Hiring plan
What each person really costs, when they start paying for themselves, and what the hires do to margin, cash and the team's capacity. Every change here flows straight into the forecast and the P&L.
Can we afford three more people?
Yes. Net margin never drops below 18.4% and cash stays above $237K. The hires cost $22K of 2027 profit, not their full $295K, because they replace contractor hours the business already pays for.
Planned hires
Edit any field. Untick a hire to take it out of the forecast without losing it.
| In the forecast | Role | Type | Salary | Starts | Benefits | Payroll tax | Commission | Cost a year | Pays for itself with | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,020 | $7,052 | None | $98,072 | 1,032 contractor hours a year | ||||||
| $9,900 | $7,740 | None | $107,640 | 1,133 contractor hours a year | ||||||
| $7,150 | $5,590 | $89,740 | 1.7 new retainer clients kept for a year |
Base pay is 80% of what these people cost. The other 20% is the part that surprises people: benefits at about 11% of salary, payroll taxes at about 8.6%, and commission paid in a different month from the revenue that earned it.
Net margin, month by month
With the planned hires and without them. The dotted line is the floor you do not want to go below.
Why hire at all
Hours of client work against the hours the delivery team can cover. Anything above the team line is bought from contractors.
A new delivery hire covers half their hours in their first month and three quarters in their second. A new account manager brings in about 0.5 extra retainer clients a month once settled, after four months. Both assumptions are worth arguing about, which is exactly why they are written down here.