Roofing
Roofer Payroll Calculator
Work out total payroll cost for a roofing crew including the burden the trade carries.
Result
Burden rates vary by state, trade and claims history. Take yours from the accounts rather than the default here, because a ten point error moves every price you quote.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Workers compensation at the roofing classification, which is among the highest.
- Weather days, which may be paid without production.
- Overtime during peak season.
Where this one goes wrong
Budgeting from wages. Roofing burden is high enough that the gap between wage and true cost is larger than in most trades, and a payroll budget built on wages alone is badly short.
Questions
About this calculator
Why is roofing workers compensation so high?
Fall risk drives it. The classification reflects real injury rates in the trade and it makes burden a much larger share of labour cost than in ground-level work.
Should weather days be paid?
It is a retention decision with a real cost. Paying keeps crews available for the next dry day; not paying loses people. Either way it has to be budgeted.
How should subcontract crews be costed?
Separately, with their insurance verified. Using subcontractors shifts some burden but creates its own exposure if their coverage lapses.
The formula
cost = (wage x hours + wage x multiplier x overtime) x (1 + burden%)
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How to use this calculator
- People. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.
- Hourly wage ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $26.
- Normal hours per week. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 40.
- Overtime hours per week. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 4.
- Overtime multiplier. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 1.5.
- Labour burden (%). Payroll tax, insurance, holiday, training.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to payroll per week, 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 |
|---|---|
| People | 5 |
| Hourly wage | $26 |
| Normal hours per week | 40 |
| Overtime hours per week | 4 |
| Overtime multiplier | 1.5 |
| Labour burden | 28% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Payroll per week main result | $7,654 |
| Payroll per year | $398,029 |
| True cost per hour | $34.79 |
| Overtime per year | $51,917 |
Payroll is $7,654 a week, $398,029 a year. A $26.00 wage really costs $34.79 an hour, and overtime alone accounts for $51,917.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only hourly wage, this is what happens to payroll per week. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Hourly wage ($) | Payroll per week |
|---|---|
| $13 | $3,827 |
| $19.5 | $5,741 |
| $26 example above | $7,654 |
| $39 | $11,482 |
| $52 | $15,309 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- People
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 5.
- Hourly wage ($)
- A money amount, starting at $26.
- Normal hours per week
- A number, between 0 and 80, starting at 40.
- Overtime hours per week
- A number, between 0 and 60, starting at 4.
- Overtime multiplier
- A number, between 1 and 3, starting at 1.5.
- Labour burden (%)
- Payroll tax, insurance, holiday, training.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Payroll per week | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Payroll per year | A money figure. |
| True cost per hour | A money figure. |
| Overtime per year | A money figure. |
What this cannot see
Material quantities assume a clean rectangular plane and the waste factor you enter. Valleys, hips, dormers, penetrations and a steep pitch all raise real waste, and a tear-off frequently uncovers decking that was not in the quote.
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.