Contractor Breakeven Rate Calculator — Massively Useful
Free Contractor Tool

Find Your Real Breakeven Rate
Before Your Next Quote

67% of home service business owners have never run this calculation. It takes 3 minutes and could change how you price every job this year.

If your hourly rate is below your breakeven rate, you're losing money on every hour worked
Monthly Fixed Overhead

Every recurring cost your business pays whether you work or not. Be honest — this is the step most contractors skip, and it's exactly why they underprice.

Vehicles & Equipment
Vehicle payments / leases $/mo
$
Include all trucks, vans, trailers
Vehicle insurance & registration $/mo
$
Commercial auto — often missed
Fuel (average monthly) $/mo
$
Tools, equipment & maintenance $/mo
$
Replacement, repairs, batteries
Insurance & Compliance
General liability insurance $/mo
$
Licensing, bonds, permits $/mo
$
Amortize annual fees monthly
Office & Admin
Software subscriptions $/mo
$
CRM, scheduling, accounting, etc.
Phone, internet, utilities $/mo
$
Marketing & advertising $/mo
$
Ads, Angi, website, SEO
Office / admin staff $/mo
$
If owner does admin, enter $0 (counted in labor)
Other fixed overhead $/mo
$
Rent, storage, anything else
Total Monthly Labor Cost

Include every dollar that goes out the door for people — wages, taxes, and benefits. Most owners forget that labor burden adds 18–25% on top of wages alone.

Wages
Total gross wages per month $/mo
$
All employees including yourself if you take a wage
Owner's draw (if not in wages) $/mo
$
Price your own time at market rate — this is critical
Labor Burden — Often Missed
Payroll taxes
?
Employer's share of Social Security (6.2%) + Medicare (1.45%) + FUTA/SUTA. Typically 9–12% of gross wages.
$/mo
$
Leave blank to auto-calculate at 10% of wages
Workers' compensation $/mo
$
Varies by trade — typically 4–8% of wages
Health benefits / PTO accrual $/mo
$
Billable Capacity & Profit Target

How many hours can you actually bill — and what margin do you need to stay healthy and grow?

Billable Hours
Number of billable technicians people
ppl
Include yourself if you do field work
Working days per month days
days
Hours on the clock per day hrs
hrs
Billable efficiency rate
?
What % of clock hours are actually billable? Account for drive time, callbacks, admin, lunch. Most businesses run 60–75%.
Clock hrs × this % = billable hrs
70%
40% (lots of drive time) 95% (repeat routes)
= 369 billable hours / month
Target Profit Margin
Your current average billing rate $/hr
$
What you actually charge per billable hour on average
Desired net profit margin
Above all costs including owner's salary
20%
5% (breakeven) 40% (exceptional)
Healthy home service businesses target 15–25% net
Your Results
$0/hr
Minimum billable rate to cover all costs + hit your profit target
Monthly Overhead
$0
Monthly Labor Cost
$0
Billable Hours / Mo
0
Breakeven Rate (0% profit)
$0
Your Profit Target
20%
Annual Revenue Needed
$0

What Makes Up Your Billing Rate

Fixed Overhead
$0/hr
Labor Cost
$0/hr
Profit Target
$0/hr
If you raise rates 10%
$0/hr
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If you add 1 billable tech
$0/hr
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If you cut overhead 15%
$0/hr
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Annual revenue gap
$0
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Now You Know Your Floor. Let's Build Above It.

Your breakeven rate tells you the minimum. A Revenue Audit tells you how to build profitable, predictable revenue above it — with a connected system that tracks every dollar from job to bank account.

Get Your Free Revenue Audit →

45 minutes. No obligation. Blueprint is yours to keep.