What is overhead?
Overhead is the cost of keeping the business running whether a specific job exists or not. It includes the expenses that support the work but do not attach to one line item on a single project.
Contractor costing
Overhead Allocation Calculator
Allocate your overhead correctly so every job carries its share of business costs.
Enter your monthly overhead
Allocate your overhead correctly so every job carries its share of business costs.
$
Rent, insurance, admin, software, vehicles, and other overhead.
Optional context only. Core overhead math does not depend on this input.
Results
These numbers show what each job needs to absorb before margins are truly accurate.
- Overhead Per Job
- $1,750.00
- Total Monthly Overhead
- $14,000.00
- Jobs per Month
- 8.0
- Daily Overhead
- $466.67
Context: a 12.0day job carries overhead for each day it stays open. $5,600.00.
Watchout
If your jobs don't include overhead, your profit is overstated.
Education
Why it gets ignored
Contractors often price around labor and materials because those costs are visible on the job. Overhead is easier to overlook, which makes jobs look more profitable than they actually are.
How it affects pricing
If overhead is not assigned to each job, your price may cover direct cost without covering the business. That leads to weak margins, bad pricing decisions, and growth that adds work without adding real profit.
Related resources
Overhead is real cost. Tracking it across every job is what keeps your margins accurate.
See the practical next steps