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Labor Burden Rate
Turn a wage into your true loaded cost per billable hour.
Open calculator →FreeMarkup vs. Margin
The math contractors get backwards — settled instantly.
Open calculator →FreeFlooring Job Pricing
Sq ft + waste + labor + markup → a defensible price.
Open calculator →Templates that finish the job
Flooring Estimate Calculator Pro
Multi-room waste factor + print-ready client estimate.
Contractor Estimate Calculator
Any-trade materials + labor + markup, margin handled.
Most solo contractors don’t lose money because they’re bad at the trade — they lose it in the 15 minutes before the job starts: a quick estimate that forgot the 10% waste factor, skipped the loaded labor cost, and confused a 20% markup with a 20% margin (it isn’t — a 20% markup is only a 16.7% margin).
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Quick answers
Pricing FAQ.
What’s the difference between markup and margin?
Markup is added to your cost; margin is the share of the sale price you keep. A 50% markup on $100 cost = $150 = 33% margin. To keep a 40% margin you need a 67% markup. The Markup vs. Margin calculator settles it instantly.
What waste factor should I use for flooring?
Start at 8% for straight-lay in simple rooms, 10% for standard layouts, and 12–15% for diagonals, patterns, or lots of cuts. The Flooring Pricing calculator lets you set it per job.
How do I figure my real hourly labor cost?
Add payroll taxes, workers’ comp, benefits, and non-billable time to the base wage. A $28/hr wage commonly lands near $50/hr loaded — the Labor Burden calculator does the math for your numbers.