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What does this associate offer really pay?

Written by Ryan Smith, DDS (draft)Expert review pendingUpdated Sep 26, 2026

Enter the terms from your offer letter. You’ll see your yearly pay, what the lab fee split costs you, and whether the guarantee or your percentage is doing the work. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

The offer
Paid on
50% is a 50/50 split. 0% means the practice pays all lab fees.
Enter 0 if there isn’t one.
The guarantee is
A floor is yours to keep. A draw is an advance your later production has to pay back. Check the contract’s wording.
Your year
Ask the practice what its associates produce, and what you’d be booked for.
Share of billed production the practice actually collects.
Your year

Enter your numbers

    How associate pay worksBudget your first paycheck
    How this works, and what it leaves out
    • Percentage pay = your percentage × (collections or production, minus your share of lab fees). Collections = production × your collection rate.
    • With a floor, you’re paid the higher of your percentage pay and the guarantee. With a draw, the guarantee is an advance: over the year you keep only what your percentage earns, and any shortfall is owed back.
    • It’s a yearly total. Contracts that reconcile monthly or quarterly can pay differently month to month.
    • It doesn’t include benefits, CE or license allowances, malpractice, or taxes. A 1099 associate also pays both halves of Social Security and Medicare tax; a W-2 associate pays half.
    • General education, not legal or financial advice. Have a lawyer who reviews dental contracts read yours.