Pricing Jobs using ProBuilder
Pricing jobs properly is one of the hardest parts of running a building business. Get it wrong, and you risk working for free, eating into your profits, or even losing money on a project.
Pricing jobs properly is one of the hardest parts of running a building business. Get it wrong, and you risk working for free, eating into your profits, or even losing money on a project.
That’s why ProBuilderNet gives you two powerful tools to take the guesswork out of pricing:
The Monthly Overheads Tracker, which shows you your true running costs, helps you understand your break-even point, and highlights where your biggest expenses really are.
The Estimate Builder, which lets you turn site measurements and job details into accurate, professional estimates — and checks those numbers against your overheads to make sure every job is profitable.
Used together, these tools give you complete clarity. You’ll know exactly what you need to charge, and you’ll have the confidence that every quote you send keeps your business sustainable and profitable.
Using the monthly overheads tracker
When you open the Monthly Overheads Tracker, this is the screen you’ll see.
You start by filling in some basic details, like the document title. Then, the tracker will ask how many working days you expect in the month. Let’s keep it at 20 working days. These are the days you plan to be on site or earning. The tool uses this number to work out what your day rate needs to be in order to stay profitable.
Next, you move on to adding your expenses. This is really straightforward. For example, let’s add Rent and Office Costsat £1,000 per month.
As soon as you add it in, you’ll see the category breakdown update automatically. The summary shows your total monthly overheads, and it also calculates your suggested day rate.
The more expenses you add — like insurance, vehicle costs, or software subscriptions — the more accurate that suggested rate becomes. And as you build out the list, you’ll get a clear picture of exactly what you need to charge to cover your costs and make a profit.
Estimate jobs accurately
Now let’s take a look at how the Monthly Overheads Tracker and the Estimate Builder work together to keep your business profitable.
Here’s an example. I’ve built an estimate for a kitchen renovation at 123 Main Street. The client asked me for a full cost breakdown, so I measured everything up — labour for five days, timber, and all the other materials. Those costs are now entered into the estimate.
From my Monthly Overheads Tracker, I know my business overheads come to £7,150 per month. That figure is my break-even point — the minimum I need to cover before making any profit.
For this job, I’ve chosen a 20% markup. The estimate summary shows me the total cost, my expected profit, and even highlights that a 20% margin is a healthy, sustainable target.
But what if the client pushes back on price? Let’s say they want me to reduce the total. If I lower it here in the system, the summary instantly updates. I’ll see a clear alert telling me that I’ve dropped below my 20% margin.
That way, I know straight away whether the job is still profitable — and by how much — based on my actual monthly overheads.
By combining the overheads tracker with every estimate you build, you can quote with confidence, protect your margins, and avoid taking on jobs that lose money.