Job Costing Calculator
Plug in your labor, materials, overhead, and desired margin. See exactly what to charge. Stop guessing on bids.
👷 Labor
How many people, how long, and what you pay them.
Typical: 25-35%. Covers FICA, workers comp, unemployment insurance, PTO.
🔧 Materials
Total cost of parts, supplies, and materials for this job.
Markup covers your time sourcing, picking up, and storing materials. Typical: 10-25%.
🏢 Overhead
Your monthly fixed costs spread across this job.
Rent, insurance, marketing, phone, software, vehicle payments, tools. Anything you pay whether or not you're on a job.
🚛 Travel & Setup
Time before and after the actual work. Most contractors forget this.
Applied at your average hourly pay rate. Includes all workers.
💰 Desired Profit Margin
The percentage of the final price you keep as profit.
What to Charge
$0
Total job price
Adjust the inputs on the left to see your numbers update in real time.
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How to Calculate Job Cost for Contractors
Job costing is the single most important financial skill in the trades. If you don't know what a job actually costs you, you can't know if you're making money. And "I think we're doing okay" isn't a financial strategy.
This calculator does what most contractors do on the back of a napkin. Except it doesn't forget about labor burden, overhead allocation, or the time you spend driving to the job site.
The Job Costing Formula
Where Total Costs = Labor + Materials + Overhead + Travel/Setup
Notice we don't just "add profit on top." We divide by (1 - margin) to get the right price. This is the difference between markup and margin, and it matters.
Example: If your costs are $500 and you want a 20% margin, the price is $500 ÷ 0.80 = $625. Your profit is $125, which is exactly 20% of $625. If you just added 20% to $500, you'd charge $600 and your actual margin would be 16.7%. That mistake, across hundreds of jobs, adds up fast.
What Most Calculators Get Wrong
They ignore labor burden. Your $25/hour tech doesn't cost you $25/hour. Add FICA (7.65%), workers comp (3-15%), unemployment insurance, PTO, and benefits and you're looking at $32-40/hour. If you're pricing jobs at the wage rate instead of the burdened rate, you're losing money on every job.
They skip travel and setup. A 4-hour job with 30 minutes of drive time and 30 minutes of cleanup is really a 5-hour job. That hour of "free" work eats directly into your margin.
They let you enter profit as a dollar amount. That's backwards. You need to think in percentages so your pricing scales with job size. A $50 profit on a $300 job is fine. A $50 profit on a $3,000 job means you worked for free.
What's a Good Profit Margin?
10-15% is break-even territory for most trade businesses once you account for all costs. You're surviving, not thriving.
20-25% is healthy. You can invest in equipment, hire, and weather slow seasons.
30%+ is where PE-ready businesses operate. This is where you build real enterprise value.
If your margin is under 15%, you probably have a pricing problem, an overhead problem, or both. Use this calculator to find out which one.
How to Use This Calculator
Step 1: Enter your labor details. Number of workers, hours on the job, and what you pay them. Turn on labor burden to include the real cost of employment.
Step 2: Add your material costs and markup. The markup covers your time sourcing, picking up, and storing materials. 10-25% is standard.
Step 3: Enter your monthly overhead and billable hours. The calculator divides your overhead across the hours on this specific job.
Step 4: Add travel and setup time. Be honest. This is where most contractors undercount.
Step 5: Set your desired profit margin with the slider. Watch the price update in real time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate job cost for a contractor?
Add up four cost categories: labor (workers x hours x burdened pay rate), materials (cost plus 10-25% markup), overhead (monthly fixed costs divided by billable hours, multiplied by job hours), and travel/setup time. Then divide total costs by (1 minus your desired margin percentage) to get the price. For example, $500 in costs with a 20% margin target means you charge $625.
What is labor burden and why does it matter for job costing?
Labor burden is the true cost of employment beyond hourly wages. It includes FICA taxes (7.65%), workers compensation (3-15%), unemployment insurance, PTO, and benefits. For most trades, burden adds 20-35% on top of hourly pay. A $25/hour technician actually costs you $32-34/hour. If you price jobs using the wage rate instead of the burdened rate, you lose money on every job.
What profit margin should contractors target?
Most successful trade businesses target 20-30% net margins. Under 15% leaves no room for callbacks, slow weeks, or unexpected costs. HVAC and plumbing service calls can hit 45-55% margins. Roofing and general contracting typically run 25-35%. If your margins are consistently below 20%, you likely have a pricing problem, an overhead problem, or both.
How do you account for overhead in job pricing?
Divide your total monthly overhead (rent, insurance, marketing, vehicles, software, office staff) by the total billable hours your team works per month. This gives you an overhead rate per hour. Multiply that rate by the hours on each specific job. For example, $5,000 monthly overhead divided by 160 billable hours equals $31.25/hour in overhead per job hour.
Should I include travel time in my job cost?
Yes. Travel and setup time is real labor cost that most contractors forget to bill. A 30-minute drive each way with two technicians at $30/hour burdened rate costs you $60 per job. Across 20 jobs per month, that is $1,200 in unbilled labor. Apply travel time at your average burdened pay rate for all workers on the job.
What is the difference between markup and margin in job costing?
Markup is the percentage added on top of your cost. Margin is the percentage of the final price that is profit. A 25% markup on $500 gives you a $625 price and $125 profit, but your actual margin is only 20% ($125 divided by $625). To hit a 25% margin, you need a 33% markup. The formula: Price = Cost divided by (1 minus desired margin).
Knowing Your Numbers Is Step One
This calculator shows you one piece. The Growth Report shows you the full picture: where you're leaking revenue, what to fix first, and how contractors like you are growing past the ceiling.