# See which clients really pay you the least per hour

> A client you love can turn out to be your lowest real hourly rate once emails count.

Get a small calculator right in your chat where you enter each client's fee, hours, admin time and late payments, and see your true hourly rate for each one.

- Page: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/real-hourly-rate-per-client/
- Category: Make smarter decisions
- Made for: Coaches, Consultants, Small business owners
- Works in: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini
- Time: About 10 minutes
- Effort: Just copy and paste
- Published: 2026-10-23

## How do I figure out which clients are actually worth my time?

Work out each client's real hourly rate by adding admin time and late payments to the hours you deliver. Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini can all build the calculator in the chat, so pick the one you use most. It fits coaches and consultants on monthly retainers, where emails and revisions hide. If you bill by the project, enter the project fee and total hours instead, and check the math before you use it in a quote.

## The prompt

Fill in the parts in [square brackets], or leave them and the AI will ask you for them.

```text
Build me a simple interactive calculator I can use right here in the chat to find my real hourly rate per client. For each client, let me enter: what they pay per month, hours of actual delivery, hours of admin (emails, meetings, revisions, chasing payments), and how many days late they usually pay. Show each client's real hourly rate, sorted lowest to highest, and flag anyone below [YOUR MINIMUM HOURLY RATE]. Start it with these clients: [YOUR CLIENTS, e.g. Dana, Tidewell, Northbay]. Under the table, add one line on what's dragging the lowest rate down, such as admin hours or late payments. Show the math for each row so I can check it.
```

## Step by step

1. Paste the prompt below into Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini.
2. Enter each client's fee, delivery hours and admin hours in the calculator.
3. Sort by real hourly rate to see who's lowest.
4. Ask for three ways to raise the rate on your bottom client.

## What you'll get

A working calculator in your chat that ranks clients by real hourly rate and shows what's dragging the lowest one down.

## Good to know

**How do I figure out which clients are actually worth my time?** Work out each client's real hourly rate by adding admin time and late payments to the hours you deliver. Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini can all build the calculator in the chat, so pick the one you use most. It fits coaches and consultants on monthly retainers, where emails and revisions hide. If you bill by the project, enter the project fee and total hours instead, and check the math before you use it in a quote.

**Which AI tools does this work in?** It works in Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini. On this page, Claude and ChatGPT open with your prompt already typed in. No paid plan is noted for this one.

**How long does it take?** About 10 minutes. It's rated "Just copy and paste". There are 4 steps, listed above.

**What do I need before I start?** Just your details for 2 blanks: your minimum hourly rate and your clients. You can skip any, and your AI will ask for them.

**What will I get back?** A working calculator in your chat that ranks clients by real hourly rate and shows what's dragging the lowest one down.

Idea spotted on Reddit, shared by u/Professional-Rest138: https://www.reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/1x9pcb3/chatgpt_can_build_small_working_tools_on_the_spot/. The prompt is The Solo Creators' own version.

## Go further

Ready-made skills in the Solo Creators AI Studio (https://thesolocreators.com/studio/) that fit this: Board of Advisors (Convene seven AI advisors who debate your decision, vote, and hand back a stress-tested verdict); Fact Checker (Every quote, number, date, and link in your draft checked against its real source, with the fixes handed back as tracked changes you accept or reject).

From AI Use Cases and Prompts by The Solo Creators: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/. Free to use; please link back to the page when you share it.