Job Profit Calculator
See how your labor, materials and project costs affect the price. Compare margin with markup and build a quote from your own numbers.
What goes into this job?
THE JOB, IN NUMBERS
See what the price leaves.
32.12% of revenue after the discount.
- Revenue after discount
- $8,250.00
- Total entered costs
- $5,600.00
- Markup on entered costs
- 47.32%
- Revenue needed for target margin
- $8,000.00
- Quote including the entered discount
- $8,250.00
This contribution includes your entered overhead allocation. It is not an accounting net profit calculation and excludes any cost you have not entered.
MARGIN AND MARKUP
The same percentage produces a different price.
Margin divides contribution by revenue. Markup divides contribution by cost. With your entered costs, a 30% markup produces $7,280.00 before a customer discount. A 30% margin needs $8,000.00 in revenue after the discount.
Your cost breakdown
- Labor$1,700.00
- Materials$2,200.00
- Subcontractors$800.00
- Equipment and job expenses$300.00
- Allocated overhead$600.00
How the calculation works
Labor cost equals hours multiplied by loaded hourly cost, rounded once to the nearest cent. Other amounts are entered in cents. Contribution equals quoted price minus discount minus entered costs. Margin divides that contribution by revenue after discount. Markup divides it by entered costs. A zero denominator is shown as not defined. With no entered costs, any positive revenue has a 100% modeled margin, so there is no calculated target quote.
Target revenue equals entered costs divided by one minus the target margin. It rounds up to the next cent so the displayed quote does not fall below the chosen target due to rounding. The target quote adds your entered dollar discount back. Customer documents should describe scope and price; keep internal costing details in your own records.
Calculations stay in this browser tab. CSV exports contain the inputs and results you choose to download.
A PRACTICAL FIELD GUIDE
Know what a job price leaves after your costs
A busy schedule does not tell you whether the work is priced well. This free job profit calculator puts your quoted price beside labor, materials, subcontractors, equipment and allocated overhead. It calculates the contribution left after those entered costs and shows both margin and markup. Use it before preparing a customer estimate, when considering a discount, or when reviewing a completed job. The loaded numbers are an illustration. Replace them with the costs and pricing decisions from your own business.
Check a proposed price
A quote can look attractive until labor burden, rental equipment and supervision are counted. Enter the costs your business expects to bear. The result makes the relationship between scope, selling price and contribution visible before the customer sees a document.
Understand a customer discount
Keep the initial quote and discount separate. That shows what the concession does to revenue and margin while the work costs remain unchanged. If the remaining contribution is too small, discuss scope or price instead of treating the discount as costless.
Compare a target with the current quote
Choose a contribution margin that fits the way you entered costs. The calculator works backward to the revenue needed for that target, then adds the entered dollar discount to show the corresponding quote. It does not choose a suitable target for you.
How to use it
- 01
Start with the agreed price basis
Enter the quote before sales tax and the dollar discount. Sales tax collected for a tax authority is outside this model. Use the same USD basis for every amount so the comparison does not mix currencies or price definitions.
- 02
Calculate labor at business cost
Enter hours and a loaded hourly cost, including the labor costs you intend to allocate. Hours support three decimal places. The tool multiplies hours by the hourly cost and rounds the resulting labor total once to the nearest cent.
- 03
Add the remaining job costs
Include materials, subcontractors, equipment and job expenses, plus allocated overhead. Review each category for omissions and double counting. For example, a burden included in your hourly labor cost should not be entered again as overhead.
- 04
Read margin and markup together
Margin divides contribution by revenue after discount. Markup divides the same contribution by entered costs. Compare both with the target pricing output. The same percentage produces different selling prices because the denominators are different.
- 05
Keep the calculation and prepare the estimate
Export CSV for the internal record. To prepare a customer estimate, explicitly transfer the quote amount and review the import prompt. Only the quote amount moves across, not your internal costs. Add customer facing scope and terms in the estimate tool.
FROM INPUT TO DECISION
Worked example: the loaded job scenario
Illustrative USD inputs: quote $8,500, discount $250, 40 labor hours at $42.50, materials $2,200, subcontractors $800, equipment $300 and overhead $600.
| Calculation | Result | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Labor and total costs | $1,700 labor; $5,600 total | 40 × $42.50, plus the other entered costs |
| Revenue and contribution | $8,250 revenue; $2,650 contribution | The discount reduces revenue, not the entered costs |
| Margin and markup | 32.12% margin; 47.32% markup | Different denominators describe the same job |
| 30% margin target | $8,000 net revenue; $8,250 quote | The quote includes room for the entered $250 discount |
A 30% markup on $5,600 produces $7,280 before a discount. A 30% contribution margin requires $8,000 after the discount. Confusing those two targets can materially change a pricing decision.
Use the result to question the scope
Identify the expensive scope element before editing the price. A smaller approved scope and an unexplained discount are different proposals. Document the agreed change in the customer estimate.
Review estimates against completed work
Save the original assumptions and compare actual labor and purchases later. Repeated differences provide stronger evidence for adjusting estimates than one unusual job.
Questions & limits
This is contribution after the costs you enter, not an accounting net profit statement. It does not retrieve supplier prices, tax rates or a market price for your trade.
Calculations stay in the browser tab. A zero price makes margin undefined; zero costs make markup undefined. Target margin must be below 100%. Target revenue rounds upward to the next cent.
Is 30% markup the same as 30% margin?
No. Markup uses cost as its denominator; margin uses revenue. A $130 price on $100 cost gives 30% markup but approximately 23.08% margin before other costs.
Should my own labor be included?
Include the labor cost you intend the model to cover. Leaving owner labor out can make contribution look larger. Use a consistent cost definition across jobs.
Why can the contribution be negative?
The discounted price can be lower than entered costs. Check data entry first, then review whether scope, costs or the customer price needs to change.
Does the exported calculation become my customer quote?
The CSV is an internal record. You can explicitly prepare a quote amount for the estimate tool, review its import prompt, and add customer facing scope there.
Connect profitable work with better qualified inquiries
Bring the services you want to sell and the questions that determine project fit. Trojan can connect your website and campaigns to a clearer estimate request process.
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