Business Free

Overhead Cost Calculator

Add up all monthly business expenses to know your true break-even. Handyman-specific categories: vehicle, tools, insurance, marketing.

Vehicle (Monthly)
Insurance (Monthly)

If you have employees

Tools & Equipment (Monthly Reserve)
Marketing (Monthly)

Google Ads, Angi, Thumbtack, etc.

Operations (Monthly)

Scheduling, invoicing, CRM, etc.

If you rent a shop or storage unit

Context (For Per-Hour & Per-Job Math)

Hours you actually bill customers

Results

Monthly Overhead
--
Annual Overhead
--
Per Billable Hour
--
Per Job
--
Overhead % of Revenue
--

Category Breakdown (Monthly)

Vehicle --
Insurance --
Tools & Equipment --
Marketing --
Operations --

Handyman Overhead Benchmarks

Target Overhead 20 – 30% of revenue
Vehicle $800 – $1,200/mo typical
Marketing 5 – 10% of revenue
Insurance $100 – $300/mo (solo)
Tools Reserve $100 – $250/mo
Your Overhead % of Revenue --
📊

Save this calculation to your account

Create a free account to save your results, track your numbers over time, and download a branded PDF you can share with your accountant.

Email these results to yourself

Get a copy you can reference on the job site or attach to a quote.

How to Use This Calculator

1. Fill in each overhead category. Start with the defaults and adjust to match your actual expenses. Every dollar you spend to keep the business running that is not tied to a specific job belongs here.

2. Enter your context numbers. Billable hours, jobs per month, and annual revenue let the calculator translate raw overhead into per-hour and per-job figures you can use for pricing.

3. Review your results. Check whether your overhead percentage falls within the 20-30% target range. Use the per-hour and per-job numbers to make sure your billing rates cover overhead plus profit.

How Handyman Overhead Works

Overhead is every cost that keeps the business running but cannot be billed to a specific job. It includes your vehicle, insurance, tools, phone, marketing, and licenses. Unlike materials or labor on a job, overhead does not change based on how many jobs you run in a given week.

Total_Monthly = Vehicle + Insurance + Tools + Marketing + Operations

Annual_Overhead = Total_Monthly x 12

Per_Hour = Annual_Overhead / (Billable_Hours x 12)

Per_Job = Monthly_Overhead / Jobs_Per_Month

Overhead_Pct = (Annual_Overhead / Annual_Revenue) x 100

The per-hour number is the most important output. It tells you exactly how much overhead you burn for every billable hour. If your overhead per hour is $20 and you bill the customer $65 per hour, you have $45 left to cover your labor and profit. Knowing this number forces you to price correctly.

When To Use This

Setting billing rates. Before you decide what to charge per hour, you need to know your overhead per hour. This calculator gives you that number so you can build rates that cover your costs and leave room for profit.

Annual budgeting. At the start of each year, plug in your expected costs to see where you will land. If overhead is creeping above 30% of projected revenue, you know you need to either cut costs or grow revenue.

Evaluating growth decisions. Thinking about upgrading your truck, adding a lead service, or renting workshop space? Enter the new numbers and see how they change your overhead per hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are typical handyman business overhead costs?
Most handyman businesses carry 20-35% overhead relative to revenue. The largest categories are usually vehicle costs, general liability insurance, tools reserves, marketing, and phone/internet. A solo handyman typically runs $1,500-$3,500 per month in overhead.
How do I calculate overhead per hour?
Divide your total annual overhead by the total billable hours you work in a year. For example, if annual overhead is $36,000 and you bill 1,200 hours per year, your overhead per hour is $30. This must be built into your billing rate on top of your desired income.
What percentage of revenue should go to overhead?
Target 20-30% of revenue for a healthy handyman business. Below 20% usually means a lean operation. Above 35% signals you may be overspending or underpricing. Marketing should be 5-10% of revenue, vehicle costs 8-12%, and insurance 3-5%.
How do I reduce handyman business overhead?
Start by identifying your top three categories. Common wins include shopping insurance annually, optimizing routes to cut fuel, using free or low-cost software, maintaining tools to extend life, and auditing subscriptions. Do not cut marketing below 5% of revenue.

Related Handyman Tools

← View all Handyman tools