{"id":210,"date":"2017-10-30T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-29T22:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=210"},"modified":"2024-05-27T08:08:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-26T22:08:12","slug":"how-to-set-a-price-for-massage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2017\/10\/30\/how-to-set-a-price-for-massage\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set a Price For Massage"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dave Moore<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"\"

Image courtesy of Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

How much should you be charging for a massage treatment? Do you follow what other therapis<\/em>ts charge or do you examine your labour hours, outgoings, inflation and other operational costs?<\/em><\/p>\n

With some simple steps, I\u2019ll show you how to set a realistic price.<\/em><\/p>\n

Triggered by a plumbing emergency, which cost over $400 PER HOUR<\/strong>, I began to question why most massage therapists (myself included) are charging so little. After all, we\u2019re running a business, not a charity.<\/p>\n

When I checked how much I was charging for a treatment and whether my charges truly reflected the costs incurred in running my clinic \u2013 and were giving me a living wage \u2013 I realised my charges hadn\u2019t even kept up with inflation, especially the cost of energy.<\/p>\n

Inflation<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the moment, the value of everything drops by around 2-3% per year due to inflation. In the past, this figure has been significantly higher, so you need to be vigilant and do regular checks and updates. In my case, the value to me had dropped around 12% in the 5 years since I last adjusted my fees. A quick check of the Reserve Bank\u2019s online inflation calculator<\/a>\u00a0gave me a starting point, and a bit of a fright.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Inflation target (source: RBA)<\/p><\/div>\n

Disclaimers and Cautions<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not an accountant so this is just a guide to get you started. I\u2019ve tried to make it quite flexible so please adapt it to suit your circumstances.<\/p>\n

Many of us work in different ways and nothing is set in concrete. Numbers don\u2019t need to be perfect but the better the guess, the more accurate the result. The key point is that a massage business is more than just massaging clients.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n

1. Create a \u201cWork Breakdown Analysis\u201d to Determine Your Annual Clinic Hours<\/strong><\/h6>\n

This identifies everything we do as a massage therapist and works out its value to our business.<\/p>\n

Take a look at the graphic below and work out, on average, how much time per day you spend on each of these activities. Can you think of other activities that should be included? If so, add them in.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Grab a calculator and add this up. That\u2019s a lot of time you spend each day on running your business.<\/p>\n

This highlights how much time you put into your business compared with the time you spend actually doing massage.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In my example below, only 1\/3 of your time is hands on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Time for some maths.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Working on the basis of a 48 week working year, where there is an allowance for 4 weeks off\/year for vacation, public holidays, family and other events, and sickness, it\u2019s time for more maths.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h6>\n
2.\u00a0Determine Annual Auxiliary Working Hours<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Your auxiliary working hours are the time spent on:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And yet more maths to see how many hours you work in total. I\u2019ll bet you\u2019re surprised by the result.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h6>\n
3.\u00a0Determine Your Desired Hourly Rate<\/strong><\/h6>\n

How much is your time worth? An untrained waiter gets around $17 per hour and the minimum award for an entry level massage therapist is about $23. We are worth more than that. Determine your desired hourly rate, then do the maths:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

4. Superannuation<\/strong><\/h6>\n

10% of the gross annual labour cost should be paid to your superannuation fund (otherwise you\u2019ll have a miserable old age). Check with your accountant to see if your super contributions are tax deductible.<\/p>\n

5. Tax<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Speaking of tax, don\u2019t forget the gross annual labour cost is a pre-tax amount, so expect to lose about 30% to the ATO. That\u2019s calculated later in this exercise.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll need to do a similar calculation for each person (if any) you employ.<\/p>\n

6. Other Costs<\/strong><\/h6>\n

How much money does your massage business outlay? Can you add any other items to this list?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

7. Annual Running Costs<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Calculate the other sources of income, e.g. from interest and\/or tax returns. Then determine your annual running costs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Remember these costs need to be met before you make any money for yourself. You may be able to claim some of this back in tax, which will then be income in the next financial year. (Please check this with your tax accountant though because I\u2019m not an accountant<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

8. The Cost of Doing Business<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Now for the cruncher. How much money you need to turn over per year to run your practice and pay yourself a reasonable wage is your cost of doing business. Again with the maths.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

9. Your hourly cost for a massage treatment is …<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Obviously this comes from your clients. Using your clinic diary, you\u2019ll get an idea how many clients you\u2019ve treated in the last year. Use that to help you do the maths and find out what you should be charging your clients for a one hour massage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Is this how much you\u2019re charging your clients? If not, how do you plan to survive?<\/p>\n

I Made a Spreadsheet So You Don\u2019t Have To<\/strong><\/h6>\n

I have made up an Excel spreadsheet, based on the information I\u2019ve shared here, where you can add your own numbers in the GREEN cells. All the embedded calculations will save you from doing so much maths. Remember to be honest with yourself and don\u2019t work for nothing..<\/p>\n

Has this article been useful? Please share with your colleagues and together we can help all massage therapists earn what they deserve. You can also download Dave’s spreadsheet<\/a> for free.<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/h6>\n

\"\"Dave Moore is a Sydney based massage therapist and a current AMT Director, performing the additional role of Treasurer. After working as a theatrical electrician and touring with bands (this could account for his loud voice), Dave progressed into operations and project management roles at both national broadcasters and a Sydney university before taking up massage in 1999. Dave enjoys sharing his experience to help other therapists look at the business side of their practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dave Moore How much should you be charging for a massage treatment? Do you follow what other therapists charge or do you examine your labour hours, outgoings, inflation and other operational costs? With some simple steps, I\u2019ll show you how to set a realistic price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,30,2],"tags":[44,42,45,47,43,48,46],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amt","category-massage","category-professional-practice","tag-cost","tag-dave-moore","tag-inflation","tag-massage-therapist","tag-price-setting","tag-pricing","tag-tax"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4058,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2025\/06\/24\/if-you-charged-100-per-hr-in-2020-and-havent-raised-your-rates-since-youre-actually-only-earning-83-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":0},"title":"If You Charged $100 per hr in 2020 and Haven\u2019t Raised Your Rates Since, You\u2019re Actually Only Earning $83 Now","author":"admin","date":"24\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re basing your rates on what clients \u201ccan afford\u201d or what \u201cfeels fair\u201d without doing the maths on your actual costs and inflation, you\u2019re running your business on vibes. 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What was your favourite?","rel":"","context":"In "AMT"","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Best-of-2018.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Best-of-2018.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Best-of-2018.png?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1432,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/03\/06\/research-and-massage\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":2},"title":"Research and Massage","author":"admin","date":"06\/03\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr Sarah Fogarty explains the different types of research and asks, what research into massage therapy do we want to see next.","rel":"","context":"In "Research"","block_context":{"text":"Research","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/research\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/success-2081168.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/success-2081168.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/success-2081168.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/success-2081168.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/success-2081168.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1631,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/the-top-10-of-being-a-massage-therapist\/","url_meta":{"origin":210,"position":3},"title":"The Top 10 of Being a Massage Therapist","author":"admin","date":"08\/05\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Have you forgotten the basics of being a massage therapist? 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