---
title: "Service Pricing Calculator: Job Costing Sheet (Free)"
description: "Free job costing and pricing spreadsheet for service businesses. Find your loaded labor cost, break-even hourly rate, and the price that hits your target..."
url: https://pinstripeservices.com/service-pricing-calculator
updated: 2026-09-28
publisher: Pinstripe Business Services LLC
---

# Job Costing and Pricing Sheet for Service Businesses

To price service work, find what an hour of labor really costs with payroll taxes and benefits, divide by the share of hours you bill, and add overhead per billable hour. That is your break-even rate. Divide it by one minus your target margin, and quote jobs from the result. This free spreadsheet does the math and checks each quote.

[Download the spreadsheet (.xlsx)](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/job-costing-and-pricing-sheet.xlsx) [Download the PDF](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/job-costing-and-pricing-worksheet.pdf)

## The pricing sheet (Excel)

Enter seven numbers and get your break-even and target rates. Check the rate you charge today, then quote a job with crew, hours, and materials. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.

## The worksheet (PDF)

The same method on paper, with a worked example beside a blank column for your own numbers. Useful for walking through pricing with a partner or your accountant.

## What numbers do you need?

Seven inputs, most of which are in your payroll reports and last year's Profit and Loss.

- **Average hourly wage:** What you pay the people doing the work, averaged across the crew. If you are the one doing the work, use what you would pay someone to replace you.
- **Payroll burden:** Employer payroll taxes (7.65% FICA plus state and federal unemployment), workers' comp, and any benefits, as a share of wages. 18% to 30% is common; your payroll reports show the real figure.
- **Paid hours per worker per year:** 2,080 for full time. Include paid time off, because you pay for those hours whether or not anyone bills them.
- **Billable utilization:** The share of paid hours that land on an invoice. Drive time, training, callbacks, and slow days pull it down. 65% to 80% is typical for field service crews.
- **Billable workers:** People whose hours you bill to customers. Do not count office staff; they belong in overhead.
- **Annual overhead:** Everything that is not direct labor or job materials: rent, vehicles, fuel, insurance, software, marketing, office staff, and a fair salary for the owner.
- **Target net margin:** Profit left after every cost, including the owner's salary. 10% to 20% gives you a cushion for slow months and money to grow.

## A worked example

A hypothetical cleaning company with 4 cleaners at $20.00 an hour, 22% payroll burden, 75% utilization, $90,000 of annual overhead including the owner's salary, and a 15% target margin.

Pricing calculation for a hypothetical cleaning company
| Step | Formula | Result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Loaded hourly cost | wage x (1 + burden) | $24.40 |
| Labor cost per billable hour | loaded cost / utilization | $32.53 |
| Overhead per billable hour | overhead / billable hours | $14.42 |
| Break-even rate | labor + overhead per hour | $46.96 |
| Price per billable hour | break-even / (1 - margin) | $55.24 |

A two-person, three-hour clean with half an hour of drive time each and $18.00 of supplies comes to 7 labor hours and a quote of $408.30. At break-even cost the job costs $346.69, which leaves $61.60, or 15%. If this company charged $45 an hour because that is what competitors charge, it would lose money on every hour billed.

Hypothetical example for illustration, not a client result.

## How to use the sheet

1. 1
    
    ### Find your fully loaded labor cost
    
    Add payroll taxes, workers' comp, and benefits to the hourly wage. That is what an hour of labor really costs before anyone does any work.
    
2. 2
    
    ### Divide by utilization
    
    Not every paid hour is billable. Divide the loaded cost by the share of hours you actually bill to get the labor cost behind each billable hour.
    
3. 3
    
    ### Spread overhead across billable hours
    
    Divide annual overhead, including the owner's salary, by total billable hours for the year. Every billed hour has to carry its share.
    
4. 4
    
    ### Add them for your break-even rate
    
    Labor cost plus overhead per billable hour is the rate where you neither make nor lose money. Anything below it loses money on every hour.
    
5. 5
    
    ### Divide by one minus your target margin
    
    To keep a 15% net margin, divide the break-even rate by 0.85. Multiplying by 1.15 comes up short, because margin is measured against price, not cost.
    
6. 6
    
    ### Quote jobs from the rate, then check them
    
    Multiply crew hours, including drive and setup time the job causes, by your rate. Add materials with markup. Compare the quote to the job's cost to confirm the profit is there.
    

For the thinking behind each step and the mistakes that sink most quotes, read [how to price a service job so you actually make money](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/how-to-price-a-service-job).

Free download, no email required

Job Costing & Pricing Sheet

Work out your true cost per billable hour, your break-even rate, and the price that hits your target margin, then quote a job from it.

[Download the spreadsheet (.xlsx)](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/job-costing-and-pricing-sheet.xlsx) [Download the PDF](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/job-costing-and-pricing-worksheet.pdf)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I calculate an hourly rate for a service business?

Start with the fully loaded cost of an hour of labor, divide it by the share of paid hours you actually bill, and add your overhead spread across billable hours. That is your break-even rate. Divide it by one minus your target margin to get the rate to charge.

### What is the difference between markup and margin?

Markup is measured against cost; margin is measured against price. A 15% markup on a $46.96 cost gives $54.00, which is only a 13% margin. To earn a 15% margin you divide cost by 0.85 instead.

### What is billable utilization?

The share of paid hours that end up on a customer invoice. Drive time, training, callbacks, and slow days are paid but not billed. Many field service crews land between 65% and 80%, and it is often the input owners overestimate most.

### Should the owner's salary be in overhead?

Yes. If the price only covers crew wages and expenses, the owner works for whatever is left over. Put a fair market salary for your own role in overhead, and let the margin be profit on top of it.

### Does this work for flat-rate or per-job pricing?

Yes. Estimate the crew hours a job takes, including drive and setup time the job causes, and multiply by your rate. Add materials with markup. The Quote a job tab does this and shows the profit left at your break-even cost.

### How often should I recalculate my rates?

At least once a year, and any time wages, insurance, fuel, or rent change noticeably. Rates that were right two years ago often sit below break-even today without anyone noticing.

## Want a second set of eyes on your pricing?

Our fractional CFO work starts from your real books: job-level margins, which services and customers make money, and what to change first.

[Talk About Your Pricing](https://pinstripeservices.com/contact?service=consulting&intent=consultation&source=service-pricing-calculator&utm_source=site&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=pricing_sheet&utm_content=footer) [About Fractional CFO](https://pinstripeservices.com/services/fractional-cfo)

## Related Reading

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### [How to Price a Service Job So You Actually Make Money](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/how-to-price-a-service-job)

Most busy-but-broke service businesses are underpriced in a way they cannot see. How to find your real cost per billable hour, your break-even rate, and the price that hits your target margin.

[Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/how-to-price-a-service-job)

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