Download the C4C Job Profitability Spreadsheet Here Most contractors know how much revenue a project generated. Far fewer can say exactly how many dollars—and what percentage—they actually made on that project. Without accurate job costing, business owners are forced to make decisions based on feelings, incomplete reports, or money in the bank. A company may look busy and profitable while missed labor, employee burden, equipment rentals, dumpsters, lodging, subcontractor changes, and other direct costs quietly eat away at its margins. In this episode of Success Beyond the Brush, Scott Lollar explains how to calculate a project’s true gross profit by subtracting its cost of goods sold from its revenue. He breaks down what should be included in job costs, how employee labor burden differs from subcontractor labor, and why seemingly small missing expenses can produce dangerously inaccurate results. Scott also discusses gross-profit benchmarks for residential repaint contractors, why commercial contractors operate under a different model, and how job-cost data can reveal more than whether an individual project won or lost money. When projects are categorized by service, salesperson, project manager, crew leader, subcontractor, and lead source, contractors can identify which parts of the business are actually producing profit—and which ones only feel successful. Key Topics Covered What job costing means and why it mattersComparing estimated costs with actual project resultsCalculating gross profit in dollars and percentagesWhat belongs in cost of goods soldW-2 wages, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, PTO, benefits, and employee burdenTracking subcontractor labor accuratelyCapturing materials, dumpsters, lifts, travel, lodging, and other direct costsThe difference between direct costs and variable expensesResidential repaint gross-profit benchmarksWhy commercial gross-profit targets may be lowerMeasuring profitability by service typeComparing results by salesperson, crew leader, project manager, and subcontractorEvaluating the real return from marketing lead sourcesUsing data to diagnose production and personnel problemsOrganizing job-cost information inside QuickBooks OnlineUsing QuickBooks Projects, QuickBooks Time, and QuickBooks PayrollBuilding a reliable receipt-management and timekeeping processKey Takeaways Revenue does not tell you whether a job was profitable.A contractor must capture every direct project cost before calculating gross profit. Employee labor costs more than the employee’s hourly wage.Taxes, workers’ compensation, PTO, holidays, health benefits, retirement contributions, and other benefits must be included in the company’s labor burden. Missing small costs creates inaccurate large decisions.A lost lift receipt, unrecorded dumpster, incomplete timesheet, or subcontractor adjustment can materially change a project’s final margin. Scott’s target for residential repaint work is approximately 50% gross profit.A result above 45% may be acceptable, while repeatedly falling below 45% can make it difficult to cover overhead and produce a healthy net profit. Job costing is a diagnostic tool, not merely an accounting exercise.It can reveal estimating errors, production-rate issues, poor crew combinations, unprofitable services, and weak marketing sources. Data must replace emotion.A business owner should be able to prove profitability—not simply feel that the company is doing well. Free Resource Download the C4C Job Profitability Spreadsheet to calculate job costs and analyze profitability by: Service typeSalespersonProject managerCrew leaderSubcontractorLead sourceMonthly revenue goalDownload the spreadsheet Need Help Organizing Your Financial Data? Consulting4Contractors helps contractors create accurate charts of accounts, receipt-management systems, timekeeping processes, payroll workflows, and QuickBooks reporting structures. Schedule a free strategy call with Scott Visit: consulting4contractors.com (00:00) - SBTB Ep. 26 | Stop Guessing Your Profit: How to Job Cost Every Project Accurately (00:05) - Welcome to Success Beyond The Brush (01:29) - Why Job Costing Matters (02:49) - What Counts as COGS (04:41) - Variable Costs Debate (05:21) - Gross Profit Targets (06:33) - Residential vs Commercial Margins (07:03) - Free Profitability Spreadsheet (08:18) - Marketing ROI by Lead Source (10:23) - Crew Performance Insights (11:54) - Systems to Capture Data (13:08) - Get Your Free Discovery Call With Scott Now (13:47) - Thanks For Listening To Success Beyond The Brush!
