ZeroDelay Academy · Owner worksheet
Are your service jobs priced to cover their real costs?
A higher quote is not automatically a better job. Compare what you actually collect on similar completed work with the labor, materials and other costs that work actually consumes.
By ZeroDelay.ai · An educational framework, not a customer case study
Three checks to do first
Step 1
Choose comparable completed jobs
Pick one repeatable service and a recent set of paid invoices. Separate urgent, warranty and unusually large jobs. Record collected revenue before sales tax, discounts and approved change orders; do not compare a list price with a final cost.
Step 2
Reconcile quoted and actual costs
For each job, write estimated and actual parts, loaded crew hours, subcontractor charges, paid travel and callbacks not already counted. Note changes in scope separately. Use a consistent definition of direct cost across jobs.
Step 3
Check contribution before deciding on price
Direct contribution = collected revenue − actual direct job costs. Contribution rate = direct contribution ÷ collected revenue when revenue is positive. Then consider overhead, unpaid owner time, taxes and the actual market response before deciding whether to change a price, scope or process.
A worksheet using your own records
1. Invoice cohort
One row per comparable paid job: quoted amount, approved scope changes, final collected amount, service type and completion date. Keep unpaid invoices outside collected revenue.
2. Cost bridge
Add actual parts, loaded original-visit labor, paid travel and separately recorded return-visit costs. If callback hours are already in actual labor, do not add them again. Compare quoted direct costs with actual direct costs for the same job.
3. Decision log
Mark whether a thin result was driven by price/discount, unapproved scope, materials, job duration, rework or overhead allocation. Test one change at a time and review customer response; the arithmetic alone cannot tell you what the market will accept.
A fictional example to check the logic
Fictional teaching example, not an industry average or promised improvement: one completed job collected $900. Actual parts were $250, loaded original-visit labor $315, paid travel $70 and additional callback cost $65. Direct contribution = $900 − $250 − $315 − $70 − $65 = $200, or about 22.2% of collected revenue.
If the quote allowed only $250 of labor and no callback, the $130 combined labor/callback gap needs investigation. The $200 remainder is before rent, insurance, marketing, taxes and other overhead: it is not net profit.
What to decide next
If a consistent job type has thin contribution, investigate scope, time, parts and rework before assuming a blanket price increase. If costs are controlled but collected prices remain low, test a clearly documented price or scope change on comparable quotes and track acceptances and completed-job results.
What this check cannot tell you
An illustrative contribution rate is not a recommended target or a forecast. The free diagnostic can identify a top business constraint from your answers; it does not inspect invoices or set your prices. The optional paid 90-Day Plan adds ranked priorities and financial analysis grounded in the information available, not a guaranteed price or margin.
The free Profit Leak Check's plumbing mode compares hours and callback cost with collected revenue. It is not a pricing engine and does not calculate full net profit. Explore the free Service Business Profit Leak Check. Calculations stay in your browser.