Content Calendar Template for Freelance Social Media Managers — 2026 Posting Plan & Retainer Calculator (US, IRS Schedule SE)

Plan every posting month of 2026 before you quote the retainer: your own eight numbers drive the hours, and the workbook applies the statutory US self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of net earnings (IRS Schedule SE) and splits it across the four Form 1040-ES quarterly deadlines — April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 — so the retainer you sign is the money you actually keep.

Your numbers

Your result

Posts published per month, all clients-
Platform assets you actually produce per month-
Production hours per month-
Billable hours available per month-
Hours left for sales, admin and revisions-
Hours you are SHORT each month (0 means the schedule fits)-
Share of your month consumed by production (%)-
Monthly retainer revenue, all clients (USD)-
Effective hourly rate on production hours, before tax (USD)-
Gap against your target hourly rate (USD per hour)-
What that gap is worth every month (USD — negative means you are paying for the privilege)-
Retainer per client your target rate actually requires (USD)-

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Plan every posting month of 2026 before you quote the retainer: your own eight numbers drive the hours, and the workbook applies the statutory US self-employment tax of 15.3% on 92.35% of ne

Keeping a workflow like this inside Airtable needs a paid seat: Airtable lists its Team plan at $20 per seat per month billed annually — $240 per seat per year, every year, to keep the base open (verify the current figure at airta

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