Contractor Budget Kit
Guides ESBrowse tools

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Overhead Calculator

Allocate monthly business overhead to a specific job using your realistic billable labor capacity. Your entries stay on this device.

JOB INPUTS

Enter your numbers

Loading saved values

Rent, office payroll, insurance, software and other operating expenses

$
Rent, office payroll, insurance, software and other operating expenses

Realistic crew hours that can be charged to jobs each month

hrs
Realistic crew hours that can be charged to jobs each month

Total labor hours expected for this job

hrs
Total labor hours expected for this job

Labor, materials, equipment and subcontractors before overhead

$
Labor, materials, equipment and subcontractors before overhead
Results update automatically
CALCULATED RESULTUSD
Allocated overhead for this job$1,600.00
Overhead per billable hour$20.00
Direct job cost$10,000.00
Complete cost with overhead$11,600.00
Overhead as a share of direct cost16.0%
FORMULA USED$12,000.00 ÷ 600.0 h × 80.0 h = $1,600.00

HOW TO USE IT

How to use the Overhead Calculator

  1. 1

    Add the monthly operating expenses that are not already charged directly to jobs.

  2. 2

    Enter the realistic number of labor hours your business can bill to customers each month.

  3. 3

    Estimate the total labor hours required for this job.

  4. 4

    Add direct job cost, then review allocated overhead and complete cost before markup.

THE MATH

Overhead allocation formula

Overhead per billable hour = monthly overhead ÷ monthly billable hours; job overhead = hourly overhead × job hours

Overhead includes the costs required to keep the business operating even when they cannot be tied directly to one job. Dividing those expenses by realistic billable capacity creates an hourly recovery rate that can be assigned consistently to estimates.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLE

Allocating $12,000 of monthly overhead

A company with $12,000 in monthly overhead and 600 billable hours needs to recover $20 per billable hour. An 80-hour job receives $1,600 of allocated overhead. With $10,000 in direct cost, its complete cost before markup is $11,600.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What belongs in overhead?

Typical overhead includes office rent, administrative payroll, general insurance, accounting, software, phones, advertising and other business expenses that are not directly assigned to one job.

Why use billable hours instead of all paid hours?

Only billable hours can recover overhead through customer prices. Including training, travel, estimates and idle time as billable capacity can make the recovery rate too low.

Should owner salary be included?

Include the portion treated as an operating expense, but keep jobsite labor already charged directly to projects out of overhead.

Does this calculate the final selling price?

No. It calculates complete job cost after overhead. Use the markup or profit margin calculator to turn that cost into a selling price.