Job value analysis answers the question underneath every marketing decision: what is one more job worth to you? We take your invoices, split them by job type, work out revenue and gross profit for each, and turn that into the most you can afford to pay to win one. It is the job value worksheet done with your real records.
What the analysis produces
You get one table, with a row for each kind of work you sell. A plumbing business might have rows for drain calls, water heater replacements, fixture installs, repipes and new-build rough-ins. Each row shows:
| Column | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Jobs in the past 12 months | Count from invoices |
| Average revenue per job | Total revenue for the type ÷ number of jobs |
| Average gross profit per job | Revenue − materials − direct labour |
| Repeat rate | Share of customers who came back within two years |
| Break-even cost per booked job | Equal to average gross profit |
| Target cost per booked job | A share of gross profit you are willing to spend, often a quarter to a third |
| Maximum cost per lead | Target cost per booked job × booking rate |
That last column is the one owners use most. If a water heater job leaves $900 of gross profit, you are willing to spend a third of it, and you book half of the leads, then a lead is worth up to $150 to you. For a drain call leaving $180, the same maths says $30. Same business, very different ceilings.
Who it is for
The analysis matters most for businesses with a wide mix of job sizes. It is especially useful if you:
- are deciding whether to chase a new kind of work, such as commercial or new construction
- want to know whether small service calls are worth advertising for
- sell maintenance plans and want to put a value on a plan customer
- are about to approve a marketing budget and have no ceiling for cost per lead
What is included
- Invoice sort. Every job from the past year grouped by type, with odd one-offs set aside.
- Cost estimate by type. Materials from supplier statements or job costing, and direct labour as hours times a loaded hourly cost you or your accountant supply.
- Repeat and referral look-back. How often customers of each job type came back, using your customer list.
- Lead-cost ceilings. Break-even and target cost per booked job and per lead for each type.
- A short read-out explaining which job types deserve more marketing and which are better left to referrals.
For HVAC owners who want to go deeper on maintenance agreements and repeat value, hvacprofit.ca covers that maths for heating and cooling specifically.
Timeline
Most analyses take one to two weeks after we receive invoices and cost information. The slowest part is usually agreeing on a labour cost per hour, which is why we ask early.
How we know it worked
The analysis is successful when the ceilings show up in decisions: ad campaigns split by job type, bids that stop where the ceiling says, and owners who can answer "is $140 a lead good?" in one sentence. We check this when the next ROI review is run.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using the blended average for every decision. It overprices small jobs and underprices big ones.
- Leaving out labour. Materials-only margin makes every job look more profitable than it is.
- Counting lifetime value as cash in hand. Repeat work is likely, not certain. Use first-job gross profit for the break-even and treat repeat value as a bonus.
- Ignoring callbacks and warranty visits. A job type with frequent return visits costs more than its invoice suggests.
- Treating the numbers as permanent. Material prices move. Re-run the sheet at least once a year.
We are a marketing and business consulting service, not a contractor, and this is not accounting advice. If you want help with it, call, text or email us, or see how it connects to ad budget planning.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't average job value just total revenue divided by number of jobs?
That gives one blended average, which is a start. It hides the fact that a few large jobs can carry the year while dozens of small ones barely cover their cost. We split it by job type so each has its own figure.
Do I need job costing software for this?
No. Software makes it faster, but invoices plus your supplier statements and a rough labour figure per job type are enough to get a usable answer.
What is customer lifetime value and should I use it?
It is the gross profit a customer brings over several years, including repeat work. It is useful for maintenance-heavy trades, but it should be used carefully, because future work is never certain. We show both first-job value and lifetime value.
Will you tell me what to charge?
We show what your current prices produce in margin and what that means for marketing. Pricing decisions stay yours, and for anything tax or accounting related we will point you to your accountant.