Is the assignment worth it?

Gross wage in, billing rate in, contribution margin out. And then the question behind it: one long assignment at a low rate, or short ones at a higher rate, with idle time and switching costs? No sign-up. The link is the comparison.

One employee, one number

What is left each month while the assignment runs? Two numbers are enough, everything else is below under "Adjust assumptions".

Your assignment today
€/h
The employee's agreed hourly wage, without on-costs.
€/h
What the client pays per hour worked.
Calculation sheet · per month 138.67 h billable1
Revenue per month
€5,824
− Wage costs incl. on-costs
€4,245.60
Contribution margin I
€1,578.40
− Overhead per employee
€350
Contribution margin II
€1,228.40
Faktor 2.10
Marge 21.1 %
Break-even rate €33.14

Two assignment profiles over time

The same employee, two paths. On the left the assignment that is running; on the right the offer on the table. Costs keep running during idle time, which is where most calculations in your head fail.1

Scenario A

€42 per hour on €20 gross wage change above

months
0 = continuous
working days
per change
€
per new assignment
month
0 = none2
€/h
Equal pay, surcharge2

261 assignment days · 0 idle · 0 changes End: €14,740.80

Scenario B
€/h
€/h
months
0 = continuous
working days
per change
€
per new assignment
month
0 = none
€/h
Equal pay, surcharge

237 assignment days · 24 idle · 3 changes End: €15,580.25

  • Long assignment €14,740.80
  • Short assignments €15,580.25
Cumulative contribution margin over 12 months
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 2 4 6 8 10 12 Break-even · month 11.0 Months €

Month 12.0 Long assignment: €14,740.80 Short assignments: €15,580.25 Differenz: + €839.45

Over 12 months "Short assignments" leaves €839.45 more than "Long assignment". It is only settled from month 11.0: before that the lead changes with every new assignment.3

The lever on the rate
"Long assignment" would need at least €42.50 per hour to catch up.
The lever on idle time
"Short assignments" tolerates at most 8 idle days per change.
Month by month
Month Long assignment Short assignments Difference
1 €1,242.52 €2,084.08 + €841.56
2 €2,485.04 €4,168.17 + €1,683.13
3 €3,671.08 €6,157.52 + €2,486.44
4 €4,913.60 €5,193.42 + €279.82
5 €6,156.12 €7,277.50 + €1,121.38
6 €7,398.64 €9,361.58 + €1,962.94
7 €8,584.68 €8,302.75 − €281.93
8 €9,827.20 €10,386.83 + €559.63
9 €11,069.72 €12,470.91 + €1,401.19
10 €12,312.24 €12,412.84 + €100.60
11 €13,498.28 €13,496.17 − €2.11
12 €14,740.80 €15,580.25 + €839.45
Adjust assumptions
Shared assumptions for both scenarios

They apply to both scenarios. The presets are approximations common in the industry, not collective-agreement values; if you know your own, enter them.4

h
%
days
days
days
€
months

This gives 174 paid hours per month, of which 79.7 % billable, and 261 working days in the period under review.

alluvo calculates this for every assignment, from the framework contract and the timesheet, not from a form.

See the product Get to know alluvo

More tools

See all tools