You can be fully booked, turning real revenue, and still finish the year unsure where the profit actually went. A job can look great on paper, but once you properly track labor, materials, subs, equipment, change orders, and overhead, the real margin often looks very different.
This guide is about one thing: seeing the true profit on each individual job, not just guessing at it after the fact. Use it as a working checklist for your business, and as a way to test whether your current numbers can actually answer the question, “How much did I make on that job?”
Contractor B did less than half the revenue and ran a third of the jobs, but walked away with more money. The guide breaks down exactly why.
| Cost category | Amount | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Labor + burden | $19,000 | 48% |
| Materials | $13,000 | 33% |
| Subcontractors | $4,000 | 10% |
| Equipment, permits, other | $3,000 | 7% |
| Total cost | $39,000 | 98% |
| Profit | $1,000 | 2.5% |
On paper, this job “made money.” In reality, $1,000 of profit on a $40,000 deck is barely enough to cover the risk of taking it on, and most contractors never see this number broken out this clearly until it’s already done.
If you’re not sure whether your jobs are actually profitable, we can help. Beyond Books Solutions reviews your current setup, shows you where your costing is off, and builds reporting that tells you the truth about every project, so you can price better, bid smarter, and keep more of what you earn.