Security & low voltage
Security Profit Calculator
Works gross profit on a security job, where the cabling hours decide it.
Result
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
Revenue less direct costs gives gross profit and margin, with direct costs being equipment, labour and any subcontracted work. On a security installation the equipment cost is known precisely and the labour is the variable, so job profitability is essentially a question of whether the cabling hours came in at estimate. A job where the cable routes turned out difficult loses its margin in hours while the equipment line is unchanged.
What moves the number
- Actual cabling hours against the estimate.
- Equipment cost, which is known and fixed.
- Programming and commissioning time, often underestimated.
- Return visits for devices that failed commissioning or configuration changes.
Where this one goes wrong
Track actual hours against estimate per job, because this is a trade where the estimate error is systematically in one direction: cable routes are worse than assumed more often than they are better. A business that does not compare estimated to actual hours cannot improve its estimating and will keep absorbing the difference. Return visits are the other quiet loss: a device that was not properly commissioned, or a configuration the customer wants adjusted after they have lived with it, costs a trip that nobody budgeted and that is awkward to bill.
Before you quote
- Record actual hours against estimate on every job.
- Budget a commissioning allowance rather than assuming first-time success.
- Decide in advance how post-handover configuration changes are billed.
Questions
About this calculator
What loses money on a security installation?
Cabling hours. Equipment cost is known precisely, so the margin is made or lost on whether the cable routes came in at estimate, and they are worse than assumed more often than better. A business not tracking estimated against actual hours cannot correct that.
Should commissioning be budgeted separately?
Yes, with an allowance rather than an assumption of first-time success. Devices that do not report correctly, zones labelled wrongly and signal paths that need rework are normal rather than exceptional, and a job priced as though everything works first time absorbs that.
How should post-handover changes be handled?
Decided in advance. Customers who have lived with a system for a fortnight want timings, sensitivities and notifications adjusted, which is a trip nobody budgeted. Including a defined adjustment visit in the price, or charging for it explicitly, is better than absorbing it awkwardly.
The formula
gross profit = revenue - direct costs
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How to use this calculator
- Revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $43,000.
- Direct labour ($). 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.
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 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $43,000 |
| Direct labour | $16,000 |
| Materials and equipment | $11,000 |
| Other direct costs | $2,200 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross profit main result | $13,800 |
| Gross margin | 32.1% |
| Total direct cost | $29,200 |
| Profit per working day | $627.27 |
That is $13,800 at a 32.1% margin, about $627.27 for every working day. Overhead still has to come out of it.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only revenue, this is what happens to gross profit. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Revenue ($) | Gross profit |
|---|---|
| $21,500 | -$7,700 |
| $32,250 | $3,050 |
| $43,000 example above | $13,800 |
| $64,500 | $35,300 |
| $86,000 | $56,800 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $43,000.
- Direct labour ($)
- 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.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gross profit | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Gross 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.