Add Costs, Allocation, and Markup to Your Estimate

Who this is for: Managers  |  Applies to: Pressure Washing, Painting, Landscaping, Cleaning Service, General Contractor, Contractor, and General verticals

With your service line items in place, the Pricing Controls section is where your real numbers come in — the overhead that needs to be covered, the contingency buffer for the unexpected, and the markup that determines your profit. Every adjustment here updates the Estimate Summary live.

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Pricing Controls #

Scroll below the Services and Crew / Labor sections to reach Pricing Controls. Work through each field from top to bottom.

Overhead Allocation — Enter the fixed overhead cost that this job needs to contribute to. This is the per-job share of your operating costs — your monthly business overhead divided across the jobs you run that month. If you’ve set up your Business Foundation, this number is pre-filled from your allocation settings. It’s labeled “Fixed cost for this job” so you always know what it represents.

Contingency Rate — A buffer percentage added to the job price to absorb scope creep, unexpected materials, or field surprises. Tap a preset — 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% — or type a custom rate. Most jobs land somewhere between 5–15%. The contingency amount shows in the Estimate Summary as its own line so you can see exactly what it adds.

Markup Rate — The percentage added on top of your raw cost plus contingency to generate your profit. Tap a preset — 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% — or type a custom rate. Your markup is not your margin: a 25% markup produces roughly a 20% margin. Watch the Net Margin figure in the Estimate Summary, not just the markup rate, to understand what you’re actually keeping.

Set Client Price (optional) — If you have a target price in mind — a budget the client mentioned, or a number you want to hit — type it in the Enter target price field. The app back-calculates the markup or applies a discount to reach that price and shows you the effective markup rate. Tap the clear button to restore your original pricing.

Job Discount — Apply a discount to the job price. Name the discount in the Discount name (shows on PDF) field — this label appears on the client’s PDF so the discount looks intentional rather than arbitrary. Choose a preset percentage or type a custom rate. The discount amount and its impact on the client price both appear in the Estimate Summary.

Price Rounding — Round the client price up to the nearest increment: None, $10, $25, $50, or $100. If rounding adds to the price, a line in the Estimate Summary shows exactly how much was added. Rounding up never reduces your margin — it only adds to it.

Price Ends With — Adjust the last digit of the client price to end in 5, 7, or 9 for psychological pricing. Applied after rounding. Set to Off to leave the price as calculated.

Sales Tax — Your default sales tax rate from Settings appears as a reference. Enter a per-job override in the This Job field if this job has a different rate. When a tax rate is set, the Estimate Summary shows Sales Tax as its own line and the final Client Total (price plus tax) as the bottom line figure.

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Sales Commission (optional) #

If a sales rep is earning commission on this job, toggle on Enable Sales Commission and set the Commission Rate. The commission amount appears in the Estimate Summary and is factored into the net profit calculation so you see your real take-home after paying the rep.

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Reading the Estimate Summary #

The Estimate Summary section at the bottom of the estimate shows every number in the calculation chain, in order:

• Raw Cost — the total of your service line items
• Contingency — the contingency amount at the rate you set
• Markup — the markup amount at the rate you set
• Client Price — what the client pays (before tax), in bold. If a discount is applied, you’ll also see the Retail Price and Discount lines above it
• Sales Tax / Client Total — shown when a tax rate is set
• Gross Profit and Net Profit — Net Profit shows green when healthy, red when you’re losing money
• Net Margin — your profit as a percentage of the client price, color-coded by health. This is the number to watch
• Effective Rate / Hour — shown when you’ve entered crew hours. Tells you what you’re earning per hour of labor on this job

If you’ve added any owner-operator labor phases, a blue callout shows the owner labor value separately and displays your Total Owner Benefit — net profit plus the value of your own time. This gives a more complete picture of what the job is worth to you personally.

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Related articles

• Start a New Estimate: Vertical, Scope, and Line Items
• Set Up Your Business Foundation: Costs and Overhead
• Set Your Pricing Rules: Floor Price, Tax, and Rounding