How do you figure your pay?

[Desertdusters]

Hello everyone.    So im wanting to know and I hope this is not a silly question, but how to you as a business owner figure out your pay.    
So I’ve been looking into a few business loans in hopes of upgrading equipment, and I’m finding it difficult due to the fact that  I refrigerated my business as sole-prop, and apparently I’ve been answering the invoice questions wrong.    
I’ve never thought to separate the business income and put myself in the pay schedule.    
so I’m just wondering how others figure their rate?   How do you determine how much you get paid?   
My profession.    I manage and clean Short term rentals.   I have a small team, and we handle everything from cleaning in between guest , making sure the house is stocked with all supplies, to gardening, pool and jacuzzi, maintenance, and last but not least guest communications.   
thank you in advance.   I look forward to your responses.   

[Minion]

Hi @Desertdusters 

Welcome to the Square Community.  I think the best advice here would be to sit with your accountant and they can advise you the best based on your business and your personal situation by looking at the numbers and seeing what's best as we all here run and operate our business' differenlty based on our needs. 

For me, I'm a single member LLC with no employees.  I don't pay myself but rather would do owner draws if/when needed and have never had an issue applying for loans that I needed.  Many lenders today will go off your personal credit just as much as they would  your business revenue. 

[jgrgetich]

In our business, we have 11 employees, in two different states, We are an LLC S Corp and are required to pay ourselves a reasonable salary, whether it be a salary or hourly.   I pay the wife a salary and I pay myself hourly. The employees are hourly.  I find it easier to play by the rules and record it all straightforward and not have to deal with the meanies at the IRS.  However, if we had a good year, then we bonus ourselves with an owner withdrawal as additional profit. Splitting compensation, we are still complying but not subject to social security and medicare taxes. So, it all depends how your business is set up and what you can and can not do.

if like us and an S Corp - Pay yourself min wage more, take owner withdrawals out of the business when you need it.

[bonny]

Before launching my own business, I worked for a local Small Business Development Center.  They offer no-cost advising, which would be a good starting place for you.  Since you are already in business, one of the first things they will want to discuss is your numbers, so have those ready to get the most out of your meeting with them. They can help you plot out how much you get paid and help filling out the applications properly.  The resource is there; you might as well drop in. 

Bonny Wagoner - Artist/Illustrator