Average job value is the starting point for every other tool on this site. The simple version is total revenue divided by the number of jobs. The useful version is average gross profit per job, worked out separately for each kind of job you sell, because that is the money available to pay for marketing. This worksheet walks you through both, with an example and blank tables to print.
You will need twelve months of invoices, your supplier statements or job costs, and a loaded labour cost per hour. Set aside an evening. Use a pencil.
The formulas
There are four, and each builds on the one before it.
- Average revenue per job = total pre-tax revenue for a job type ÷ number of jobs of that type
- Average gross profit per job = average revenue − average materials − average direct labour
- Gross margin = average gross profit ÷ average revenue
- Customer value over three years = first-job gross profit + (repeat jobs per customer over three years × gross profit per repeat job)
Direct labour means the hours your crew spends on the job, multiplied by a loaded hourly cost. It does not include office staff, rent or your own salary as owner. Those are overheads, and they are paid from gross profit along with marketing.
Why three years for customer value? Because it is long enough to capture real repeat work and short enough that you can still check it against your own customer list. Many owners use five or ten years, and the number becomes a fantasy.
Worked example: a small plumbing company
These are invented numbers for a two-van plumbing business. They are realistic in shape, not drawn from any real company.
Step 1: sort last year's invoices by job type
| Job type | Jobs | Total revenue (pre-tax) |
|---|---|---|
| Drain and service calls | 410 | $123,000 |
| Water heater replacements | 64 | $166,400 |
| Fixture installs | 120 | $78,000 |
| Repipes | 9 | $108,000 |
| All jobs | 603 | $475,400 |
The blended average job value is $475,400 ÷ 603 = about $788. Hold on to that number, because it is about to be misleading.
Step 2: work out costs and gross profit by type
| Job type | Avg revenue | Avg materials | Avg labour hours | Labour at $60/h | Avg gross profit | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drain and service | $300 | $40 | 2.0 | $120 | $140 | 47% |
| Water heater | $2,600 | $1,250 | 6.0 | $360 | $990 | 38% |
| Fixture install | $650 | $220 | 3.5 | $210 | $220 | 34% |
| Repipe | $12,000 | $3,800 | 60 | $3,600 | $4,600 | 38% |
Check one line yourself: water heater revenue of $2,600, minus $1,250 materials, minus 6 hours at $60 ($360), leaves $990. Divide $990 by $2,600 and you get 0.38, or 38%.
Step 3: see what the blended average hides
The blended average said a job was worth $788 in revenue. But a drain call leaves $140 and a repipe leaves $4,600. If this owner set one cost-per-lead target from the blended number, they would overpay for drain leads and underbid badly for repipe leads. That is the most common mistake this worksheet catches.
Step 4: add repeat value
From the customer list, this owner finds that water heater customers booked an average of 1.5 further jobs within three years, mostly drain and fixture work averaging $180 gross profit.
Three-year customer value for a water heater customer = $990 + (1.5 × $180) = $990 + $270 = $1,260.
Use the $990 for break-even decisions and treat the $270 as a margin of safety. It is likely, not banked.
Step 5: decide which jobs to market
Put the rows side by side and the marketing priorities usually sort themselves out. In this example, water heaters and repipes leave the most gross profit per job, so they deserve their own ad campaigns and their own pages on the website. Drain calls are thin on the first visit but bring customers who return. Fixture installs sit in the middle and may be better won through referrals than paid ads. None of that is visible from the blended $788.
Worksheet A: revenue by job type
Print this and fill it in from your invoices. Add rows as needed.
| Job type | Number of jobs | Total pre-tax revenue | Average revenue per job |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ______ | $________ | $________ |
| ________________ | ______ | $________ | $________ |
| ________________ | ______ | $________ | $________ |
| ________________ | ______ | $________ | $________ |
| ________________ | ______ | $________ | $________ |
| Total | ______ | $________ | Blended: $________ |
Worksheet B: gross profit by job type
Loaded labour cost per hour: $________ (ask your bookkeeper if unsure)
| Job type | Avg revenue | Avg materials | Avg labour hours | Labour cost | Avg gross profit | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | $______ | $______ | ______ | $______ | $______ | ____% |
| ________________ | $______ | $______ | ______ | $______ | $______ | ____% |
| ________________ | $______ | $______ | ______ | $______ | $______ | ____% |
| ________________ | $______ | $______ | ______ | $______ | $______ | ____% |
| ________________ | $______ | $______ | ______ | $______ | $______ | ____% |
Worksheet C: customer value and lead ceilings
The last three columns turn job value into marketing limits. Booking rate is the share of leads for that job type that become paid jobs; if you do not know it, write your best guess in pencil and start tracking it.
| Job type | Avg gross profit (first job) | Repeat jobs in 3 yrs | Gross profit per repeat | 3-yr customer value | Share you'll spend to win it | Booking rate | Max cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ____________ | $______ | ____ | $______ | $______ | ____% | ____% | $______ |
| ____________ | $______ | ____ | $______ | $______ | ____% | ____% | $______ |
| ____________ | $______ | ____ | $______ | $______ | ____% | ____% | $______ |
| ____________ | $______ | ____ | $______ | $______ | ____% | ____% | $______ |
Max cost per lead = first-job gross profit × share you will spend × booking rate.
For the example water heater line: $990 × 30% × 50% = about $149 per lead. For drain calls: $140 × 30% × 50% = $21 per lead. If drain leads cost $45 on Google, they lose money on the first job, and only make sense if those customers reliably come back.
Common mistakes on this worksheet
- Including sales tax. GST, HST or QST is not yours. Use pre-tax figures.
- Materials only. Leaving labour out makes every job look like a winner.
- One-off giants. A single $80,000 commercial job can distort a small business's averages. Set it aside on its own line.
- Warranty and callback visits. If a job type often needs a second unpaid trip, add those hours to its labour.
- Treating the result as fixed. Material costs move. Redo this sheet once a year, and whenever your prices change.
What to do with the answer
Take the gross profit per job and the lead ceiling to the next two tools. The ROI worksheet uses gross profit to judge last year's marketing. The ad budget worksheet uses it to set next month's spend. If you would rather have this done with your own records, that is our job value and lead-cost analysis. Trades.Tools is a marketing and business consulting service, not a contractor, and none of this is accounting advice: your accountant has the final word on your labour cost and margins.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good average job value for a trades business?
There is no universal good number. A locksmith and a roofer will be worlds apart. What matters is your own figure by job type and how much gross profit it leaves, because that sets what you can afford to spend to win the job.
Should I include GST or HST in job value?
No. Use pre-tax revenue. Sales tax is collected for government and is not money you can spend on marketing.
How many months of invoices do I need?
Twelve, so every season is included. If you have less, use what you have and mark the result as provisional.
What labour cost should I use?
A loaded hourly cost: wages plus the employer costs that come with them, such as payroll contributions, workers' compensation premiums and paid time off. Your accountant or bookkeeper can give you the figure.