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Free Small Business Service Cost Calculator

Small Business Cost Calculator

Calculate the true cost of a service job with our free small business cost calculator. Add loaded labor, materials, overhead, and other job costs to estimate your total cost and set a profitable price. Built by Arrivy for trade and service businesses, Arrivy helps teams connect job costs with pricing, scheduling, job execution, and overall operational performance.

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Calculate Your Small Business Job Cost With Arrivy

Enter your labor, materials, overhead, and other job costs. Your job cost and recommended price update in real time as you go. Review the results and adjust the inputs as needed.

The job

One typical job — the time on site plus the time getting there.

Crew size

Hours on site

Drive time (round trip, hours — the windshield time you still pay for)

Direct costs

Hourly wage

Labor burden (taxes, comp)

Materials / supplies

Overhead (% of direct)

The costs owners forget

The quiet ones that turn a “profitable” job into a break-even one.

Rework / callbacks (% allowance)

Disposal / dump fees

Payment processing (card fee, % of price)

True cost to deliver this job

Cost / billable hr

Breakeven price

Hidden costs

What it costs you

Total cost

Breakeven floor

Cost / hour

Card fee at floor

Cost jobs in Arrivy

Estimates use your inputs — adjust to match your real costs. Benchmarks are starting points, not advice.

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The Number Behind Every Service Pricing Decision

Your labor rate is only one part of what a service job costs. Materials, travel, overhead, and other job costs all contribute to the total cost of delivering the work. Understanding your true job cost helps you set prices with confidence, protect your margin, and make better decisions about the work.

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Knowing your job cost is only one part of the equation. Arrivy helps trade and service businesses connect job costing with pricing, scheduling, job execution, and overall operational performance.

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Arrivy empowers diverse industries with streamlined workflows, real-time coordination, and customer engagement tools that boost productivity, reduce errors, and drive growth.

Scheduling Software

Empower customers to book appointments online at their convenience, without back-and-forth calls.

Digital Forms

Capture field data with customizable, offline-ready forms that sync across workflows.

Route Planning

Plan the fastest, most efficient routes to reduce travel time, fuel costs, and scheduling delays.

Work Order Management

Create, assign, and manage work orders with complete visibility across every job and team.

Dispatch Dashboard

Manage daily dispatch from a unified dashboard. Track jobs, update crews in real time, and keep work on schedule with full team visibility.

All Features

Explore all our features in detail to see what fits your needs

How to Calculate Your Small Business Service Cost

Use the calculator above or follow these six steps to calculate your own job cost. A service job costs more than labor and materials, so include the overhead, travel, and other costs associated with delivering the work.

1. Start with loaded labor. Calculate workers × hours on the job × your fully burdened labor rate. Include wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation, insurance, and benefits.
2. Add travel time. Include paid travel time between jobs at the applicable loaded labor rate.
3. Add materials and supplies. Account for the parts, supplies, and other materials used to complete the job.
4. Add overhead and other operating costs. Include the job's share of vehicles, insurance, software, facilities, equipment, and other business expenses.
5. Calculate your total cost. Add the labor, travel, materials, overhead, and other applicable costs to determine what the job costs your business to deliver.
6. Set your price. Use your total cost as the starting point, then apply your target profit margin to determine what to charge. Review your pricing against actual job costs and local market conditions.

Common Elements of a Small Business Service Cost Calculation

A small business service cost calculation typically includes:

Loaded Labor

The fully burdened cost of labor, including wages and applicable employment costs.

Travel / Route Time

Paid travel time between jobs and other route-related labor costs.

Materials & Supplies

Parts, supplies, and other materials used to complete the job.

Overhead

The job's share of operating costs such as vehicles, insurance, equipment, software, and facilities.

Other Job Costs

Disposal, payment processing, subcontractor, service-call, or other costs associated with completing the work.

Target Margin

The profit margin you want to earn after covering the total cost of delivering the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

They're two steps of the same process. The Service Cost Calculator estimates what a job costs your business to deliver, giving you a cost floor. The Service Pricing Calculator takes that cost and adds your target profit margin to determine what to charge. Cost first, price second.

Markup is profit as a percentage of your cost, while margin is profit as a percentage of your selling price. They are not the same. For example, a 50% markup produces a 33% margin. The pricing calculator uses your target margin to help you set the selling price.

Looking only at labor and materials may not reflect the full cost of delivering a job. Including overhead and other applicable costs provides a more complete estimate of your total service cost.

A loaded labor rate reflects the actual cost of labor, not just the base wage. It can include payroll taxes, workers' compensation, insurance, benefits, and other applicable employment costs. Using the loaded rate gives you a more complete picture of what labor costs your business.

Overhead covers the operating costs required to run the business, such as vehicles, insurance, software, equipment, and facilities. Including the job's share of these costs helps you avoid pricing based only on direct labor and materials.

Start with the total cost of delivering the job, including loaded labor, travel, materials, overhead, and other applicable costs. Then apply your target profit margin to determine the selling price. Review your pricing against actual job costs and local market conditions.

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