The money terms, in plain English.

Contribution

What a clinician's billings leave after their pay and the employer payroll taxes on that pay. The first test of whether they carry their own weight, before the practice's shared overhead.

How it’s computed: their billings − their pay − employer payroll taxes

Fully-loaded net

Contribution after the rest of what a clinician really costs: supervision hours, benefits, and their share of overhead (rent, admin, software), figured on effective billings (what actually collects after no-shows). The honest “does this clinician make money” number most owners can't see.

How it’s computed: effective billings − fully-loaded comp − supervision − overhead share

Practice net (solo)

For a solo practice: what the business throws off before your own income tax. Your billings minus everything it costs to run, but not counting your own pay. The number under “what does this practice actually net me.”

How it’s computed: revenue − overhead

Comp ratio

The share of clinician revenue that goes back out as clinician pay. A quick read on whether your splits and salaries leave enough to run the practice.

How it’s computed: total clinician comp ÷ total clinician revenue

Utilization

How full a clinician's schedule is against their target. The lever behind most of a practice's profit. A ramping clinician is judged against their lower current target, so it stays fair.

How it’s computed: observed hours ÷ target hours

Owner effective rate

What you actually earn per hour once you count ALL your hours: clinical plus the time you spend running the place. Usually the number that surprises owners most.

How it’s computed: sustainable owner draw ÷ all owner hours

All-in hourly rate

Your billings spread across every hour you work (clinical sessions plus the admin time running the practice), not just the hours you bill. Almost always well below your stated session rate.

How it’s computed: revenue ÷ all hours worked

Ownership tax (rate dilution)

How much lower your all-in rate is than your billing rate: the quiet cost of all the unpaid hours you spend being the owner, not the clinician. The bigger the gap, the more the back-office is eating your time.

How it’s computed: 1 − (all-in rate ÷ billing rate)

Tax set-aside

The share of each net dollar a solo owner should hold back for taxes (self-employment plus federal and any state income tax), so a quarterly bill is never a surprise. Figured on the practice's net, not its billings.

How it’s computed: total estimated tax ÷ net profit (paid as quarterly estimates)

Self-employment tax

Social Security and Medicare you owe as your own employer when you're not on a payroll: roughly 15.3% of most of your net, on top of income tax. The cost most new solo owners forget to plan for.

How it’s computed: 12.4% up to the wage base + 2.9%, on 92.35% of net

S-corp election

Taxing your practice as an S-corporation can lower self-employment tax once your net profit is high enough to outweigh the added payroll and filing cost. It pays off for some practices and costs others, and the flag is a pointer, not a verdict. The Solo Snapshot flags when your numbers are in the range worth a closer look with your accountant.

How it’s computed: self-employment tax saved vs. added payroll + filing cost

Cash runway (months of cash)

How many months the practice could cover its expenses from the cash on hand. The single best early-warning number.

How it’s computed: (operating + reserve) ÷ average monthly expenses

Reserve

Cash set aside as a buffer, usually a few months of expenses. “Funded” means you're at your target; thin means a bad month hurts.

How it’s computed: reserve balance ÷ reserve target

Break-even hours

The clinical hours a clinician has to work before they cover their own fully-loaded cost. Below it they're a drain; above it they contribute.

How it’s computed: the hours where fully-loaded net = 0

Per-seat hurdle

Each clinician's even share of fixed overhead: the bar they clear before adding to the bottom line. Framed as pulling-your-weight, not a verdict (an even split avoids taxing your performers).

How it’s computed: fixed overhead ÷ number of clinicians

Capacity headroom

The contribution sitting in unfilled caseloads: the upside if your clinicians filled to target. Names the biggest dollar opportunity in the practice.

How it’s computed: (target − observed hours) × contribution per hour

Take rate / split

The percentage a clinician keeps under a fee-split model. The break-even split is the rate where a split and a salary pay them the same.

How it’s computed: clinician pay ÷ their billings

Tiered split

A split that steps up above a billings threshold: a base rate on everything up to the line, a higher rate above it. The usual shape of a retention or incentive plan.

How it’s computed: base % × billings up to the threshold + higher % × billings above it

Crossover (comp plans)

When you're weighing a new pay plan against the current one: the billings level where the new plan starts paying the clinician more. Below it the plan takes; above it it gives. So the crossover is the behavior the plan actually rewards, stated as a number.

How it’s computed: the lowest monthly billings where new-plan pay > current-plan pay

Owner paystub

A suggested monthly split of your practice's actual profit (your paycheck, a tax set-aside, retirement, and the reserve), based on what the last few months really earned, not what you hope this one will. A loss month suggests zero rather than pretending.

How it’s computed: median profit of the trailing months × your allocation percentages

Income-driven repayment (IDR)

Federal student-loan plans (IBR, PAYE, ICR, and newer successors like RAP; the SAVE plan was wound down after court challenges) that set your monthly payment from your income rather than your balance. Common for clinicians who finished a PsyD, PhD, or MSW with large loans, especially anyone working toward forgiveness. The plan sizes the payment on a percentage of your discretionary income; filing taxes separately can lower it by leaving a spouse's income out of that calculation. The plan lineup keeps changing, so check your servicer for what you can enroll in today.

How it’s computed: a set percentage of discretionary income (the percentage and the rules vary by plan)

Discretionary income

For an income-driven student-loan plan, the slice of your income the payment is figured on: your income minus a floor the plan sets from the federal poverty line for your family size and state. Filing separately can shrink it for a married borrower by counting only your income, not the household's.

How it’s computed: your income − the plan's poverty-line floor (never below zero)

This glossary is an educational reference, not tax or legal advice. Tax and student-loan rules change; confirm anything you plan to act on with your CPA or advisor.