Every finished job has one number that matters: the profit. Enter one finished job and this spreadsheet gives you that number — after labor burden and after the overhead the job had to carry.
Excel file, works in Google Sheets too. It lands on the next screen and in your inbox.
Pick a job you already finished — ideally one you think went well. Those are the ones that surprise people.
Gross profit and net profit in dollars and as a percentage, with the overhead that job absorbed taken out. Not what it billed. What was left.
Net profit divided by the field hours you put into it. This is the number that tends to change how people bid.
Labor, materials, subs and other job costs broken out, so you can see which line is the one eating the job.
Here is a four-ton changeout that billed $15,700, including a $1,200 change order. Two men, 104 field hours. Nothing went wrong on it.
| Total billed | $15,700 |
| True labor cost (after burden) | $3,474 |
| Materials | $7,700 |
| Subcontractor | $650 |
| Permits, disposal, fuel | $390 |
| Gross profit | $3,486 · 22.2% |
| Overhead this job had to carry | $2,288 |
| Net profit | $1,198 · 7.6% |
In our experience these are almost always the culprits, and all three are invisible until somebody adds them up.
An hour of labor costs more than the hourly wage once payroll taxes, workers comp, liability and any benefits are in it. Bid at the wage and the gap comes straight out of the job. The calculator applies your own burden multiplier — the real one, from your CPA and your insurance agent, not a guess.
The work happened, the material got bought, the hours got paid. If the invoice never went out, that is pure margin gone. The calculator asks for change orders as their own line so a missing one is obvious.
Trucks, insurance, the shop, phones, the hours you spend quoting at night. Those are paid whether or not a job runs, and every job has to carry a share. Leave that at zero and every job on the sheet looks better than it was — so the file warns you if you do.
Three settings, filled in once: your labor burden multiplier, your overhead per field hour, and the net margin you're aiming for. Plain-English instructions for working out each.
One job at a time. Billing, labor, materials, subs, permits, disposal, callbacks. The answer sits at the top in large type and colours itself against your target.
Log each finished job on one line. Best and worst by margin, how many lost money, and your blended margin across everything.
Straight answers about the file. It's a normal Excel workbook. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers. There are no macros, nothing to install, and no trial that expires. It is yours to keep and to pass to anyone you like.
If you work in Google Sheets: download the file, go to drive.google.com and drag it in, then double-click it and choose Open with › Google Sheets. To keep it as a Google Sheet, use File › Save as Google Sheets once it's open. Same workbook, same numbers.
It is a costing tool, not tax advice, and it doesn't replace your books — talk to your CPA about anything tax-related.
That reaction is the point of the exercise, and it usually means the same thing: the books aren't set up to cost jobs, so nobody could have known. That's a one-time fix, not a permanent condition. If you'd like someone to look at where yours stand, the review is free and there's nothing to sign.
Flow Bookkeeping Services works with HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing and general contractors across the South Carolina Lowcountry. Books that can answer the question above every month, without a spreadsheet.
See how it works