Employee in Freelance: Calculate your TJM taking into account French charges

You have started, you have chosen your status, you are about to meet your first customers and you suddenly realize, that you do not know at what price invoice your first days? Don't panic, we explain!

Understand the TJM

TJM is the price you charge for a working day. It is essential to ensure the profitability of your freelance missions, especially in the recruitment sector.

Step 1: Analysis of your current situation

Evaluation of your current salary : Start by analyzing your gross annual salary as an employee, including advantages such as bonuses, restaurant tickets, mutuals, etc. This gives you a base to calculate your income as a freelance.

The TJM that you will perceive will also have to take into account your social and tax charges, your rent, your provident / your mutual insurance company, your insurance, etc. You must therefore absolutely take these charges into account in the calculation of your average daily rate. Do not forget: according to the legal status you choose, the rate of contributions will be different.

Also think of your additional professional expenses: tools, software, licenses, subscription, communication, marketing that can have the invoice heavily climb, as well as your management charges (accounting, administrative, etc.). These elements are difficult to quantify upstream and therefore integrate into your TJM, but they will take you time and must therefore be taken into account in your calculation.

Step 2: conversion of wages to TJM

Calculation of TJM : The conversion of your salary to TJM is done in several stages:

1. Determination of gross annual salary : Take your current annual salary, including advantages.
2. Addition of freelance charges : in France, freelancers must pay social charges at URSSAF, which vary according to the status (self-entrepreneur, liberal profession, etc.). Consider these charges, which include social contributions, contributions to vocational training, and possibly the CFE (Land Contribution of Business).
3. Estimate of the number of days worked : Calculate the number of days you plan to work in the year (in general, there are 220 days, excluding weekends and holidays).
4. Calculation of TJM : Divide your estimated gross annual income (salary + charges) by the number of days worked to obtain your TJM.

Example

Take the example of an IT recruiter with a gross annual salary of € 50,000. The charges are estimated at around 30% of gross income, or € 15,000.

1. Gross annual salary + charges = € 50,000 + € 15,000 = € 65,000
2. Number of days worked per year = 220
3. TJM = 65,000 € / 220 ≈ 295 €

Your TJM would therefore be around € 295.

⚠️ In our example, we take a base of 220 J worked, which corresponds to a working base of 5 days a week.

Additional considerations

• THM (average hourly rate) : for short missions, calculate a THM by dividing your TJM by the number of hours worked in a day.
• Pricing strategy : Adapt your TJM according to your experience, demand, and specificities of the freelance recruitment sector. Do not hesitate to look at what is on the market to have a repository on which compare what you have calculated!
• Insurance : Do not forget to include professional insurance costs in your charges.

Conclusion

The transition from employee to freelance is an important step. By correctly calculating your TJM, taking into account the specific loads to the French system, you lay the foundations for a successful career as a freelance in the recruitment sector. You may forget to take into account certain charges in the first months and that it stresses you a little bit. However, do not panic, your TJM can evolve when you wish very easily (unlike a legal status for example!). So remember to adjust it regularly according to the evolution of your activity and the market.

We hope this article has been useful to you. Share your experiences or ask your questions in the comments!