Staff Hours Budget Calculator

The calculator works from your own target: the share of sales you want staff costs to be. It turns that into a budget and into hours, or works back from your hours to the sales they need.

Hours I can afford

1. Staffing budget = forecast sales × target staffing cost
2. Hours you can afford = staffing budget ÷ average cost of one staff hour

If you enter the hours already scheduled, it also compares them with that budget:

1. Cost of scheduled hours = scheduled hours × average cost of one staff hour
2. Scheduled staffing cost = cost of scheduled hours ÷ forecast sales
3. Hours above or below budget = scheduled hours − hours you can afford
4. Cost above or below budget = cost of scheduled hours − staffing budget
5. Sales these hours need = cost of scheduled hours ÷ target staffing cost

Hours are shown to one decimal place. If the difference is less than 0.05 of an hour (about three minutes), the calculator treats your scheduled hours as in line with the budget.

Sales these hours require

1. Cost of scheduled hours = scheduled hours × average cost of one staff hour
2. Sales required = cost of scheduled hours ÷ target staffing cost

If you enter current or forecast sales, it also shows:

1. Staffing cost at your forecast = cost of scheduled hours ÷ forecast sales
2. Required sales against forecast = sales required − forecast sales

If sales finish higher or lower

When you have entered both sales and some scheduled hours, a table shows your staffing cost as a share of sales if sales finish 10% lower, 5% lower, on forecast, 5% higher or 10% higher, with the same scheduled hours:

1. Staffing cost % = cost of scheduled hours ÷ sales in that outcome
2. Against your target = staffing cost % − target staffing cost

“Against your target” is given in percentage points. For example, 14.76% against a 14% target is 0.76 points above. It is a comparison with your own target only.

A business forecasts £45,000 of sales for the period and wants staff costs to be 14% of sales. One staff hour costs £16.20 on average, and 410 hours are scheduled.

Hours I can afford

The staffing budget is £45,000 × 14% = £6,300. At £16.20 an hour that covers £6,300 ÷ £16.20 = about 388.9 hours.

The 410 scheduled hours cost 410 × £16.20 = £6,642, which is 14.76% of forecast sales. That is 410 − 388.9 = about 21.1 hours, or £6,642 − £6,300 = £342, above the budget.

Sales these hours require

Working the other way: for £6,642 of staff cost to be 14% of sales, sales need to be £6,642 ÷ 14% = about £47,443. That is about £2,443 above the £45,000 forecast.

If sales finish higher or lower

With the same 410 hours, sales 10% lower (£40,500) would make staffing 16.40% of sales, 2.40 points above target. Sales 10% higher (£49,500) would make it 13.42%, 0.58 points below.

• Sales and staff hours must cover the same period, for example one week. The calculator does not check this.
• Each staff hour is costed using the average hourly figure you enter.
• Salaried or fixed staff costs are included only if you include them in that average.
• The calculator does not work out employer costs such as taxes or pension contributions for you. Include them in your hourly figure if you want them counted, and use the same cost basis consistently.
• Use sales on the same basis as your staffing target, for example both excluding VAT.
• The scenario comparisons hold staff hours fixed while sales change.
• The calculator does not recommend what your staffing-cost target should be, and does not compare you with any industry figure. The target is yours.
• The currency setting changes the symbol only. It does not convert between currencies.
• Results are a planning aid based on the figures you enter. They are not financial or accounting advice.