Free tool
Job Profitability Calculator
See the real profit on any job in 30 seconds — after labor, materials, and overhead.
The job
Fully-loaded labor rate = wage + payroll tax + benefits + vehicle. Most trades run $38-$65/hr all-in.
Job profit
$960
38.4% margin
Why most contractors get this wrong
The two most-missed line items: fully-loaded labor (contractors often plug in wage only, not the true $50/hr cost) and overhead allocation. If your annual overhead is $180k and revenue is $900k, you must add ~20% to every job's cost — or you're losing money on "profitable" work.
- • Under 15% margin → you're underpricing or bidding blind.
- • 20-35% margin → healthy, competitive.
- • Over 40% → premium/emergency work or you're not accounting for hidden costs.
What if I don't know my overhead percentage?+
Start with 22%. Then use our overhead calculator to dial it in for your business.
Should I include my owner's salary?+
Yes — always. If you're not paying yourself a market wage, your 'profit' is really unpaid labor.
How is this different from gross margin?+
Gross margin only subtracts labor and materials. Job profit subtracts overhead too — the number that actually matters.