What the calculator does
Two costs, one total.
- Cash cost: loaded pay for each bench week, if you pay during the bench.
- Margin not earned: weekly margin the consultant would have produced once placed.
- Weeks of billing needed to recover the total.
The formulas
Simple arithmetic.
- Loaded weekly pay = pay × hours × (1 + burden %).
- Weekly margin = (bill rate − pay × (1 + burden %)) × hours.
- Total = cash cost + margin not earned; recovery weeks = total ÷ weekly margin.
Worked example
Pay $60/hr with 15% burden is $69 loaded, or $2,760 for 40 hours. At an $80 bill rate the weekly margin is $11 × 40 = $440. Over six weeks that is $16,560 in pay and $2,640 of margin not earned, $19,200 in total, which takes about 43.6 weeks of billing to recover.
Why it matters
Long bench time is the quiet cost in bench sales. Seeing it in dollars helps decide how hard to push marketing, rate flexibility or relocation for a consultant who has been unplaced for weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Is the bench always paid?
No. It depends on the employment terms and local law. The calculator lets you switch bench pay on or off.
What burden should I use?
Use your own figure for taxes, insurance and benefits on top of pay. The W2 burden calculator can help estimate it.