Job Profit Calculator for Contractors
Calculate your gross profit, margin %, and recommended markup for any job — in seconds.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your total contract / invoice amount
Break down costs: labor, materials, equipment/subs
Set overhead % (your monthly fixed costs as % of revenue)
See gross profit, margin %, and markup instantly
Formula: Profit = Revenue − (Labor + Materials + Equipment + Overhead) | Margin = Profit ÷ Revenue × 100
Job Details
Results
Worked Example: Kitchen Remodel
Job details: $12,000 contract, $3,200 labor, $2,800 materials, $800 subs, 10% overhead
Revenue: $12,000
Labor: ($3,200)
Materials: ($2,800)
Equipment/Subs: ($800)
Overhead (10%): ($1,200)
Gross Profit: $4,000 → Margin: 33.3%
A 33% margin is solid. To maintain it next time, use this data when estimating similar jobs.
Industry Benchmarks: What's a Good Margin?
How to Calculate Job Profit as a Contractor
Job profit is the money left over after subtracting all direct costs from what you billed. The formula seems simple — but most contractors miss key cost components, which leads to inflated profit estimates and bad bidding decisions.
What Goes Into Job Cost
Labor: Every hour worked on the job — including your own time if you're working on-site. Use a realistic market rate for your skill level even if you're the owner.
Materials: Every supply purchased for the job — from major material orders down to the $8 tube of caulk.
Equipment and subcontractors: Tool rentals, specialty equipment, and any work hired out to subs.
Overhead: The portion of your general business costs (insurance, software, phone, marketing) attributable to this job. A simple approach: use 8-15% of revenue as an overhead allocation.
What's a Good Profit Margin for Contractors?
Industry benchmarks vary by trade, but in general: margins below 10% are thin and risky; 15-20% is healthy; 25%+ is strong. These are gross margins before personal draws — your net margin after all overhead will be lower.
Margin vs. Markup — What's the Difference?
Margin is calculated on revenue: profit ÷ revenue. Markup is calculated on cost: profit ÷ cost. A 25% margin requires a 33% markup. Confusing these is a common contractor pricing mistake that leads to undercharging.
Track Job Profit Automatically
Manual calculation is useful for estimates, but the real value comes from tracking actual costs against every job in real time. Job costing software like Hardhat Ledger captures expenses automatically as they happen — so your job P&L is always up to date without any extra work.
Track Job Profit Automatically
Hardhat Ledger shows you real-time P&L on every active job — no manual calculation required.
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