What a sole trader's hour is really worth
Being your own boss means your rate is whatever the last job paid you divided by the hours it took — including the ones nobody invoices. Here is that number, for a month you have already lived.
Sole trader hourly rate — what you actually earn
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The hours are the hard part
Not the money. Being honest about hours is the thing that makes this number work, and it includes the job you did not get, the quote you wrote, and the invoice you chased.
A rate that only moves down is information
If your hourly rate is falling while your invoices are steady, you are working more for the same money. That is a pricing or a scope problem, and it is visible only because you kept the record.
What SideTill adds
Your best month, next to this one. Because the number that matters is not this month alone — it is whether this month is still your best.
Keep the number for every month
SideTill is the simple record of your side hustle: log the job, send the invoice, record the money when it comes in, and see whether the month actually made you money. It also shows your best month, so you can tell a bad month from a bad habit.
Get SideTill
No account. No sign-up. Your data stays on your phone. The basics are free to use.
Questions
Should I include time spent looking for work?
If you are being paid to do it, yes. If you are unemployed and hoping, no — that is not a rate, that is a gap.
What about time I did not charge for?
Include it. That is usually where a quiet rate hides.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
A spreadsheet can hold the numbers. It will not tell you that this month was fewer hours and a much worse rate, because that needs the history in one place.