Freelance Rate Calculator

What it does

What this one touches

Never presents its output as tax advice, legal advice, or financial advice. Never sends a quote to a client or accepts work on the user's behalf. Never invents the user's expenses, hours, or tax rate: every number comes from the user or is flagged as an assumption to confirm.

Install

Copy this block and paste it into your Muse chat. Muse does the install and confirms when it's done.

Full source

This is the exact text Muse installs. Read it. That's the whole trust model.

---
name: freelance-rate-calculator
description: Work out a freelance hourly rate, day rate, and project quote from target income, business expenses, taxes set aside, and realistic billable hours. Use when the user says "freelance rate", "what should I charge", "calculate my rate", "hourly rate calculator", "day rate", "quote this project", or wants to raise, check, or defend a price for client work.
---

## Purpose
Turn a freelancer's real numbers into a rate that covers income, costs, and time off, with math the user can check and a range they can negotiate from, instead of a price guessed from what others charge.

## Workflow
1. Gather the inputs: target annual take-home pay, yearly business expenses, a taxes set-aside percentage, weeks worked per year, and realistic billable hours per week. Ask for missing numbers, and never fill them in silently.
2. Show the math step by step: add expenses and the taxes set-aside to the target income to get the revenue needed, then divide by total billable hours to get the hourly floor.
3. Build the range: present the hourly floor as the low end, a target rate above it for profit and slow months, and a stretch rate for premium or rush work, each labeled clearly.
4. Price the project: multiply estimated hours by the target rate, add a line for revisions or scope risk when the brief is vague, and show the day rate as eight times the hourly rate or the user's own working day length.
5. Sense-check the result: compare it with the user's current rate, flag it when the floor lands above what the market for that work usually pays, and suggest honest levers: fewer expenses, more billable hours, or a narrower service.
6. Write the quote note: a short paragraph the user can paste into a proposal, stating what the rate covers, what is out of scope, and that revisions beyond the agreed count are billed extra.

## Output Contract
- Inputs used: every number, with any assumption flagged as an assumption to confirm.
- Math breakdown: revenue needed, billable hours, and each division shown line by line.
- Rate range: low, target, and stretch hourly rates, plus the day rate.
- Project quote: estimated hours, rate used, total, and any scope-risk line.
- Sense-check: how the new rate compares with the current rate, and levers if the floor looks high.
- Quote note: ready to paste, covering scope and extra revisions.

## Operating Rules
- Never invent expenses, hours, weeks worked, or a tax percentage. If the user does not give a number, ask for it or mark it plainly as an assumption.
- Never present the result as tax advice, legal advice, or financial advice. Suggest the user check tax figures with their own accountant.
- Never send a quote to a client, accept work, or agree to a price on the user's behalf. The user always makes the final call.
- Never round away the story: show the full math, even when the answer is awkward, so the user can spot a wrong input.
- Never price from a competitor's rate alone. The floor comes from the user's own numbers first, and market comparison is only a sense-check.
- If the brief is vague, price with a stated hours range and a scope-risk line, not a single confident total.

More in Money & finance

• Trip Expense Reimbursement

  Turns trip receipts and mileage into a clean expense report ready to submit.

  skillExpense report draft from receipts and mileageCategory totals with per diem handlingMileage log with rate mathPolicy flags for missing receipts and limitsExpense report template

  by Muse Skills editors · Written for this directory

  ViewCopy install promptTo install the Trip Expense Reimbursement skill, save the skill source below as ~/workspace/skills/trip-expense-reimbursement/SKILL.md, then tell Muse to use it whenever you come back from a trip with receipts or ask how to file expenses. --- SOURCE --- --- name: trip-expense-reimbursement description: Build an expense reimbursement report from trip receipts, mileage, and per diem. Use when the user says "file my trip expenses", "expense report", "reimbursement", "mileage log", "trip receipts", or comes back from a trip with receipts to sort out. --- ## Purpose Turn a pile of trip receipts and a mileage note into a clean expense report: every cost categorized, mileage totaled at the right rate, per diem handled, and anything that breaks policy flagged before the user submits it. The report is a draft the user reviews, never a submission. ## Workflow 1. Collect receipts: for each one, the date, vendor, amount, and category (lodging, meals, transport, parking, other). Ask for a photo or a typed line for each receipt. 2. Collect mileage: start and end points, miles driven, and the reimbursement rate. Multiply miles by the rate for the mileage total. 3. Handle per diem: if the user gets a daily meal allowance, apply it per travel day instead of itemizing meals, and note which days it covers. 4. Total by category and check the policy the user states: daily meal caps, lodging caps, and any categories that need a receipt above a set amount. 5. Flag gaps: receipts missing, amounts without a category, mileage without a rate, and any line over a cap. 6. Build the report draft: a dated table of every line, category totals, the mileage log, and the grand total, with flagged lines marked for the user to fix. ## Output Contract - An expense table: date, vendor, category, amount, and receipt status for every line. - Category totals and a grand total, with per diem shown as its own line. - A mileage log: trips, miles, rate, and the mileage total. - A flags list: missing receipts, uncapped lines, and anything over a stated limit. - Nothing is submitted. The report is a draft the user reviews and files. ## Operating Rules - Never invent an amount, a mileage figure, or a receipt. If a number is missing, ask for it or mark the line as incomplete. - Never submit the report or contact an employer, a finance team, or a booking system. - Keep one currency through the whole report; convert foreign amounts only when the user gives the rate or the converted figure. - Per diem and itemized meals never mix on the same day; pick one and note the choice. - State the rate and the policy limits used, so the user can check them against the real policy.

• Debt Payoff Planner

  Turns your debts, APRs, and minimums into a payoff order and a monthly plan.

  skillPayoff order by avalanche or snowballMonthly payment plan with a debt-free dateInterest comparison between payoff ordersWhat-if check for an extra monthly paymentPayoff plan template

  by Muse Skills editors · Written for this directory

  ViewCopy install promptTo install the Debt Payoff Planner skill, save the skill source below as ~/workspace/skills/debt-payoff-planner/SKILL.md, then tell Muse to use it whenever you list your debts or ask which debt to pay first. --- SOURCE --- --- name: debt-payoff-planner description: Build a debt payoff plan from debts, balances, APRs, and minimum payments. Use when the user says "pay off my debts", "debt payoff plan", "avalanche or snowball", "how fast can I be debt free", "extra payment", or shares a list of debts and asks which one to pay first. --- ## Purpose Turn a list of debts into a payoff plan with a clear order: which debt gets every extra dollar, which debts stay at their minimums, and when each debt is gone. The plan compares two orders, avalanche (highest APR first) and snowball (smallest balance first), so the user picks with both the math and the motivation in view. ## Workflow 1. Collect debts: for each debt, the name, balance, APR, and minimum payment, plus the total monthly amount the user can pay toward debt. 2. Check the floor: confirm the monthly amount covers all minimums combined. If it does not, say so plainly and stop; the plan needs a different budget first. 3. Build both orders: avalanche (highest APR first) and snowball (smallest balance first), each with a debt-free date and total interest paid. 4. Recommend one order and give the reasons: avalanche usually costs less interest, snowball usually clears a first debt sooner. 5. Turn the chosen order into a month-by-month plan: which debt gets the extra payment, which debts stay at minimum, and when each balance hits zero. 6. Run the what-if: show how an extra monthly payment changes the debt-free date and the interest total. 7. Recheck on payoff: when a debt is paid off, roll its payment into the next debt in the order and update the dates. ## Output Contract - A debt table: name, balance, APR, minimum payment, and position in the chosen order. - A comparison: avalanche versus snowball, with a debt-free date and total interest for each. - A monthly plan for the chosen order, naming the target debt each month. - An extra-payment what-if: the new debt-free date and the interest saved. - No payment is made, moved, or scheduled. The plan is text the user reviews. ## Operating Rules - Never ask for logins, card numbers, or account access. Work only from numbers the user types in. - Never move money, schedule a payment, or contact a lender. - Never invent a balance, APR, or minimum. If a figure is missing, ask for it or mark the plan as partial. - Every debt stays at its minimum in every month of the plan; the extra payment goes to one target debt at a time. - Round dates to the month, and state that the plan assumes no new charges and no rate changes. - If the minimums alone exceed the monthly amount the user can pay, say so plainly and stop instead of building a plan that cannot work.

• Moving Cost Estimator

  Turns your inventory, distance, and service level into a moving cost estimate.

  skillinstructionsworkflowestimate-templatemover-questions

  by Muse Skills editors · Written for this directory

  ViewCopy install promptInstall the "Moving Cost Estimator" skill. Its full source is below. Create it at ~/workspace/skills/moving-cost-estimator/SKILL.md following skill-creator conventions (name and description frontmatter; Purpose, Workflow, Output Contract, Operating Rules sections). Then confirm it is installed and tell me the trigger phrases. --- SOURCE --- --- name: moving-cost-estimator description: Turns a rough inventory list, origin and destination, move date, and service level into a realistic moving cost estimate with line items and a quote-comparison checklist. Trigger phrases: "estimate my moving cost", "how much will my move cost", "compare moving options", "is this mover quote fair", "moving cost breakdown". --- # Purpose Do one narrow job: build a realistic moving cost estimate before the user talks to any mover. Take a room or item list, the origin and destination, the move date or window, the service level (DIY truck rental, labor-only help, portable containers, full-service movers), and any special items (piano, safe, fragile art). Turn that into a per-service-level estimate with line items, the levers that move the total, and a checklist of questions that make real quotes comparable. The point is simple: walk into quoting armed with your own number, so a padded bid stands out fast. # Workflow 1. Gather the inputs before estimating: the inventory (rooms or an item list), origin and destination, move date or window, preferred service level (or "compare all"), and special items. Ask for anything missing; never invent a distance or a date. 2. Estimate volume: convert the inventory into cubic feet and truck-size equivalents using standard room-volume benchmarks. Show this number; it is the single biggest driver of cost. 3. Build the estimate per service level: base cost ranges from distance and volume bands, then line items for fuel or mileage, valuation coverage, packing materials, storage if the date window needs it, and access fees (stairs, elevator, long carry). Include tipping as its own line. 4. Name the levers: which three inputs move the total most, and how the user can shrink them (pack themselves, pick a mid-month or off-season date, reduce volume before moving). 5. Present a comparison across service levels plus a quote-comparison checklist: the questions that make every bid apples to apples, including how the mover charges for access, stairs, and packing materials. # Output Contract - A cost estimate per service level as a low/high range, with the assumptions shown - A line-item breakdown: transport, labor, fuel, insurance or valuation, materials, storage, access fees, tipping - The three biggest levers and how to shrink each - A quote-comparison checklist for collecting real bids - A statement of what information would sharpen the estimate # Operating Rules - Never present a range as a quote; label every figure an estimate and show the assumptions behind it. - Never drop a bulky or special item from the estimate without asking about it first. - Ask for origin, destination, and date before estimating; never invent distances or guess the move date. - Keep estimates in ranges. Moving costs vary too much for single numbers. - Never recommend a specific moving company or book anyone.

• Reconciliation Checker

  Compares two money sources line by line and flags every mismatch.

  skillinstructionsworkflowreport format

  by Muse Skills editors · Written for this directory

  ViewCopy install promptInstall the "Reconciliation Checker" skill. Its full source is below. Create it at ~/workspace/skills/reconciliation-checker/SKILL.md following skill-creator conventions (name and description frontmatter; Purpose, Workflow, Output Contract, Operating Rules sections). Then confirm it is installed and tell me the trigger phrases. --- SOURCE --- --- name: reconciliation-checker description: Compares two money sources (invoices vs spreadsheet, payouts vs bank export) and flags every mismatch. Trigger phrases: "reconcile my invoices", "check my reconciliation", "find the mismatches". --- # Purpose Find every line that does not agree between two records of the same money. Typical pairs: invoices against a tracking spreadsheet, payout reports against a bank export, donation receipts against a ledger, platform sales against deposited amounts. Reconciliation Checker normalizes the two sources, matches their lines, and reports what matches, what is missing on either side, and what disagrees. # Workflow 1. Ask which two sources to compare, and get both in a readable form: CSV, spreadsheet, pasted text, or a structured list the user provides. Do not proceed on only one side. 2. Ask which field is the match key: invoice number, order ID, date plus amount, or a combination. Confirm the date format and the currency before matching. 3. Normalize both sources: trim whitespace, standardize dates to one format, and express amounts as plain numbers. Note which side needed the most cleanup; that is where errors hide. 4. Match lines on the agreed key. Mark each line as: matched, only in source A, only in source B, or matched but with a differing field. 5. For lines matched but disagreeing, record the field, the value on each side, and the difference in plain numbers. 6. Sort findings by impact: amount differences first (largest first), then lines present on one side only. 7. Write the report in the Output Contract shape and send it. # Output Contract - Summary: counts of matched lines, lines only in A, lines only in B, and lines with amount differences, plus the total dollar value of all differences. - Mismatch table: one row per issue, in impact order. Each row has the match key, the issue type, the value in source A, the value in source B, and the difference. - Cleanup note: what was normalized, so the user can judge whether the matches are trustworthy. - Next step suggestion: a plain sentence on where to look first (for example, "two payouts are missing on the bank side; check the payout delay policy"). No diagnosis is presented as fact. # Operating Rules - Never edit, overwrite, or append to either source file. Work on copies in memory and report the findings. - Never move money, pay a bill, or contact a bank, client, or platform on the user's behalf. Flag only. - Never treat a guessed match as confirmed. If the match key is ambiguous, say so and list the candidates separately. - Never fabricate a line to make the totals balance. Unmatched lines stay unmatched in the report. - Never share the report or the source data with anyone but the user.