Work & small business · 137

Project profit

What profit and margin remain after labor and project costs?

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Quick answer

What does the Project profit calculate?

What profit and margin remain after labor and project costs? This calculator uses project price, labor hours, internal labor cost per hour, materials and subcontractors, and other project costs to estimate profit after project costs immediately in your browser.

With the values currently entered, the result is $3,500.00 — project profit. It also shows total project cost, profit margin, and profit per labor hour.

How to use the Project profit

Replace the example values with your own numbers.
Review the result and supporting figures as they update automatically.
Check the formula and assumptions before using the estimate for a decision.

Inputs used

Project price
Labor hours — entered in hours
Internal labor cost per hour
Materials and subcontractors
Other project costs

Project profit formula

Project price − labor cost − materials − other costs

Assumptions

Labor cost includes relevant payroll burden.
General overhead is excluded unless entered as another cost.

Practical guide

Project profit example and edge cases

What profit and margin remain after labor and project costs? Let's use a concrete example, then look at the assumptions that can move the answer.

Example: A practical project profit scenario

For this example, use project price of 12,000, labor hours of 120 hours, internal labor cost per hour of 45, materials and subcontractors of 2,600, and other project costs of 500. These are starting values, so replace them with numbers that match your situation.

Project price: 12,000
Labor hours: 120 hours
Internal labor cost per hour: 45
Materials and subcontractors: 2,600
Other project costs: 500

Calculated result$3,500.00project profit

Start with project profit. Then check total project cost, profit margin, and profit per labor hour to understand what sits behind the main result.

Example results use the default display profile. The calculator above follows your selected country and units.

How to read the result

Read the main result first. The supporting figures for total project cost, profit margin, and profit per labor hour explain how the estimate is built.
The method is Project price − labor cost − materials − other costs. Keep the units consistent and use values from the same time period.

Edge cases worth checking

When project price is unusual

Labor cost includes relevant payroll burden. Double-check this input before relying on the result.

When other project costs is uncertain

General overhead is excluded unless entered as another cost. Run a lower and higher value to see a useful range.

What changes the result most

Project price

Use a current amount for project price. Include fees or recurring costs that belong in the same figure.

Labor hours

Keep labor hours on the same time basis as the other inputs. Monthly and annual values are easy to mix up.

Internal labor cost per hour

Use a current amount for internal labor cost per hour. Include fees or recurring costs that belong in the same figure.

Try a different scenario

Small changes show whether the answer is stable or sensitive.

Project price: 10% lower

10,800

$2,300.00project profit

Project price: 10% higher

13,200

$4,700.00project profit

Labor hours: 10% higher

132 hours

$2,960.00project profit

Common mistakes

Check project price

Labor cost includes relevant payroll burden. Make sure this matches the number you enter.

Keep other project costs consistent

General overhead is excluded unless entered as another cost. Use the same units and time period throughout the calculation.

Do not rely on one project profit scenario

Run a cautious case and an optimistic case. The range is often more useful than one exact-looking number.

Use this result well

Use it for