What counts as the minimum profitable price?

Labor, overhead, and any materials or subs specific to the job, all recovered before profit; a price below this figure loses money on the job regardless of how the bid looks otherwise.

Why check this before signing instead of after the job?

Once signed, the price is fixed; checking beforehand is the only point where an underpriced bid can still be corrected or declined.

What if projected margin comes back negative?

A negative projected margin means the entered price does not even cover cost, a hard signal to re-price or walk away rather than proceed hoping volume elsewhere makes up for it.

Does this replace a full estimate?

No, it is a fast final check against a price already estimated elsewhere; it does not build the estimate's underlying material and labor takeoffs.

Pricing & Bids

Job Profit Check

Before you sign the bid: does this price actually make money once labor, materials, subs, and overhead are counted? Profitable, marginal, or losing money, with the price you'd need to fix it.

Bid price$ totalMaterial cost$ totalSubcontractor cost$ totalLabor hourshoursLoaded labor rate$ / hourOverhead per labor hour$ / hour (0 until Overhead Allocation is set up)Target margin%

Profitable$2,500 profit (50.0%)

Total job cost$2,500

Minimum profitable price$3,125

Sensitivity to bid price

Scenario	Price	Margin	Verdict
Price -10%	$4,500	44.4%	Profitable
Price -5%	$4,750	47.4%	Profitable
Your bid	$5,000	50.0%	Profitable
Price +5%	$5,250	52.4%	Profitable
Price +10%	$5,500	54.5%	Profitable

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Methodology

Formula: total job cost = materials + subcontractors + (labor hours × loaded labor rate) + (labor hours × overhead per hour). Projected margin = (bid price - total job cost) / bid price. Minimum profitable price = total job cost / (1 - target margin).

Assumption: a verdict of "profitable" requires meeting your target margin, not just clearing zero profit, "marginal" means you're making money but below target, and exact break-even (zero profit) is treated as "losing money" since it isn't a livable outcome for the business.

Limitation: doesn't account for payment timing, change orders, or risk of scope creep, this is a point-in-time check against the costs you enter.

Guides: The Loaded Labor Cost Guide and The Markup vs. Margin Guide, the two concepts this check combines.

Frequently Asked

What counts as the minimum profitable price?: Labor, overhead, and any materials or subs specific to the job, all recovered before profit; a price below this figure loses money on the job regardless of how the bid looks otherwise.
Why check this before signing instead of after the job?: Once signed, the price is fixed; checking beforehand is the only point where an underpriced bid can still be corrected or declined.
What if projected margin comes back negative?: A negative projected margin means the entered price does not even cover cost, a hard signal to re-price or walk away rather than proceed hoping volume elsewhere makes up for it.
Does this replace a full estimate?: No, it is a fast final check against a price already estimated elsewhere; it does not build the estimate's underlying material and labor takeoffs.