Job Profit Calculator
Calculate gross job profit, net job profit after overhead, margins, cost overruns, and the revenue needed to hit your target margin.
Job profitability
Pricing and budget check
See what a job actually earned after direct costs and overhead
Use this calculator to review job profitability after quoting or completion and compare revenue with labor, materials, equipment, travel, subcontractors, disposal, and allocated overhead.
A job can look profitable when only revenue and materials are considered, but loaded labor and overhead can materially change the result.
The calculator separates gross job profit from net job profit after overhead and can also compare actual direct costs with the amount originally budgeted.
This is a job-level management view. Accounting definitions of gross profit, operating profit, and net income may differ from how your business allocates overhead internally.
How job profit is calculated
The calculator moves from job revenue through direct costs and then optional allocated overhead.
Add direct job costs
Labor, materials, equipment, travel, subcontractors, disposal, and other direct costs are combined.
Calculate gross job profit
Direct job costs are subtracted from job revenue.
Subtract allocated overhead
An optional overhead amount is deducted to show job profit after the share of fixed business costs assigned to the job.
Compare with target and budget
The calculator shows the revenue needed for a target margin and optional direct-cost overrun versus the original estimate.
Example job profitability review
Suppose a completed service job produced the following results:
Total direct job cost is $1,200, leaving $800 of gross job profit and a 40% gross job margin. After $200 of allocated overhead, net job profit is $600 and net job margin is 30%. Total cost including overhead is $1,400. To preserve a 25% net job margin, required revenue would be about $1,866.67. Actual direct cost is $150 above the original $1,050 budget.
What each result means
Gross and net job profit answer different management questions.
Gross job profit
Job revenue minus direct costs tied specifically to completing the job.
Gross job margin
Gross job profit divided by job revenue.
Net job profit after overhead
Gross job profit minus the overhead amount allocated to the job.
Revenue for target margin
The revenue required for total job cost including overhead to fit inside the selected target margin.
Direct cost overrun
Actual or current direct job cost minus the quoted or budgeted direct cost entered.
Job profitability questions
Common questions when reviewing service-job profit after quoting or completion.
What is the difference between gross job profit and net job profit?
Gross job profit subtracts direct job costs from revenue. Net job profit in this calculator also subtracts the overhead amount allocated to the job.
Should overhead be included in every job?
If your business uses job-level overhead allocation, yes. The amount can come from an overhead-per-job or overhead-per-hour method.
Should labor cost be base wage or loaded labor cost?
Loaded labor cost is usually more useful for job profitability because it includes employer burden rather than only the employee wage.
What does a negative cost overrun mean?
It means actual direct job cost came in below the quoted or budgeted direct cost.
Can I use this before the job is completed?
Yes. Use estimated costs to review quote economics before work starts, then replace them with actual costs later for post-job analysis.