overheads are spread across every hour
Rent, power, insurance and office wages are paid whether the floor is busy or not, so each billable hour has to carry its share.
Machines are priced separately
A laser or press brake hour costs more than a hand-finishing hour. Adding machine time on top keeps light jobs from subsidising heavy ones.
Want to quote with this rate and see it against real job costs? MirrorWorks Start is free for one person and opens December 2026.
Estimates only. Check your figures with your accountant.