Plumbing
Plumbing Business Profit Calculator
Model the business across a period: revenue by work type, direct costs, overhead and what remains.
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
- Mix between service, repair, installation and contract work.
- Plumber count and what each genuinely produces in sold hours.
- Overhead, which steps up rather than rising smoothly.
Where this one goes wrong
Growing through installation or contract work without watching margin. Both raise revenue quickly and typically carry thinner margins and slower payment than service work.
Questions
About this calculator
Which work is most profitable?
Usually service and repair by margin, installation by volume. Knowing your own split rather than assuming is what makes the mix a decision.
When does overhead step up?
When you add a van, a premises, an office role or a second crew. Those are step changes and growth plans should anticipate them.
Should contract work be measured separately?
Yes. Payment terms, retention and margin all differ from domestic service, and blending them hides which one is carrying the business.
The formula
net profit = revenue - direct costs - overhead
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Free to embed. Paste this where you want it to appear. It stays up to date automatically because it loads from BDEVY.
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How to use this calculator
- Revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $39,000.
- Direct labour ($). 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 $12,000.
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 | $39,000 |
| Direct labour | $16,000 |
| Materials and equipment | $11,000 |
| Other direct costs | $2,200 |
| Overhead | $12,000 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Net profit main result | -$2,200 |
| Net margin | -5.6% |
| Total direct cost | $29,200 |
| Profit per working day | -$100 |
That is -$2,200 at a -5.6% margin, about -$100 for every working day.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only revenue, this is what happens to net profit. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Revenue ($) | Net profit |
|---|---|
| $19,500 | -$21,700 |
| $29,250 | -$11,950 |
| $39,000 example above | -$2,200 |
| $58,500 | $17,300 |
| $78,000 | $36,800 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $39,000.
- Direct labour ($)
- 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 $12,000.
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. |
Before you rely on this number
Pipe sizing, flow and pressure figures depend on the actual fittings, the run, the material and local code. Code requirements vary by jurisdiction and override any general calculation, so check what applies where the work is happening.
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.