True Cost & Job Pricing Calculator
For HVAC, plumbing, electrical & home service businesses — by Scale My Profits
Operating Costs Setup
Enter your fixed monthly overhead and total billable hours to calculate your true cost of doing business — before you make a dime of profit.
Total Billable Hours / Month
Exclude shop time — focus on job hours.
Fixed Cost Per Hour
$0.00
Cost just to keep the lights on.
Overhead Expenses (Fixed Costs)
$
Total Monthly Overhead
$0.00
Common Questions About the HVAC Pricing Tool
What's the difference between what I charge and what it actually costs?+
What you charge is a number you picked — often based on what competitors charge, or what feels right. What it costs is the actual dollar amount required to put a truck on that job: the tech's wage, labor burden, and a fair share of your company's overhead. Most owners have never calculated the second number, which is exactly why the gap between the two is usually a surprise.
What is labor burden and why does it matter?+
Labor burden is everything you pay on top of base wage to actually employ someone — payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits. It typically adds 15-25% on top of wage alone. Leaving it out of a pricing calculation is one of the most common reasons a job that looks profitable on paper actually isn't.
Why does company overhead affect my hourly rate?+
Every billable hour has to carry its share of what it costs to keep the business running — rent, insurance, software, vehicles, admin staff — regardless of which specific job is being worked. If that overhead isn't factored into your hourly rate, every job you complete is quietly under-recovering the true cost of being in business, even if the job itself looks profitable in isolation.
What's a healthy margin for HVAC, plumbing, or electrical work?+
Gross margins in the 40-60% range are generally considered healthy for residential service and repair work, with margins below 40% usually signaling underpricing or a labor-cost problem. Net profit margins are naturally lower — often in the high single digits to low double digits once all overhead is accounted for.
Should I raise my prices based on this number alone?+
This tool tells you what the job actually costs — it's a starting point for a pricing conversation, not the final word. Local competition, your positioning, and how quickly you want to move are all real factors a number alone doesn't capture. But if your current rate is below your true cost per hour, that's not a pricing strategy — it's a loss on every job, and worth addressing regardless of the broader strategy.