Gross margin per job is the revenue from a single job minus its direct costs, such as technician labor, parts and materials, and travel to the site, expressed in dollars or as a percentage of the job's revenue.
How gross margin per job is measured
Gross margin ($) = Job revenue − (Labor + Parts and materials + Drive cost)
Gross margin (%) = Gross margin ($) ÷ Job revenue × 100
Drive cost includes the labor during the drive and vehicle cost:
Drive cost = Drive hours × Loaded hourly labor cost + Miles × Vehicle cost per mile
Say a repair bills $400. The technician spends 1.5 hours on site at $45 an hour loaded ($67.50), parts cost $110, and the drive to reach it is 45 minutes and 20 miles ($33.75 + $14 at $0.70 a mile). Gross margin is $400 − $225.25 = $174.75, or 44%. Drop the drive from the calculation and the same job shows 56%. Twelve points disappeared into the truck.
Why it matters
Margin per job tells you which work pays. Averages hide a lot: a profitable job type in one part of the territory can lose money in another, purely because of the drive.
Tracking it per job lets you see:
- Which job types to push. Short, low-ticket calls may not cover their drive.
- Where to set a trip charge or minimum. If small jobs at the edge lose money, the rate needs to change.
- How booking affects profit. The same job is more profitable when it is booked next to other work.
The cost side is job costing. The revenue side connects to average ticket. Pricing decisions built on these numbers are covered in the field service pricing guide.
CrewLink does not do invoicing, pricing or job costing. Where it connects is the drive: it computes travel from where the truck will actually be before a slot is offered, so the drive cost of a job is decided when it is booked rather than discovered after. See travel-time scheduling.
A common mistake
Allocating drive as overhead instead of to the job. Spread evenly, drive cost makes distant jobs look as good as nearby ones. Attach the actual drive to each job and the difference shows up.
Related terms
- Job costing is the practice of collecting each job's direct costs.
- Drive time is the cost most often left out.
- Flat-rate pricing has to build expected drive into the price.
Common questions
What is the difference between gross margin and net margin per job?
Gross margin covers direct costs of the job. Net margin also subtracts overhead such as rent, office staff and insurance.
Should drive time be a direct cost?
Yes, if you want to compare jobs fairly. The drive happens because of that job, and its cost varies by location.
What is a good gross margin per job?
It depends on your trade, overhead and pricing model. Set a target from your own overhead and profit goals.