✖️ Multiplier Method Calculator (Local Staffing)
A multiplier is just another way of saying markup: 1.65x means pay rate times 1.65, which is a 65% markup. VMS contracts, MSP rate cards, and large health system RFPs all speak this language. This tab from Dee's How To Charge workbook translates any multiplier into your bill rate, equivalent markup, and, after subtracting your real burden, the profit you actually keep, plus a full 1.20x to 2.00x conversion table that flags which multipliers lose you money at your pay rate.
Your numbers
The translation: Multiplier = 1 + Markup %. A 1.65x multiplier is a 65% markup. VMS contracts, MSP arrangements, and large health system rate cards all speak multiplier language; this tab translates it into your actual profit.
What you pay the worker.
Given by the VMS/MSP, or your own target. Example: 1.65.
Defaults to the master workbook's Burden Builder total (21.55%). Replace it with YOUR burden; the Burden Builder calculator builds it with your state's defaults.
Estimates for planning, not financial or legal advice. The numbers are illustrations built from your inputs; your market, your state, and your carrier decide the real ones.
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Build my launch plan free →Good questions about this math
How do I convert a multiplier to a markup percentage?
Subtract 1. A 1.65x multiplier is a 65% markup; a 1.40x multiplier is 40%. To go the other way, add 1 to your markup. That is the entire translation; the danger is forgetting to check the result against your burden.
Is a 1.5x multiplier good?
It depends entirely on your burden. At a $25 pay rate with a 21.55% burden, 1.50x leaves about $7.11 an hour, which the workbook's verdict scale calls Solid. At 1.25x the same deal leaves 86 cents, Dangerously Thin, and 1.20x loses money outright. The conversion table shows the verdict at every step.
Where will I encounter multiplier language?
VMS contracts hand you a pay rate and an approved multiplier; MSP programs set multiplier caps by job category; large health systems and GPO contracts use multiplier language in RFPs and rate cards. Your margin is whatever fits inside the multiplier after burden.
Why does the calculator default burden to 21.55%?
In the master workbook this cell links to the Burden Builder tab, whose default total is 21.55%. In the standalone version it is an editable input; build your own number with the Burden Builder calculator (with its state dropdown) and paste it here.
Do I get the Excel version?
Yes. The $27 one-time unlock includes the standalone Multiplier Method workbook with every formula live plus the START HERE guide tab.
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