Why not just charge what everyone else charges?

A published market rate does not know your rent, your award wages or the van you still owe money on. Two businesses can charge the same visit and one of them is losing money. Use the price index to see the market, then use this calculator to see whether that market rate actually pays you.

How should a house sit be entered?

Switch to house sit, set visits per day to 1, put the nightly fee in the price, and drop travel to 0. The minutes field is the awake work, not the 24 hours you are in the house. If you want to be paid for sleeping there, raise the nightly fee until the hourly rate on the right looks like a job.

Meet-and-greets are free. Should I count them?

Yes, in unpaid weekly hours. A week with four new meets can eat an evening. Free meet-and-greets are marketing. Marketing is a cost.

Why does worn-out equipment sit in the price?

Because you will buy it again. Spreading the cost over its useful life is a replacement reserve, not a depreciation lecture. If you skip it, the next dryer, treadmill or fence comes out of the pay you thought you were taking home.

Are these figures GST inclusive?

They are whatever you type. Use the same basis on every line. If your prices include GST, enter costs the way they hit your account. Mixing a GST-inclusive price with GST-exclusive costs will understate the gap.

Is this financial advice?

No. Every figure comes from the numbers you typed. The minimum price is the point where your visits cover operating costs, the equipment reserve, card fees and the pay you said you wanted. It is a planning tool, not tax, accounting or financial advice.

What you need to charge per visit

Drop-ins look cheap until you count the car, the keys and the gaps between houses.

Step 1 of 6Your target

Planning model from the numbers you type. Not financial, tax or accounting advice.

Your target

Floor$40.96

What you want to take home, and what you charge now.

What you want to earn per year

What the business should pay you, before tax. Super is added on the next line.

Super on that pay

12% is the Australian guarantee if you pay yourself a wage. Sole traders still need to put this aside.

What you charge now per visit or night

A 30-minute drop-in is the usual unit. House sits should be the nightly fee.

How this one works

Eight drop-ins with 12 minutes of driving is not four hours of work. It is closer to six, plus the meet-and-greets you did for free to win the week.

A house sit priced like a drop-in will pay you for one visit and buy the owner 16 hours of presence.

Every figure comes from the numbers you entered. The minimum is the point at which revenue covers operating costs, team wages, the equipment reserve, card fees and the pay you said you wanted, across the visits you realistically complete in a year. It is general business information, not financial, tax or accounting advice. Last updated August 2026.

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