What the true hourly rate actually measures
A true hourly rate is not what you feel an hour is worth. It is what an hour has to sell for so the year adds up. That means your own pay, everything the business costs to run whether or not you work, and the margin the business keeps on top. Work backwards from those three and the rate falls out of them.
Three inputs move the answer more than the rest. Overhead is the one most trades guess at, and it is usually bigger than the guess once vehicle, insurance, tools, phone and the accountant are all counted. Billable hours are the second: hours worked and hours billed are different numbers, and quoting, driving, chasing parts and paperwork all sit in the gap. Weeks worked is the third: nobody bills fifty-two.
Read the required rate as a floor, not a price list. Under it you are funding the job out of your own pay. The break-even rate beside it is the cost of every hour that never reaches an invoice, which is the cheapest number on this page to ignore and the most expensive one to keep ignoring.
The common mistake is entering hours worked instead of hours billed. It makes the rate look comfortably low, and then the year does not work. Use last month if you are not sure. An actual number from your own records beats an optimistic one every time. That is the case for keeping hours and costs attached to each job as you go, which is what Zeus is for.
ZEUS