Roofing
Roofing Job Profit Calculator
See what a roofing job leaves after crew labour, material, disposal and the overhead it consumed.
Result
Steep pitch, multiple layers, complex valleys and second-storey access all raise labour cost per square. Use the labour figure for this specific roof, not your easiest job.
See missed call recoveryWhat moves the number
- Crew days actually used against crew days quoted.
- Material including waste actually consumed rather than ordered.
- Deck repair and any other variation, and whether it was approved and billed.
Where this one goes wrong
Absorbing found work rather than raising it. Rotten sheathing discovered on day one is a variation; discovered on the invoice it is a dispute, and absorbed silently it is your margin.
Questions
About this calculator
Why do roofing jobs lose money?
Most often weather delay and unbilled found work. Both are foreseeable in aggregate even though neither is predictable on a specific job, which is why the pricing has to carry them.
Should crew days or hours be tracked?
Days, because that is how roofing is scheduled and how weather interrupts it. Hours understate the cost of a day broken by rain.
How should variations be handled?
Documented and approved before the work happens, with a photograph. On a roof the customer cannot see what you found, which makes evidence more important than in other trades.
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How to use this calculator
- Roof size (squares). One square = 100 square feet.
- Contract price ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $16,800.
- Material cost per square ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $165.
- Labour cost per square ($). Crew or subcontractor cost per square, including tear-off.
- Disposal, permits and equipment ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $850.
- Overhead allocation ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,400.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to gross 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 |
|---|---|
| Roof size | 28 squares |
| Contract price | $16,800 |
| Material cost per square | $165 |
| Labour cost per square | $145 |
| Disposal, permits and equipment | $850 |
| Overhead allocation | $1,400 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross profit main result | $5,870 |
| Gross margin | 34.9% |
| Profit per square | $209.64 |
| Break-even price per square | $390.36 |
This roof clears $5,870, $209.64 per square at a 34.9% margin. Below $390.36 per square the job loses money.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only contract price, this is what happens to gross profit. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Contract price ($) | Gross profit |
|---|---|
| $8,400 | -$2,530 |
| $12,600 | $1,670 |
| $16,800 example above | $5,870 |
| $25,200 | $14,270 |
| $33,600 | $22,670 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Roof size (squares)
- One square = 100 square feet.
- Contract price ($)
- A money amount, starting at $16,800.
- Material cost per square ($)
- A money amount, starting at $165.
- Labour cost per square ($)
- Crew or subcontractor cost per square, including tear-off.
- Disposal, permits and equipment ($)
- A money amount, starting at $850.
- Overhead allocation ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,400.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gross profit | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Gross margin | A percentage. |
| Profit per square | A money figure. |
| Break-even price per square | 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.
Keep going
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