Leaving Work

Two numbers decide whether you can do this.

How long your savings actually last with no income, and what you genuinely need to charge once the employer stops paying for your pension, your holiday, your sick days, your laptop and your insurance. Most people guess both, and guess low.

Eight tabs, all formulas live

• Runway — months of cover with no income at all, the date your savings run out, and what you would need to reach six months.
• Countdown — 24 tasks from day −60 to +90, dated from your last day. The ones before you leave are the ones people miss: references, unvested shares, appointments still covered.
• Hidden costs — 13 things your employer was quietly paying for, totalled per year and per billable day.
• Rate you need — works backwards from the income you want, through tax and those hidden costs, divided by the days you can realistically bill. Then compares it to the rate you had in mind.
• Country notes — 15 questions for your national authority or accountant.
• Plus Setup, Start here and Licence.

Why the rate tab matters

Most people set a rate by looking at what other people charge. This sets it from what you actually need — and the number is usually higher, because employment was subsidising you in ways that never appeared on a payslip.

European by default

No country’s notice periods, contribution rates, benefit rules or registration deadlines are hard-coded. They differ everywhere and change most years, so you enter yours once from official sources. That is also why this never goes out of date.

What you need

Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice or Numbers.

Delivery

An .xlsx file, emailed the moment payment clears. Yours permanently.

Not advice

A planning tool, not tax, employment, benefits or financial advice.