Free tool

What does an hour of your crew's time have to cost?

Wages, the burden on top of them, the hours you actually bill and the month's overhead. The arithmetic is shown line by line, so you can check every step.

The figures below are starting points to replace with your own, not a benchmark for any trade.

People whose time you bill

Average hourly wage ($)

Payroll burden (%)Payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance, benefits.

Paid hours per person, per week

Share of paid hours you bill (%)Drive time, shop time and callbacks are paid but not billed.

Monthly overhead ($)Rent, vehicles, insurance, software, office pay.

Profit you want, on labor (%)

The arithmeticIllustrative

3 × 40 h × 52 ÷ 12: 520 paid hours / month
520 × 75% billed: 390 billed hours / month
520 h × $30.00 × (1 + 25%): $19,500 crew cost / month
+ $12,000 overhead: $31,500 to cover / month
$31,500 ÷ 390 billed hours: $80.77 break-even
$80.77 ÷ (1 − 20%): $100.96 with your margin

Your labor rate, per billed hour

$100.96

Below $80.77 an hour, every billed hour loses money; parts and materials are priced on top.

A calculator, not advice.

The rate covers labor and overhead only. Parts and materials are priced on top, usually with their own markup. The result depends entirely on the numbers you put in.

Quote from your own numbers.

Ciolk prices quote lines from your own price book, and the customer accepts and pays the deposit on their phone.

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