How Healthy Is Your Profit Margin?
Calculate your real profit margin based on your last 3 jobs. See how you compare to industry benchmarks and get personalized recommendations to improve.
Profit Score Calculator
Enter data from your last 3 jobs
Job #1 (Most Recent)
Job #2
Job #3
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Your Profit Score
Based on your last 3 jobs…
Industry Benchmark
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Track Your Margins Automatically
BuildFolio calculates your real profit on every job—no spreadsheets, no guessing.
Start Free TrialHow the Profit Score works
Your Profit Score is calculated from actual job data: what you invoiced minus what you spent. We compare your margin to industry benchmarks for your trade and give you a letter grade.
The calculation
For each job, we calculate profit margin as:
Profit Margin = (Revenue – Costs) / Revenue × 100
We average your margin across all three jobs to get your overall Profit Score.
What the grades mean
Excellent (25%+ margin)
You’re outperforming the industry. Your pricing and cost control are exceptional.
Good (18-24% margin)
You’re above average. Minor improvements could push you into top-tier profitability.
Average (12-17% margin)
You’re in line with industry averages. There’s room for improvement in pricing or cost control.
Below Average (5-11% margin)
Your margins are thin. Cost overruns or underpricing may be impacting profitability.
Critical (<5% margin)
You’re barely breaking even or losing money. Immediate action on pricing and costs is needed.
Why profit margins matter
Revenue tells you how much money came in. Profit tells you how much you actually kept. Many contractors track revenue religiously but have no idea what their real margins are.
The hidden problem
A contractor doing $500K in revenue at 20% margin makes $100K. At 12% margin? Just $60K. That’s a $40K difference—and many contractors don’t know which scenario they’re in until tax time.
What affects your margins
- Pricing accuracy: Underpricing jobs directly eats into margins
- Material costs: Price increases you don’t pass on reduce margins
- Labor efficiency: Jobs that take longer than estimated cost more
- Scope creep: Unbilled extras reduce effective margins
- Callbacks: Rework costs come straight out of profit
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this calculator?
The calculator is only as accurate as the data you provide. It uses the job revenue and cost figures you enter to calculate margin. For most accurate results, include all costs: materials, labor (at your true labor cost), equipment, and subcontractors.
What counts as “costs” for this calculation?
Include all direct job costs: materials purchased for the job, labor (your hourly cost, not what you charge), equipment rentals or usage, and subcontractor invoices. Don’t include overhead like office rent or marketing—those are separate from job-level margins.
What’s a good profit margin for contractors?
Industry averages vary by trade, but most healthy contractors aim for 15-25% net margins on jobs. Top performers often hit 25-30%. Below 10% is generally considered risky—there’s little room for error.
Why only 3 jobs?
Three recent jobs give a reasonable snapshot without requiring extensive data entry. For a more comprehensive picture, we recommend using BuildFolio to track all jobs over time.
Will you spam me with emails?
No. We’ll send your Profit Score report and may follow up with relevant resources. You can unsubscribe at any time. We don’t sell or share your email.
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