What Should You Actually Be Paying Yourself?

Answer a few questions about your business and see what Profit First says your owner's pay, profit, tax, and operating expenses should actually look like at your revenue. About sixty seconds.

See your Number

Free. No download. Your results on-screen.

Black and white photo of two business people working together at a desk, with documents, calculator, smartphone, and laptop, promoting a free 60-second self-assessment for business owners.
A financial breakdown in a table format showing expenses and income contributing to a $20,000 monthly income, with percentages and dollar amounts listed for Owners Pay, Profit, Tax, and Operating Expenses.

In about sixty seconds, you'll know:

  • What your business should actually pay you. Not a guess. A number based on real Profit First percentages for your revenue bracket, calculated on your actual numbers.

  • Where every other dollar should go - Profit, tax, and operating expenses, broken out so nothing gets neglected until it becomes a crisis.

  • The sales number that would let you earn more - If your current pay is short of where you want it, you'll see the exact monthly revenue that would close the gap.

Most of the time, it’s not about increasing income. It’s about structure. And once you know the structure, you can fix it.

"As our revenue increased, our profits did not. That was a frustrating feeling. Erica and the JEA team were the answer to regaining control of our cash and setting goals to make the business profitable again."

Josh Berg, CEO, Beautiful Feet Books

Black and white portrait of a woman with long wavy hair, wearing a blazer and smiling with her arms crossed, standing in an office setting.

About Erica Day

Before I started JEA, I built a multi-million dollar photography business and paid myself twenty-five thousand dollars a year. Not because the business was failing. Because I didn't have a system that protected profit.

I have a finance degree. I worked at Dow Jones. I still got it wrong.

This calculator uses the same Profit First framework I use with every client to show you what a healthy allocation looks like at your revenue. It's the number I wish someone had shown me ten years ago.