ToolCost Per Funded Hour Calculator
The true cost of delivering a funded hour is the single most important number in nursery group economics. Most groups know what they receive from the local authority. Far fewer know what it costs them to deliver. The gap between the two is where margin is won or lost, and without calculating it at the level of individual authorities, age bands, and settings, every pricing decision is based on assumption rather than evidence.
This calculator breaks down the funded hour cost so you can see where your group stands. Input your figures and see results on screen.
Cost Per Funded Hour Calculator
Calculate the true cost of delivering a funded hour across four layers of cost allocation. Compare your cost against the funded rates you receive from each local authority.
Staff Costs
Enter the average employment cost for a practitioner in your group. Include all on-costs. The calculator uses total employment cost, not hourly wage.
Room Configuration
Set the statutory ratios for each age band you want to calculate. These determine the direct staff cost per child per funded hour.
Room Overhead
Costs specific to the room but not to individual staff: consumables, food, cleaning materials, resources, utilities. Allocated to funded hours based on the proportion of hours that are funded.
Setting Overhead
Costs at setting level that are not specific to any room: setting manager, administrator, building costs (rent, insurance, rates, maintenance), garden area, reception.
Central Overhead
Head office and group-level costs: central management, HR, finance, IT, marketing, professional fees. Allocated equally across settings. For single-setting operators, enter your non-room, non-setting overhead here.
Funded Rates by Local Authority
Enter the funded hourly rate you receive from each local authority. Add as many authorities as you operate across. Rates should be the base hourly rate before any supplements.
Your Cost Per Funded Hour
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The Margin Diagnostic goes deeper. It works with your data, at your settings, against benchmarks calibrated to groups of your size and structure.
Book a discovery callWhat Comes Next
Understanding your cost per funded hour is the starting point. The Margin Diagnostic goes further, walking the full P&L across funded hour economics, fee architecture, occupancy and ratios, workforce cost, and central overhead to find and size the EBITDA opportunity.