Auto repair & detailing
Auto Detailing Business Profit Calculator
Work out what the detailing business keeps across a month once wages, premises, product and everything fixed are counted.
Result
Net profit here is before tax and before any owner's draw that is not already inside overhead. If you pay yourself out of what is left, this figure is your wage rather than the company's profit.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Vehicles per bay per week, which caps the revenue.
- Service mix, since a month of quick washes and a month of corrections produce very different results.
- Fixed costs, which for a premises-based detailer run whether vehicles arrive or not.
Where this one goes wrong
Seasonality. Detailing demand swings hard with weather and season, and an annual average hides the months where fixed costs are not covered.
Questions
About this calculator
How do I handle seasonal swings?
Model the quiet months separately and plan for them, rather than dividing an annual figure by twelve. The quiet months are where detailing businesses get into trouble.
Is recurring work worth discounting for?
Often yes, because a maintenance plan fills the slow weeks and maintained vehicles take less time. Discount from a known cost rather than from a hoped-for volume.
Should I add a bay or a detailer?
Whichever is actually the constraint. If bays sit empty, another detailer adds nothing. If bays are full and there is demand beyond them, the bay is the limit.
The formula
net profit = revenue - direct costs - overhead
Put this calculator on your site
Free to embed. Paste this where you want it to appear. It stays up to date automatically because it loads from BDEVY.
Please keep the attribution line. It is the only thing we ask in return.
How to use this calculator
- Revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $75,000.
- Direct labour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $16,000.
- Materials and equipment ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $11,000.
- Other direct costs ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $2,200.
- Overhead ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $21,000.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to net profit, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $75,000 |
| Direct labour | $16,000 |
| Materials and equipment | $11,000 |
| Other direct costs | $2,200 |
| Overhead | $21,000 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Net profit main result | $24,800 |
| Net margin | 33.1% |
| Total direct cost | $29,200 |
| Profit per working day | $1,127 |
That is $24,800 at a 33.1% margin, about $1,127 for every working day.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only revenue, this is what happens to net profit. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Revenue ($) | Net profit |
|---|---|
| $37,500 | -$12,700 |
| $56,250 | $6,050 |
| $75,000 example above | $24,800 |
| $112,500 | $62,300 |
| $150,000 | $99,800 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $75,000.
- Direct labour ($)
- A money amount, starting at $16,000.
- Materials and equipment ($)
- A money amount, starting at $11,000.
- Other direct costs ($)
- A money amount, starting at $2,200.
- Overhead ($)
- A money amount, starting at $21,000.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Net profit | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Net margin | A percentage. |
| Total direct cost | A money figure. |
| Profit per working day | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.