Job Profit Scorecard
The job is done. Did it make money? Revenue in, real costs in — labor at its true burdened rate, not the wage — and the scorecard tells you the gross profit, the margin, and what each labor hour actually earned.
Use the burdened rate — wage plus taxes and insurance — not the wage. Run the True Labor Cost Calculator once and this fills itself in.
What healthy looks like
General guidance, not a promise — every trade and market runs different:
| Gross margin | Plain read |
|---|---|
| 20% and up | Strong. The job paid its overhead share and then some. |
| 10–20% | Workable. Normal for a lot of good shops — the leaks decide whether it stays. |
| 5–10% | Thin. One callback or one underpriced change order eats the profit. |
| Under 5% | The job paid you in experience. Find the leak before the next bid. |
Gross margin here is before overhead — rent, office, marketing, and your salary come out of it. A "profitable" job at 8% gross can still lose money company-wide; that is exactly why the band starts at healthy, not at zero.
Questions contractors ask
What is a good gross margin on a job? As general guidance: 20% and up is strong, 10–20% is workable, 5–10% is thin, and under 5% means the job paid you in experience. Your trade and market move the band — the scorecard labels it guidance, not a promise, because it is.
Why score finished jobs at all? Because the pattern across jobs is the diagnosis. One thin job is a job problem; the same leak on three scorecards is a pricing problem — and it is sitting in your next bid right now.
Why revenue per labor hour? It is the fastest health check in the shop: what each field hour brought in, before costs. Track it job to job and the trend tells you whether the work is getting better or just busier.
Want us to look at your shop?
The free tools cover the leaks most shops share. The free Snapshot is the one-on-one version: 15 free minutes with our team to pressure-test what you found and map your next step. No pressure either way — you leave with a short list you can act on yourself.
Book Your Free Snapshot — book your free 15-minute call first, then answer a few quick questions, so the call itself is spent on your shop, not on background.