Free tool
Job Profit Calculator
Most quotes get built by adding a bit to what the job feels like it should cost. This works out what you need to charge to hit a real margin, and shows you the price below which you are working for free.
Quote this to hit your target
$0
$0 per hour on the job
- Labor 0%
- Materials, travel, overhead 0%
- Gross profit 0%
| Labor cost | $0 |
| Materials cost | $0 |
| Travel and fuel | $0 |
| Overhead | $0 |
| Break-even price | $0 |
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Your numbers are already on the page and they always will be. This is only here so you can keep a copy or send it to whoever does your books.
The markup and margin trap
This catches almost everyone at some point. Markup is worked out on your cost. Margin is worked out on the price you charge. They are not the same number and the gap gets wider as the percentage rises.
| You add this markup | You actually earn this margin |
|---|---|
| 20% | 16.7% |
| 30% | 23.1% |
| 50% | 33.3% |
| 100% | 50% |
If you have been adding 30% and telling yourself you run a 30% margin, you have been running 23% for as long as you have been in business. On $200,000 of work that difference is about $14,000 a year.
What people forget to include
- Their own time. If you are on the job, your hours belong in the labor line at a real rate, not at zero.
- Drive time between jobs. Two hours of driving on a six hour job is a third of the day nobody is billing for.
- The callback. If one job in ten needs a return visit, every job carries a tenth of that cost.
- Payment processing. Card fees of around 3% come straight off the margin you just calculated.
Who pays us on this page
We earn nothing from Jobber, Square, Housecall Pro or FreshBooks. No link on this page pays us anything today. We name the option we'd actually pick for the business being described, and a page that only listed products paying us wouldn't be worth your time.
Turning the number into a quote
A calculator gets you the price. Getting it in front of the customer quickly is a separate problem, and it is usually the one that costs you the job. Quotes sent the same day win far more often than quotes sent three days later.
If you are still writing estimates by hand, that is the piece worth fixing before you spend money on anything else. Jobber and Housecall Pro both turn a quote into an invoice without retyping it, and Square handles taking the card on site if invoicing is the only gap. Our readiness quiz is the honest way to work out whether you have reached that point yet, and it will tell you when you have not.
Work out your loaded labor cost Do I need software for this?
Common questions
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is calculated on your cost. Margin is calculated on the price you charge. A 30% markup on a $100 job gives you $130 and a margin of about 23%, not 30%. Most owners who think they run a 30% margin are actually running closer to 23%, and that gap is where a business quietly stops being worth running.
What hourly labor cost should I put in?
Use the loaded cost rather than the wage. An employee on $22 an hour typically costs somewhere between $26 and $31 an hour once you add employer payroll taxes, workers comp, and overhead. Our first employee cost calculator works out that number for your situation.
How do I work out overhead per job?
Take your monthly fixed costs, meaning insurance, vehicle payments, phone, software, advertising and your own admin time, then divide by the number of jobs you complete in a month. Most small operators are surprised by this figure the first time they calculate it.
What margin should I aim for?
For most home-service work, 30% to 50% gross margin on a job is a reasonable target before your own overhead and profit. Under 20% you have almost no room for a job going wrong, and one bad day can wipe out several good ones.