Same hours. Shorter calendar. That’s the whole card.
A rush-fee post will tell you to paste “25% of the quote” into Slack and call it a day. That number is not a law, not a tax table, and not what this card computes. They did not ask for more hours. They asked for the same hours in fewer days. Those lost days have a price — the same hourly floor you already set on the hub, spread across a week that just got shorter.
Job keep = hours × hourly floor. That number does not move. Rush add-on = job keep × max(0, (normal days − remaining days) / normal days). That is calendar compression: the fraction of the week they just took. Rush total = keep + add-on. Implied rush hourly = rush total ÷ hours. Extra hours on the same quote is a different ping — the change-order card.
20 hours that used to have 5 days now has 2
Preset: 20 hours. Floor $90. Normal week 5 days. Remaining 2 days. Job keep 20 × $90 = $1,800. They stole 3 of 5 days, so compression is 3/5 of $1,800 = $1,080. Rush total $2,880. Implied hourly $144.
You do not invent a bonus percent on hours you can already count. You do not start the weekend before the dollars have a name. Paste the sentence. Start after they confirm.
Same hours, due tomorrow
Preset: still 20 hours, still $90, still a 5-day week — remaining is now 1 day. Compression is 4/5 of $1,800 = $1,440. Rush total $3,240. Implied hourly $162. Tomorrow is not a vibe. It is four-fifths of the week gone.
If the brief actually changed shape, stop compressing the old quote and rebuild on quote a project. This card is for the same hours on a shorter calendar, named before you cancel Thursday night.
You were going to eat it
Preset: same 20 hours, 5 days → 2. Compression is still $1,080. Eating it does not make you easy to work with. It trains the next Friday ping. The hours still leave the week. The lost days still leave the week. Name the add-on or give it away on purpose — do not pretend it was free.
If they already walked, that is not a rush. Hours already worked vs the deposit is the keep / unpaid gap. Different ping, different card. If they also asked for extra screens, extra hours × floor is change-order money — stack it, do not hide it inside this compression.
The rush % box is a planning example. You can clear it.
Some people want to see a percent of job keep next to the calendar math. Fine. Type a rush %. The card will show that product and label it a planning example. It does not replace lost-days compression. It does not become the sentence. It is not added to the rush total. There is no official 20%, 25%, or 50% freelance rush fee on this page.
Example: job keep $1,800, you type 15% → $270 planning example. Compression is still 3/5 of $1,800 = $1,080. Rush total still $2,880. The percent line is a comparison you asked for, not a rule we invented.
Send the sentence tonight
Do not write a speech about weekends. Name the same hours. Name both calendars. Name the compression. Name the total. Copy from the card so the dollars match.
- 5 days → 2. Same 20 hours. You used to have 5 days; now you have 2. Job keep at my $90.00/hr floor is $1,800.00. Calendar compression for the 3 lost days is $1,080.00. Rush total is $2,880.00 ($144.00/hr implied). Please confirm that total before I start.
- Due tomorrow. Same 20 hours, due tomorrow. You used to have 5 days; now you have 1. Job keep at my $90.00/hr floor is $1,800.00. Calendar compression for the 4 lost days is $1,440.00. Rush total is $3,240.00 ($162.00/hr implied). Please confirm that total before I start.
- Eat it. Same 20 hours in 2 days instead of 5. If I eat the rush, I still do the hours and I give away $1,080.00 of calendar compression. The rush total is $2,880.00 ($144.00/hr implied). That is not free. Please confirm that total before I start.
Skip guilt, fake scarcity, and “industry standard rush fee.” Those lines turn a calendar fact into a fight. If they will not confirm, do not start the squeeze. The original week still stands. If this is actually a new project, cut it on the quote guide and take a fresh deposit on the rush total before you block the weekend.
This is planning math, not a contract
Educational only — not legal, tax, or collections advice. We do not invent a required rush percent, a statutory weekend fee, marketplace rush fees, or a 50-state tax engine. Confirm live terms in whatever agreement you already use. If you need an enforceable timeline clause, a lawyer in your jurisdiction writes it before you cancel Thursday. Typing numbers here does not create one.
The math is: hours you type, hourly floor, normal days, remaining days, job keep, calendar compression, rush total, implied hourly, optional planning % of job keep, one email-sized sentence.
Rate calculator They asked for extra hours Quote a project If they cancelled instead Take a deposit on the rush total
Rebuild the floor on the hub if billable weeks moved. Same hours on a shorter calendar get a name on this card. Extra hours on a live job get a name on change-order. If they already walked, use the kill-fee keep / gap.
FAQ
How do I charge a freelance rush job when they need it Friday?
Same hours, shorter calendar. Job keep is hours × your hourly floor. Rush add-on is job keep × max(0, (normal days − remaining days) / normal days). Rush total is keep + add-on. Implied rush hourly is that total ÷ hours. Planning math, not a contract.
Is a freelance rush fee 25% or 50% of the job?
Not on this page. There is no official 20%, 25%, or 50% rush fee here. A rush % can appear only as an optional planning example you type against the job keep, labeled as an example, not a rule. It never replaces calendar compression and is not added to the rush total.
This is not extra hours — what is the difference from a change order?
A change order is extra hours on an existing quote. A rush job is the same hours they already asked for, squeezed into fewer calendar days. Extra hours live on the change-order card. Lost days live here.
What if I was going to eat the rush for free?
Eating the compression still spends the hours and still steals the days. 20 hours that used to have 5 days and now have 2 still have a $1,080 add-on at a $90 floor. Naming it is not rude. Doing it for free trains the next Friday ping.
Is this rush math a contract or legal advice?
No. Educational planning only — not legal, tax, or collections advice. A lawyer in your jurisdiction writes an enforceable rush or timeline clause before you block the weekend. Typing numbers here does not create one.