Find the billable rate that gives a target margin at 75% utilization

About this exercise

You're setting a consulting rate for the practice lead. Write a prompt for plain text with lines starting "Loaded cost:", "Cost per hour:", "Cost per billable hour:", "Rate for 20% margin:" and "Check:". Show the math. The rate gives a gross margin of 20% of the rate. The Check line proves the margin on one billable hour. Under 100 words.

Common mistakes when you ask AI for this

• Ignoring utilization. The AI uses $60 as the cost of a billable hour. Try: Say: "Divide cost per hour by 75% utilization."
• Marking up instead of margin. The AI multiplies cost by 1.2 to get $96. Try: Add: "Margin is 20% of the rate: rate = cost / 0.80."
• Using the old rate card. The AI starts from $85. Try: Add: "Start from salary and benefits; ignore the old rate card."
• No check. The AI states $100 with no proof. Try: Add: "Check: rate minus cost, divided by rate."
• Markdown extras. The AI adds bold labels, headings and a closing note. Try: Say: "Plain text, no bold. Output only the lines asked for."
• Trusting the AI to count words. AI is bad at counting and runs past word limits. Try: Ask for fewer words than the real cap and keep each part short.

What a strong prompt includes

• Names the five lines
• Divides by utilization
• Defines margin on the rate
• Asks for the math
• Caps length

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