Know Your Cost Calculator

STEP 1 – Available Working Hours Per Year

Determine how many hours you can charge out for your plumbers/drainers/gasfitters

Number of working days in a week:

Number of working hours in a day:

Total Hours Available Per Year:

STEP 2 – Working Days/Hours Lost & Not Chargable Per Year

Calculate how much each employee costs you per year in unproductive time

Holidays, Annual Leave, Christmas, etc. (days per year):

Public Holidays (days per year):

Industry Holiday/Picnic Days (days per year):

Sick Pay, Bereavement, Maternity, etc. (days per year):

Other Time Off Allowed – Special Occasions (days per year):

Allowance for Bad Weather – Rain, Snow, Heat, etc. (days per year):

Non-Chargeable Hours per Day – Travel Between Jobs, Callbacks, Paperwork, etc.:

Total Chargeable Hours Per Year:

STEP 3 – Cost of Each Employee Per Year

Calculate how much your employees cost you per year

Weekly Pay Rate or Salary For Each Employee:
$

Annual Leave Loading (Christmas Bonus, etc.):
%

Workers Compensation Insurance:
%

Payroll Tax (if applicable):
%

Employer Paid Superannuation (Long Service Leave, Retirement Plan, etc.):
%

Fare Allowances or Other Allowances Per Week:
$

Other Costs Per Week (Bonuses, Commissions, etc.):
$

Redundancy (Number of Days For Dismissal):

Other (Number of Days):

Direct Labour Cost Per Year:
$

Direct Cost Per Chargeable Hour:
$

STEP 4 – Overheads

It is necessary to include overheads in the chargeable rate.
The overheads consist of all costs involved in operating your plumbing/gasfitting or drainage business, including non-cash items such as depreciation. These can be found in your profits & loss statement or ledgers.
All of these costs should be included as a yearly cost.

Accounting & Legal Expenses:
$

Advertising & Marketing Expenses:
$

Bank & Government Charges:
$

Donations/Sponsorships:
$

Water, Gas & Electricity Expenses:
$

Tools, Plant & Equipment Hire Expenses:
$

General Insurance Expenses:
$

Interest Paid:
$

Motor Vehicles (Gas, Petrol, Service, Parking, etc.):
$

Printing, Postage & Stationery:
$

Protective Clothing Expenses:
$

Office Rent / Lease Expenses:
$

Subscriptions, Licenses & Education:
$

Telephone Expenses (Mobile Phones, 2-Way, etc.):
$

Salaries/Wages For non-Chargeable Staff (Storeman, Supervisors, etc.):
$

Directors’ Fees / Expenses:
$

Depreciation of Vehicles, Plant & Equipment:
$

Sundries:
$

Total Annual Overheads:
$

STEP 5 – Provision For Overhead

Number of Employees Whose Labour Is Chargeable:

Provision For Overheads
$

STEP 6 – Profit (this is what it’s all about!!)

Don’t forget to include a profit margin in your chargeable hours.
You would determine what margin for profit you want from your business. This would be influenced by the available return from other investments & also what the market you are working in will allow.

Profit Margin
%