How to price a job or product, profit margin, markup, break-even and paying yourself.
Profit margin is profit divided by sales, shown as a percent: (price minus cost) divided by price, times 100. A $100 job that costs you $80 leaves $20 of profit, a 20% margin. For the whole business, divide net profit (income minus all expenses) by income for the same month or year: $2,800 profit on $8,000 of income is a 35% margin. ProfitDrawer's free price per job calculator works with margin the same way.
Updated October 29, 2026
Margin is profit as a share of the selling price; markup is profit as a share of the cost. On a $100 sale that costs $80, the $20 profit is a 20% margin and a 25% markup. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator uses margin, so a 20% margin means 20% of the price is profit. To price for a target margin, divide your cost by 1 minus the margin: $80 / 0.80 = $100.
Updated October 29, 2026
Add up the cost of one job: hours times the hourly pay you want, plus materials, travel and a share of monthly overhead (overhead divided by jobs per month). Then divide by 1 minus your profit margin. ProfitDrawer's free price per job calculator uses this formula. Example: 3 hours at $25 an hour, $15 of materials, $10 of travel and $20 of overhead cost $120; at a 20% margin the price is $150.
Updated October 29, 2026
There is no single good profit margin; it depends on your trade, your costs and local prices. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator notes that many service business owners start with a margin of 10% to 30% on top of paying themselves, then adjust to their market and how busy they are. Track your own net margin each month: $8,000 of income and $6,800 of expenses, including your pay, is a 15% margin.
Updated October 29, 2026
Break-even point in units equals fixed costs divided by price per unit minus variable cost per unit, the formula the SBA gives. If your fixed costs are $1,200 a month, you charge $150 a job and each job has $70 of variable costs, you need $1,200 / $80 = 15 jobs a month to break even. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator shows break-even jobs per month for your own numbers.
Updated October 29, 2026
Start with the yearly pay you want, add yearly business overhead, and divide by the hours you can actually bill, which are fewer than the hours you work. Example: $50,000 of pay plus $6,000 of overhead over 1,000 billable hours is $56 an hour. Then allow for tax: self-employment tax alone is 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit in 2026. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator turns an hourly rate into a price per job.
Updated October 29, 2026
It depends on how the business is set up. A sole proprietor usually takes an owner's draw, a transfer from the business account to a personal one, and pays tax on the business's net profit, not on the draw; IRS Publication 334 (2025) says you can't deduct your own salary or personal withdrawals. Corporation officers, including S corporation shareholder-employees, are generally paid wages. A ProfitDrawer bookkeeping spreadsheet keeps owner draws out of profit and tax.
Updated October 29, 2026
Work backward from what you need: the monthly pay you want, plus the share of profit you set aside for tax, plus any money to keep in the business. To take home $3,000 a month while setting aside 25% of profit for tax, you need $4,000 of monthly profit ($3,000 / 0.75). Add your monthly expenses to get a sales target. A ProfitDrawer bookkeeping spreadsheet stores the goal in Settings and shows progress on its Monthly Dashboard.
Updated October 29, 2026
Subtract all business expenses from all business income for the same month; if the result stays positive after you pay yourself a fair amount, the business is making money. Check it every month, not only at tax time, and look at the trend over at least 3 months. ProfitDrawer's expense tracking guide builds this into a 5 minute monthly review. Watch cash too: an unpaid invoice is a sale, not money in the bank yet.
Updated October 29, 2026
Price each clean from your time and costs, not a guess. ProfitDrawer's cleaning business guide works an example: a 3-hour recurring clean of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home at $30 an hour is $90, plus $6 of supplies, $8.40 of driving and $10 of overhead, for $114.40. Adding 20% for taxes and slow weeks gives $137.28, rounded to $140 per visit. These are example numbers, not local market rates.
Updated October 29, 2026
Count the whole visit, not just the walk. ProfitDrawer's dog walking guide prices a 30-minute walk as 45 minutes of work (travel, entry and an owner update included): 0.75 hour at $24 an hour is $18.00, plus $1.45 of mileage and $1.00 of overhead, for $20.45. Adding 15% profit gives $23.52, rounded to $24 per walk. These are example numbers to replace with your own, not a market rate.
Updated October 29, 2026
Quote a flat price per cut from your cost per hour on site. ProfitDrawer's lawn care guide prices a quarter-acre lawn: 0.67 hour (40 minutes) x $35 = $23.45, plus $4 of fuel and wear, $2.10 of driving and $4 of overhead, for $33.55. Adding 25% for profit, taxes and rain days gives $41.94, so the example price is $45 per weekly cut. These are example numbers, not local rates.
Updated October 29, 2026
Add up every cost of the event, divide by the guest count, then add a margin. ProfitDrawer's catering guide prices a 50-guest buffet: food $9.00, disposables $1.20, labor $10.80, kitchen rental $3.00, travel $0.80 and overhead $1.00 per person, for $25.80. Adding 20% gives $30.96, rounded to $31 per person, or $1,550 for the event. These are example numbers, not market rates.
Updated October 29, 2026
Price the session from all the time it takes, including prep and parent notes. ProfitDrawer's tutoring guide works a 1-hour in-home session as 1.5 hours of work at $30 an hour ($45), plus $2 of materials, $7 of driving and $4 of overhead, for $58. Adding 20% for taxes and cancellations gives $69.60, rounded to $70 per session. These are example numbers, not local market rates.
Updated October 29, 2026
Count every hour a session takes, not only the shoot. ProfitDrawer's photography guide prices a 1-hour family session with 30 edited images as 5 hours of work: $200 at $40 an hour, plus $24.50 of direct costs and $30 of overhead, for $254.50. Adding 15% profit gives $292.68, rounded to $300. These are example numbers to replace with your own, not a market rate.
Updated October 29, 2026
Start from a full week of costs, then divide by the children you care for. ProfitDrawer's home daycare guide works an example for 6 full-time children: $1,375 of pay (55 hours at $25), $168 of food, $60 of supplies, $45 of insurance and licensing and $40 of utilities, for $1,688. Adding 15% gives $1,941.20, or $325 per child per week. These are example numbers, not local rates.
Updated October 29, 2026
Measure the area, multiply by your rate per square foot, then check what is left after costs. ProfitDrawer's pressure washing guide works an example: a 960 sq ft driveway plus a 120 sq ft walk is 1,080 sq ft, and at $0.20 per sq ft the price is $216. Direct costs are $34 and the job takes 2 hours, leaving $182, or $91 an hour before insurance, marketing and taxes. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Price mulch as materials with a markup plus crew hours, job costs and profit. ProfitDrawer's landscaping guide bids an example install: 8 cubic yards at $40 delivered ($320) marked up 20% to $384, 12 crew hours at $45 ($540 for spreading, edging and bed prep), $40 for truck and fuel and $25 for disposal, for $989. Adding 15% profit gives $1,137.35, so the example bid is $1,140. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Set a minimum charge, then price quarter, half, three-quarter and full loads from your real costs for each size. ProfitDrawer's junk removal guide prices a quarter-load garage cleanout: 2 people for 1.5 hours at $30 an hour ($90), a $45 dump fee, $17.50 of driving and $15 of overhead, for $167.50. Adding 20% gives $201, rounded up to $205 for a quarter load. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Cost one candle from a full batch, add your time, overhead, a margin and selling fees. ProfitDrawer's candle business guide prices an 8 oz container candle: $5.00 of materials, $2.75 of your time and $0.75 of overhead make $8.50. Adding 40% gives $11.90, and covering an example 10% in selling and payment fees gives $13.22, rounded to $14 plus shipping. These are example numbers, not market prices.
Updated October 29, 2026
Price each item from its full cost, then make sure the price still works after Etsy's fees. ProfitDrawer's candle business guide shows the method: $8.50 of materials, time and overhead, plus a 40% margin, is $11.90; dividing by 0.90 to cover an example 10% in selling and payment fees gives $13.22, rounded to $14 plus shipping. Use Etsy's current fee schedule and your own costs; these are example numbers.
Updated October 29, 2026
Recalculate your price from current costs, then raise it with clear notice and a short reason. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator shows the cost side: hours x hourly pay, plus materials, travel and overhead per job, divided by (1 minus your margin). If that number is above what you charge, every job pays you less than you planned. For example, a $120 job cost at a 20% margin needs a $150 price.
Updated October 29, 2026
Many service owners quote by the job and use an hourly rate to build that price. ProfitDrawer's price per job calculator starts from hours x the hourly pay you want, adds materials, travel and overhead, then a margin. Flat prices suit repeatable work, such as a $140 recurring clean in our cleaning guide's example. Hourly suits small odd jobs or work you cannot predict. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Add travel in two parts: the time, paid at your hourly rate, and the driving cost per mile. ProfitDrawer's dog walking guide counts 10 minutes of travel inside a 45-minute visit, and adds 2 miles at $0.725, the IRS business rate for January to June 2026 (76 cents a mile for July to December 2026). The photography guide adds 0.5 hour of travel to a 5-hour session. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Cost per mile is everything the truck costs you in a period divided by the miles driven. ProfitDrawer's box truck guide works a month: 6,000 miles with $2,280 of fuel, a $1,100 payment, $900 of insurance, $720 set aside for maintenance and tires and $300 of other fixed costs, for $5,300. Divided by 6,000 miles, that is about $0.88 a mile. Example numbers only.
Updated October 29, 2026
Food cost percentage is the cost of the food and packaging on one plate divided by its menu price, times 100. In ProfitDrawer's food truck guide, a plate of two brisket tacos and a side costs $4.15 in ingredients plus $0.35 of packaging, $4.50 in total; at a $14.00 price that is 32.1%. To set a price, divide plate cost by your target: $4.50 / 0.32 = $14.06. These are example numbers.
Updated October 29, 2026
Add up what one cycle costs you in water and sewer, water heating, electricity and a repair set-aside, then subtract that from the vend price. In ProfitDrawer's laundromat guide, a large front load washer uses 25 gallons at $0.015 a gallon ($0.38), plus $0.30 for hot water, $0.07 of electricity and $0.40 for repairs: $1.15 a cycle. At $5.00, each cycle leaves $3.85 toward rent, staff and profit.
Updated October 29, 2026
It depends on how many lawns you mow, your price per cut and your season length. As an example, ProfitDrawer's lawn care guide shows 40 weekly lawns at $45 over a 30 week season bringing in $54,000 in revenue (40 x $45 x 30). Fuel, repairs, insurance, mileage and taxes come out of that, so profit is lower. This is an example, not an average.
Updated October 29, 2026
