Build accurate staffing budgets using roles, overhead, and projections. Track productive capacity, not just headcount. Export shareable summaries with charts and clean tables today.
| Department | Role | Positions | Salary / month | Util% | Benefits% | Admin overhead% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | Accountant | 2 | $ 2,200 | 85 | 18 | 8 |
| HR | HR Coordinator | 1 | $ 1,400 | 80 | 15 | 8 |
| Operations | Office Manager | 1 | $ 1,800 | 90 | 20 | 8 |
The calculator totals monthly staffing cost using three layers: loaded labor, admin overhead, and fixed overhead. Loaded labor includes base payroll, benefits, employer taxes, bonus allocation, overtime, amortized onboarding and equipment, stipends, and desk costs. Admin overhead is a percentage applied to loaded labor. Fixed overhead covers rent, utilities, software, insurance, training, recruiting, and miscellaneous costs.
Start with planned positions by role, then apply vacancy rate to estimate filled headcount. You can budget costs on filled headcount or on full positions, depending on your policy. Utilization converts filled headcount into effective FTE, representing time available for productive work after meetings and coordination. Productive hours per month are estimated from weekly hours multiplied by 4.333.
Benefits and employer tax inputs are applied as percentages of base payroll for each role. Annual bonus is converted to a monthly equivalent by dividing by twelve, which smooths cash planning. Overtime is estimated using an implied hourly rate from monthly salary and weekly hours, then multiplied by overtime hours and an overtime multiplier. One-time onboarding and equipment are amortized across your chosen months.
For planning, the projection chart compounds annual inflation into a monthly factor and applies it to salary-based components. Fixed overhead can remain constant to separate wage drift from facilities costs. Run scenario tests by changing vacancy, utilization, overtime, or overhead percentage and comparing grand total, cost per effective FTE, and cost per productive hour. These ratios improve apples-to-apples comparisons across team structures.
Use the cost composition chart to see whether payroll, overhead, or facilities dominate. Department totals support internal allocation and can highlight imbalances in staffing distribution. The role table provides an audit trail of assumptions for reviews. If you enter a billable rate and a target margin, the calculator estimates break-even revenue and required billable hours to sustain the staff plan. Exports help document assumptions for audits.
Q1: What is the difference between positions and filled headcount?
Positions are planned seats. Filled headcount applies the vacancy rate to estimate how many seats are actually staffed. Capacity metrics use filled headcount because empty seats do not produce hours.
Q2: When should I use cost basis “positions”?
Use positions when budgets must cover authorized roles even if hiring is delayed. It models the intended staffing plan and avoids underfunding if you expect vacancies to close quickly.
Q3: How is overtime calculated here?
Monthly salary is converted to an implied hourly rate using weekly hours × 4.333. Overtime cost equals cost headcount × hourly rate × overtime hours × overtime multiplier.
Q4: Why amortize onboarding and equipment?
Amortizing spreads one-time costs over several months so monthly reporting remains stable. It also helps compare hiring now versus later without overstating the first month’s cost.
Q5: What does effective FTE mean?
Effective FTE equals filled headcount multiplied by utilization. It represents productive capacity, not attendance. Use it to compare different mixes of roles and workloads.
Q6: What are billable rate and target margin used for?
They estimate break-even revenue and required billable hours. Break-even revenue equals total cost divided by (1 − margin). Required billable hours equals break-even revenue divided by the billable rate.
Important Note: All the Calculators listed in this site are for educational purpose only and we do not guarentee the accuracy of results. Please do consult with other sources as well.