Contractor job cost & margin calculator
Build a job from your own costs, then see the selling price required for your chosen margin. This planning worksheet is independent of High Country’s quoting system and does not publish our service rates.
The interactive calculator requires JavaScript. The formula and worked example below are available without it. No sign-up is required.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your actual material and crew costs, including payroll burden in the hourly cost.
- Add equipment, disposal, travel, delivery, and allocated overhead without counting a cost twice.
- Choose your own margin target and review the resulting markup before preparing a quote.
The formula
Labor cost = crew size × hours per person × loaded hourly cost. Selling price = all entered costs ÷ (1 − margin / 100). Markup = (selling price − costs) ÷ costs × 100.
Worked example
Example only: two people working four hours each produce eight person-hours. At an illustrative loaded cost of 25 USD per person-hour, labor is 200 USD. With 300 USD in materials, 50 in equipment, 50 in travel, and 100 in overhead, costs total 700 USD. A 25% margin gives a 933.33 USD selling price before tax and 33.33% markup.
Crew hours are not person-hours
A two-person crew on site for four hours consumes eight person-hours. Include setup, loading, and cleanup in your assumptions. Use your measured job history to improve future estimates rather than adopting someone else’s production rate.
Margin and markup have different denominators
Margin measures surplus as a share of the selling price; markup measures it as a share of cost. Jobber’s margin calculator addresses the same distinction. Applying a 25% markup does not produce a 25% margin.
A useful estimate includes the missing costs
Equipment, disposal, travel, and overhead are separate fields so you can see what you included. The result excludes sales tax and every cost left out of the worksheet. It is an illustrative pre-tax estimate, not accounting advice or a promise of net profit.
Common questions
Is this High Country’s landscaping price?
No. Every amount comes from inputs you supply. The calculator does not access our pricing engine, customer records, or quotes.
Why can I not enter a 100% margin?
A positive-cost job cannot reach a 100% margin at a finite selling price. The input is limited to 0–95% to keep the worksheet usable.
Does the result include tax or guarantee profit?
No. It is before tax and depends on your entered costs. Unbudgeted work, omissions, financing, and tax can change actual profitability.
Sources & method
Calculations use the formulas shown above. These references inform the planning guidance; they do not endorse this tool. References checked on .
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