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Contractor Break-Even & Cash Model

Type in the blue cells. Anything you do not pay for, set to 0 — do not delete the row.

FIXED MONTHLY OVERHEAD
WHAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE HOME
THE AVERAGE JOB
THE RULES YOU BID BY
RETAINERS, STARTUP & CASH

THE NUT

Fixed overhead — lights on only
THE NUT — lights on, your pay, the loans
What that is per working day

THE AVERAGE JOB, HONESTLY

Hard costs on that job
House fee held off the top
Contribution per job
Contribution per dollar billed
Net profit per job after the house fee
Gross margin on that job
Verdict on that margin

WHAT THE FLOOR COSTS YOU

Ticket this job needs to clear the floor
Ticket to hit your target margin
Most this job can cost and still clear the floor
Headroom before you hit the floor
Materials on this job, billed at your markup
A minimum-fee service call nets

HOW MANY JOBS CLEARS IT

Retainer contribution each month
Jobs to cover overhead alone
JOBS A MONTH TO CLEAR THE NUT
Revenue a month at break-even
Working days between jobs at break-even
Retainers that would cover the whole nut
Margin of safety at your current pace

THE HOLE, AND HOW LONG IT TAKES

Contribution you actually generate
Left after the whole nut
Months to earn the startup spend back
Extra jobs that would clear the startup spend
Months of nut sitting in the bank

Six-Month Cash Projection

One row per month. Type over the example rows. Grey columns calculate themselves.

MonthJobs completedAvg job ticketRetainers activeJob revenueRetainer revenueTotal revenueDirect job costsOverhead + owner payNet for the monthCash on handWhat happened
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Where that leaves you

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Contractor Break-Even & Cash Model — the full workbook

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Educational estimates only. These calculators and workbooks do the arithmetic on the figures you enter; they are general-purpose tools, not financial, investment, tax, legal, lending, insurance or construction advice, and no result is a quote, an offer, or a guarantee of any outcome. Results depend entirely on your inputs and assumptions. Verify anything you intend to rely on with a licensed professional — a CPA, attorney, lender, licensed contractor, or your own agent. WorkbookBarn and Marcos Gil accept no liability for decisions made using these tools. Marcos Gil is a licensed Kentucky real estate agent (License No. 296259) and is not a lender, CPA or attorney.

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