Staffing and operating cost analyser
What a team really costs once superannuation, leave loading, workers compensation and payroll tax are added to pay, what the business costs to run, and the sales needed to cover it.
Results
A worked example from the inputs shown. With JavaScript switched on, the results change as you change the inputs.
Workers compensation is set to zero. Employers must insure their workers; enter the premium rate from your insurer's notice to include it.
Total operating cost, a year
$722,749
About $60,229 a month
Staff costs, a year
$523,549
72% of operating costs
Cost per person, a year
$52,355
Across 10 people
On-costs on top of pay
13.2%
$60,853: super, leave loading, insurance and tax
Sales to cover the costs, a year
$1,204,582
About $100,382 a month at a 60% gross margin
Sales for the target profit, a year
$1,371,249
For a profit of $100,000
Superannuation guarantee, a year
$56,095
12.0% of ordinary time earnings and leave loading
The team of 10 people costs $523,549 a year: $462,696 in pay and $60,853 in on-costs, 13.2% on top of pay. With $199,200 of other costs, the business costs $722,749 a year to run, about $60,229 a month.
At a 60% gross margin it needs sales of $1,204,582 a year to cover those costs, and $1,371,249 for a profit of $100,000.
Wages for payroll tax, superannuation included, are $523,549, below the threshold of $1,200,000, so no payroll tax is due on these figures. Related businesses share one threshold, which this does not model.
These are employer costs from the rates entered. They do not interpret any award: the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides set the minimum rates, loadings and penalties for each one.
Show the figures
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Pay | $463k |
| Leave loading | $4.8k |
| Super | $56k |
| Staff costs | $524k |
Show the figures
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Staff | $524k, 72% |
| Rent | $108k, 15% |
| Power, water and gas | $18k, 2% |
| Insurance | $9.6k, 1% |
| Equipment and leases | $12k, 2% |
| Software and subscriptions | $7.2k, 1% |
| Marketing | $18k, 2% |
| Accounting, legal and bank fees | $14k, 2% |
| Other costs | $12k, 2% |
Show the figures
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Manager | $101k |
| Full time staff | $215k, $72k each |
| Part time staff | $85k, $42k each |
| Casual staff | $122k, $31k each |
Scenarios
Keep the base case and try other assumptions beside it. Each scenario starts from the base case and keeps only the inputs you change in it.
The team, a year
| Role | People | Basis | Pay a week, each | Pay | Leave loading | Super | Insurance, tax and other | Total | Each |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | 1.0 | Full time | $1,710.00 | $88,920 | $1,197 | $10,814 | $0 | $100,931 | $100,931 |
| Full time staff | 3.0 | Full time | $1,216.00 | $189,696 | $2,554 | $23,070 | $0 | $215,320 | $71,773 |
| Part time staff | 2.0 | Part time | $720.00 | $74,880 | $1,008 | $9,107 | $0 | $84,995 | $42,497 |
| Casual staff | 4.0 | Casual | $525.00 | $109,200 | $0 | $13,104 | $0 | $122,304 | $30,576 |
| Total | 10.0 | $462,696 | $4,759 | $56,095 | $0 | $523,549 | $52,355 |
Casual pay includes the casual loading; leave loading is for full and part time staff. Pay a week includes penalty hours and overtime.
Every cost
| A year | A month | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | $462,696 | $38,558 |
| Annual leave loading | $4,759 | $397 |
| Superannuation | $56,095 | $4,675 |
| Workers compensation | $0 | $0 |
| Payroll tax | $0 | $0 |
| Other on-costs | $0 | $0 |
| Staff costs | $523,549 | $43,629 |
| Rent | $108,000 | $9,000 |
| Power, water and gas | $18,000 | $1,500 |
| Insurance | $9,600 | $800 |
| Equipment and leases | $12,000 | $1,000 |
| Software and subscriptions | $7,200 | $600 |
| Marketing | $18,000 | $1,500 |
| Accounting, legal and bank fees | $14,400 | $1,200 |
| Other costs | $12,000 | $1,000 |
| Total operating cost | $722,749 | $60,229 |
The full schedule, repayment by repayment, is in the downloads.
Download
The inputs, results and schedules of the scenario on screen. Files are made in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.
What it does
Pay is only part of the cost of employing someone. The analyser takes each role's hourly rate, hours and basis (full time, part time or casual) and adds the casual loading, annual leave loading, the superannuation guarantee, workers compensation and NSW payroll tax, at the rates in force for 2026-27. With the other costs of running the business it shows the total, the cost per person and the sales the business needs at its gross margin to cover them and to make a target profit.
Professional mode adds hours at penalty rates and overtime for each role, and lets you change the superannuation, loading and payroll tax settings, for another state, say.
Understanding your results
- On-costs
- What an employer pays on top of pay: superannuation, leave loading, workers compensation insurance, payroll tax and anything else you add, shown as a share of pay.
- Superannuation guarantee
- 12% of ordinary time earnings. From 1 July 2026 employers pay it with each pay, and it is worked out on qualifying earnings, which include ordinary time earnings. Pay for overtime hours is generally not ordinary time earnings, so it is left out here.
- Payroll tax
- A state tax on wages above a yearly threshold. In New South Wales for 2026-27 it is 5.45% of wages above $1.2 million, with superannuation counted as wages. Related businesses are grouped and share one threshold.
- Sales needed
- The total cost divided by the gross margin: the sales whose margin pays the costs. A target profit adds the sales that would earn it.
- Leave
- Pay for 52 weeks already includes the paid annual and personal leave staff take. What it does not include is the cost of someone covering their work while they are away.
The method
How this is calculated
For each role, with h the hourly rate before any casual loading:
Ordinary pay a week = hours × h × (1 + casual loading, for casual staff)
Penalty pay a week = penalty hours × h × penalty loading
Overtime pay a week = overtime hours × h × overtime rate
Pay a year = (ordinary + penalty + overtime pay) × 52 × people
Leave loading = loading × 4 weeks × hours × h, for full and part time staff
Superannuation = guarantee rate × (ordinary time earnings + leave loading)
Workers compensation = premium rate × (pay + leave loading + superannuation)
Payroll tax = rate × (pay + leave loading + superannuation − threshold), when above it
Sales needed = (total cost + target profit) ÷ gross margin
Ordinary time earnings are ordinary pay and penalty pay, without overtime. Penalty and overtime pay are worked out on the hourly rate before any casual loading; awards differ in how loadings combine, so check the one that applies. Other costs are entered by the month and counted twelve times.
The superannuation guarantee, payroll tax, leave and minimum wage settings are dated and sourced in How the tools work.
Assumptions and limitations
The defaults are an illustration: ten people in four roles at hourly rates from $28 to $45, $16,600 a month of other costs and a 60% gross margin. The rates are not award rates for any job. Workers compensation starts at zero because premiums depend on the industry and the business's claims: enter your own rate.
The analyser works out employer costs from the rates you enter. It does not interpret awards or enterprise agreements, confirm that a rate meets the minimum for a job, or include allowances, long service leave, redundancy, recruitment or the cost of covering leave. The Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guides set the minimum rates for each award. It is general information, not payroll, tax or legal advice.
Learn more
- Costs up, customers careful: costs, margins and spending in 2026, with a model of the squeeze.
- Understanding the economics of an indoor sports venue: staffing and fixed costs in a real kind of business.
- The break-even and pricing analyser, for what each sale must earn to cover these costs.
- The cash flow forecaster, to see these costs month by month against the cash coming in.