Free tool
What does it cost you just to open the ute?
The ute, the insurance, the phone, the accountant. It all goes out whether you work or not. Put your monthly numbers in and you get the one figure every quote needs to cover: what a single working day costs you.
What it costs you every month
Put in what leaves your account whether you work or not. Round numbers are fine.
Repayment, lease, or what you set aside to replace it.
Public liability and the vehicle, together.
Blades, bits, gas, tape. The stuff you keep replacing.
Bookkeeper, Xero, job management, the lot.
Website, Google, signage, shirts, the odd lead fee.
Licences, storage, tip fees, association dues.
Days on the tools or on site. Not the Sunday you spend on quotes.
Every working day costs you
$110
before you buy a single screw — $2,100 a month spread over 230 working days
Read it like this
Rain day, sick day, chasing a customer who won’t pay: that day still costs you $110. The money goes out whether the ute moves or not.
So any quote that doesn’t carry its share of $110a day isn’t thin. It’s losing money. You just don’t see it until the BAS lands.
$110a day is exactly the number the quote calculator asks for as “overheads per day”. Take it across and price a real job with it: the quote calculator.
What this assumes
- Every cost you enter is a monthly figure. Anything you pay yearly, divide by twelve first.
- We assume 46 working weeks a year, which leaves about six weeks for holidays, sick days and washouts.
- Working days per year = the days you work per week × 46 weeks.
- Your own wage is not an overhead here. This is the cost of running the business, not paying yourself.
- GST is ignored. Put in the ex-GST cost if you're registered, since you claim the GST back anyway.
Estimates only. This is a planning tool, not financial or tax advice — your own accountant knows your numbers better than a calculator does.
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