Pet services
Pet Boarding Pricing Calculator
Prices boarding, where peak pricing and minimum stays manage the capacity.
Result
Overhead and margin are taken as shares of the selling price, which is why the cost is divided rather than multiplied. Adding 15% to cost does not produce a 15% margin. Gross profit is what is left after the cost of doing the job. Overhead comes out of that: the building, the office wages, the vans, insurance, software and advertising. A healthy gross margin still loses money if overhead is larger.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Cost per night at realistic occupancy divided by one minus overhead and margin, with peak period rates and any minimum stay requirement. Because capacity is fixed and holiday demand exceeds it, peak pricing and minimum stays are capacity management tools rather than merely revenue ones.
What moves the number
- Base rate at realistic annual occupancy.
- Peak period rates for holidays.
- Minimum stay requirements during peaks.
- Additional charges for medication, special diets or extra services.
Where this one goes wrong
A single-night booking during a holiday period blocks a kennel that could have held a week-long stay, which is why minimum stay requirements exist in peak periods and why they are a capacity decision rather than an inconvenience to clients. Set them in advance. Vaccination and health requirements are the other matter, since a facility mixing animals needs a clear policy, and that is a question for a veterinarian and the facility's own rules rather than a pricing one.
Before you quote
- Set peak rates and minimum stays in advance.
- Price medication and special diets rather than absorbing them.
- Have a clear vaccination and health policy, veterinarily informed.
Questions
About this calculator
Why do kennels require minimum stays at holidays?
Because a single-night booking blocks a kennel that could have held a week-long stay, and capacity is fixed while holiday demand exceeds it. It is a capacity management decision rather than an inconvenience imposed on clients.
Should medication be charged for?
Yes, since administering it takes time and carries responsibility. Absorbing it means those bookings cost more to service than the ones priced identically alongside them, and the difference is real work rather than a courtesy.
What health requirements should a facility have?
A clear written policy on vaccination and health, informed by a veterinarian rather than assembled from what other facilities do. A facility mixing animals needs it for the animals' sake and for its own position if something happens.
The formula
price = direct cost / (1 - overhead% - margin%)
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How to use this calculator
- Labour cost ($). Burdened: wages plus tax, insurance and the vehicle, not the hourly wage.
- Materials cost ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $6.
- Other direct costs ($). Permits, disposal, equipment hire, subcontractors.
- Overhead rate (%). Overhead as a share of revenue. Work it out from last year's accounts.
- Target net margin (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 15%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to price to quote, 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 |
|---|---|
| Labour cost | $28 |
| Materials cost | $6 |
| Other direct costs | $0 |
| Overhead rate | 22% |
| Target net margin | 15% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Price to quote main result | $53.97 |
| Direct cost | $34 |
| Overhead recovered | $11.87 |
| Net profit | $8.10 |
| Gross margin | 37.0% |
| Markup on direct cost | 58.7% |
Quote $53.97 to cover $34 of direct cost, recover $11.87 of overhead and leave $8.10 of net profit. That is a 58.7% markup on cost.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only labour cost, this is what happens to price to quote. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Labour cost ($) | Price to quote |
|---|---|
| $14 | $31.75 |
| $21 | $42.86 |
| $28 example above | $53.97 |
| $42 | $76.19 |
| $56 | $98.41 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Labour cost ($)
- Burdened: wages plus tax, insurance and the vehicle, not the hourly wage.
- Materials cost ($)
- A money amount, starting at $6.
- Other direct costs ($)
- Permits, disposal, equipment hire, subcontractors.
- Overhead rate (%)
- Overhead as a share of revenue. Work it out from last year's accounts.
- Target net margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 80, starting at 15%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Price to quote | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Direct cost | A money figure. |
| Overhead recovered | A money figure. |
| Net profit | A money figure. |
| Gross margin | A percentage. |
| Markup on direct cost | A percentage. |
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.