Job Profit Calculator

Start by entering your materials cost for the job. Include everything you plan to purchase: lumber, fasteners, fixtures, drywall, paint, and any other supplies. Do not estimate low here — use your actual supplier quotes.

Next, enter your labor cost including your own time. If you pay yourself $40 an hour and the job takes eight hours, that is $320 in labor. Most contractors forget to count their own hours as a cost, which is one of the fastest ways to underprice a job.

The overhead share field is where most pricing tools fall short. Your overhead includes your monthly insurance premiums, vehicle payments, fuel, tool replacements, phone, software, and every other fixed cost of running your business. Divide your monthly overhead by the number of jobs you complete in a month to find your per-job share.

Enter the price you plan to quote and watch the margin calculate in real time. If the margin is below 25%, reconsider the quote. A 30 to 40 percent margin on residential trade work is a reasonable target for most contractors.

The calculator also shows the price you would need to charge to hit your target margin exactly. Use that number as your starting point, then adjust based on market conditions and the specific scope of the job.

A job that covers materials and labor but ignores overhead is not a profitable job — it is a job that slowly drains your business. Every hour you spend on a client project is an hour your truck is running, your insurance is active, and your tools are depreciating.

If your monthly overhead is $2,400 and you work 20 billable jobs per month, your overhead allocation is $120 per job. That $120 must appear in every quote you write. The contractor who leaves it out wins more bids in the short term but cannot sustain the business long term.