Landscaping Job Profit Calculator

How to Calculate Landscaping Job Profit (Formula)

The formula only works with burdened labor (wage × 1.25–1.45 for payroll taxes, workers comp, PTO), travel cost (drive-time wages + vehicle), and an overhead share per billable hour. Skip any of the three and the margin you see isn't real — that's why jobs that "looked profitable" lose money.

What Counts as a Good Margin?

Net margin is profit as a share of the price after every cost — not the "I charged double the mulch" kind of margin. Benchmarks for landscaping jobs:

Most landscapers think they run at 20% and actually keep about 5% — the gap is almost always unburdened labor, unbilled travel, and unallocated overhead. The full math is in our guide on what profit margin landscapers should charge.

Worked Example: The Default Numbers Above

A $1,400 quote for a bed renovation. Two-person crew, 5 hours on site (10 labor hours), $25/hour wages, $400 in materials, 50 minutes of round-trip driving, $9.50/hour overhead:

• Burdened labor: 10 hrs × $25 × 1.35 = $337.50 (not $250 — burden is real money)
• Materials: $400 at your cost
• Travel: (50/60 hr × 2 people × $25 × 1.35) + $22 vehicle = $78.25
• Overhead: 10 hrs × $9.50 = $95
• True cost: $910.75 → profit $489.25 → net margin 35% ✅

Now watch how fast it moves: quote the same job at $1,000 — which "feels" fine next to $650 of visible labor-plus-materials — and margin drops to 8.9%. Add one return visit for a punch list and you're near break-even. That's why the pros price from true cost up, never from gut feel down.

If the Margin Comes Out Thin, Do This

1. Re-price before you re-work. Use the pricing guidance panel: the 20% row is the price where the job genuinely pays. Most customers don't leave over 10–15% — they leave over surprises.

2. Cut travel, not corners. Batch nearby jobs on the same day, or add a trip charge for out-of-area work. Travel is the easiest cost to reduce without touching quality — see how landscapers charge for drive time.

3. Check your materials markup. Passing materials through at cost is a silent margin killer. Standard practice is 15–50% depending on the material — our materials markup calculator covers the ranges.

4. Track estimated vs actual. The estimate is a hypothesis; the timesheet is the truth. Compare them after every job and your next quote gets sharper — that feedback loop is the core of job costing software.