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Job Pricing Calculator

Convert materials, labor minutes, and target margin into a recommended customer price. Assumptions carry forward from Calculate into Profit and ROI.

Job pricing assumptions

Direct job cost uses materials, labor, overhead, and allocated monthly operating cost. Capital recovery is shown separately from first-year cost per unit.

Recommended selling price

$51.33

50% margin on direct job cost

Break-even price

$25.67

Materials + labor + overhead + allocated operating cost

Implied shop hourly rate

$112

Recommended price minus materials and overhead, per labor hour

Contribution per job

$25.67

First-year cost per unit (includes capital): $11.94

Profit and ROI will use this recommended price until you lock a selling price there.

Estimates are based on the information you provide and should not be considered financial advice. We do not store your calculator inputs on a server.

Next: estimate monthly profit

Price the job, then test profit

Shops often pick a round number that feels right and never check it against labor or consumables. Use this step to set a floor and a margin before you ask whether the machine can pay for itself.

Frequently asked questions

How is the recommended selling price calculated?

Direct job cost adds materials, labor at your hourly rate, per-job overhead, and monthly operating cost allocated across jobs. Recommended price divides that cost by one minus your target margin.

Does recommended price recover the machine purchase?

No. The floor is direct job cost, not first-year cost per unit. First-year cost per unit is shown as context so you can see when a price would not recover capital.

What is implied shop hourly rate?

It is recommended price minus materials and overhead, divided by labor hours on the job. Use it to sanity-check whether the price pays for operator time.

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