How to Pay Yourself as a Solopreneur
How to Pay Yourself as a Solopreneur
(Without the Guilt or Guesswork)
You're making money — but somehow paying yourself still feels like a gamble. Here's how to change that for good.
8 min read · By Priscilla · Desert Soul Sisters BookkeepingLet me guess — you've had months where money came in, clients paid their invoices, and your business account looked healthy. And then you paid all the bills, covered your expenses, and when it was time to pay yourself? You either took whatever was left (which wasn't much), or you skipped it entirely and told yourself "next month."
Sound familiar? You're not alone. Paying yourself consistently is one of the most common struggles I see among solopreneurs — and it has nothing to do with how hard you're working or how talented you are. It's a systems problem. And systems problems have solutions.
In this post I'm going to walk you through exactly how to pay yourself — including how much, how often, and what to set aside for taxes so you're not caught off guard come April. No jargon. No fluff. Just the real steps.
"Paying yourself isn't a reward for a good month. It's a business expense — and it should be planned like one."
Why Most Solopreneurs Don't Pay Themselves Consistently
Before we get into the how, let's talk about why this happens in the first place — because it's not just a willpower issue.
Most solopreneurs operate from one bank account. Business income comes in, personal expenses go out, and everything gets muddled together. When you can't clearly see what belongs to the business versus what belongs to you, paying yourself feels risky. What if you take too much? What if a big expense comes up? What if you can't cover taxes?
Those fears are valid — but they're also fixable. The answer is a simple cash flow system that tells you exactly what's available, what's reserved, and what's yours to take home. Once you have that, paying yourself becomes a non-event. You'll do it the same day every month without thinking twice.
Step 1: Separate Your Accounts (If You Haven't Already)
I know this feels basic, but I can't tell you how many clients come to me still running everything through one personal checking account. This is the single biggest thing keeping you from paying yourself consistently — because you genuinely cannot see what's yours when everything's mixed together.
Here's the minimum setup you need:
A Business Checking Account
All client payments come in here. All business expenses go out from here. This is your business's financial home base.
A Tax Savings Account
Every time money comes in, a percentage goes straight here and doesn't get touched until tax time. This is the single move that will eliminate tax season panic forever.
A Personal Checking Account
This is where your owner pay lands — separate from the business, used for personal expenses only. No more blurring the lines.
Step 2: Review Your Profit & Loss Before You Pay Yourself
Here's where most solopreneurs skip an important step — they pay themselves based on what they see in their bank account, not based on what their business actually earned. Those two numbers are often very different.
Before you decide on your owner pay, pull your Profit & Loss report for the month. This is a simple report in QuickBooks or Xero that shows your total revenue minus your total expenses. What's left is your net profit — and that's the number you pay yourself from.
If you don't know how to run this report or don't have it set up, that's okay — that's exactly what I help clients with. But for now, even a simple spreadsheet tracking income minus expenses gets you in the right ballpark.
The Simple Pay Yourself Formula
Here's the framework I walk my clients through every single month:
- Revenue — Total money that came in this month
- Minus expenses — What the business spent to operate
- = Net Profit — What's actually left
- Set aside 25–30% for taxes first
- Keep a buffer (10–15%) in the business account for upcoming expenses
- What's left is yours — transfer it to your personal account on a set date
Step 3: Set a Pay Date (And Actually Keep It)
One of the most powerful things you can do for your financial stability is treat your owner pay like a paycheck. That means picking a date — or two dates — and transferring money to yourself on that day every single month. Not when you feel like it. Not when the account looks good. On the date.
I recommend two pay dates a month — the 10th and the 25th. This gives you a consistent rhythm that your personal finances can count on, and it forces you to stay connected to your business numbers twice a month instead of avoiding them.
How Much Should You Pay Yourself?
This depends on your revenue and where you are in your business, but here's a starting framework:
The Profit First Method: A Simple System That Actually Works
If you've heard of Profit First (by Mike Michalowicz), this is the cash flow system I use and recommend to my clients. The core idea is simple: instead of paying all your expenses first and hoping something is left for you, you allocate percentages to different buckets the moment revenue comes in.
Here's the basic allocation framework for a solopreneur under $250k in annual revenue:
- Owner Pay: 50% — This is your salary. You get paid first. Full stop.
- Taxes: 15% — Moves immediately to your tax savings account. Never spend this.
- Operating Expenses: 30% — Covers tools, software, subscriptions, contractors, and anything the business needs to run.
- Profit: 5% — Your quarterly bonus to yourself. A reward for running a profitable business.
These percentages shift as your business grows — but this gives you a foundation to start from. The key is the habit: allocate first, spend second.
"You built this business to fund your life — not to feel like you're always waiting for permission to take money from it."
What About Taxes? Here's What to Actually Set Aside
I see this go wrong all the time — solopreneurs either don't save for taxes at all (and get hit with a massive bill in April), or they save so little that they end up scrambling. Here's what you actually need to know:
As a self-employed business owner in the US, you pay both income tax AND self-employment tax (which covers Social Security and Medicare). Self-employment tax alone is 15.3% on your net earnings. Add federal income tax on top of that, and you can see why 25–30% is the minimum you should be saving.
If you have a bookkeeper helping you run monthly reports, you can get more precise about this number each quarter. But if you're doing it yourself, 25–30% is a safe starting point that will keep you out of trouble with the IRS.
Quarterly Tax Payment Deadlines (Mark These)
If you're self-employed and expect to owe more than $1,000 in taxes, the IRS requires quarterly estimated payments. Missing these = penalties.
- Q1 (Jan–Mar income) — Due April 15
- Q2 (Apr–May income) — Due June 15
- Q3 (Jun–Aug income) — Due September 15
- Q4 (Sep–Dec income) — Due January 15
Your bookkeeper or CPA can help you calculate the exact amounts. But saving 25–30% consistently means you'll always have enough ready to go.
The Bottom Line
Paying yourself consistently isn't complicated — but it does require a system. Separate your accounts, review your numbers before you pay yourself, set a pay date and keep it, and save for taxes from the very first dollar that comes in.
When you have these things in place, paying yourself stops feeling like a gamble and starts feeling like a given. And that shift? It changes how you show up for your whole business.
If you're reading this and realizing your books aren't in a place where you can even answer the question "what's my net profit this month?" — that's okay. That's exactly what I help solopreneurs fix. Clean books, clear numbers, and a cash flow system that actually tells you what you can take home.
Ready to finally pay yourself with confidence?
Let's get your books clean, your cash flow intentional, and your owner pay on a schedule you can count on. Book a free Fit Check — no pressure, just clarity.
Book a Free Fit CheckSome links in this post are affiliate links, which means Desert Soul Sisters may earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools and services I personally use and genuinely believe in. Thank you for supporting this small business. 🤍
The information in this post is for educational purposes only and reflects general best practices for small business owners. It is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Every business situation is different — please consult with your CPA, tax professional, or financial advisor to determine what's right for your specific circumstances before making any financial decisions.
