Can I Afford to Hire?
See the loaded monthly cost of a new employee, how much revenue the role needs to support, and whether your cash reserve can carry the ramp-up period.
Your figures stay in this browser. This planning estimate is not accounting, tax, legal or HR advice.
What is a hiring affordability calculator?
A hiring affordability calculator estimates whether a small business can carry the full cost of a new employee. It combines salary, employer taxes, benefits, overhead and one-time hiring costs, then compares that cost with expected contribution, ramp-up time and available cash.
How much revenue must the hire generate?
Required monthly revenue = loaded monthly employee cost ÷ contribution margin. For example, a role costing $5,000 per month in a business with a 40% contribution margin needs approximately $12,500 in additional monthly revenue to cover its cost.
Built for practical small-business hiring decisions.
Use the calculator before hiring a first employee, adding an operations or sales role, replacing a contractor, or testing whether projected growth can safely support payroll. Recalculate with conservative and optimistic revenue assumptions before making a final decision.
Hiring affordability FAQ
What costs should I include?
Include salary or wages, employer payroll taxes, benefits, insurance where applicable, equipment, software, workspace, recruiting and onboarding.
Why use contribution margin instead of total revenue?
Only the portion of new revenue left after variable costs is available to cover the employee. Using total revenue can make a hire look safer than it is.
Does the calculator store my data?
No. The calculation runs locally in your browser and the figures are not sent to Apps That Stay.
Make the next business decision without another account.
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