Field guide: LevelPenny
The fields
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Price | What the customer pays you for the job, before any sales tax you collect for the state. |
| Materials | Every item: qty × unit cost, or one total. Include waste and extra trips to the supplier. |
| Crew labor | Each paid worker's wage × hours, plus labor burden for employees: payroll taxes, unemployment, workers' comp, benefits, per diem (example rates — check yours with your accountant). 1099 subs: no burden. |
| Your hours | All your time: quoting, buying, driving, working, invoicing. Not a cost — your pay comes out of profit. |
| Shipping | Delivery fees, freight, postage for this job. |
| Mileage | Total miles for all trips × cost per mile (fuel + wear; the IRS standard rate is a fair default). |
| Card fees | Processor % of the price + fixed fee per payment. Stripe 2.9% + 30¢, Square 2.6% + 15¢. Set payments to 2 for deposit + final. |
| Equipment, permits, subs, other | Rentals, dumpsters, permit fees, subcontractor bills, consumables — anything else this job costs. |
| Overhead | Your share of insurance, truck, phone, software, rent. As a % of price, or a flat amount. |
| Tax set-aside | % of profit to park for income tax. Only applied when the job makes a profit. |
Tips
- Account: in the app choose Create account. Your 14-day free trial starts right away, no card needed. Before it ends, choose a plan ($19.99/mo or $199/yr) on Account to keep using it; if you don’t, your account locks but your data stays saved. Sign in with the same email on any device and your jobs sync. Lost your password? Choose Forgot password? when signing in.
- Blank fields count as zero.
- Use Find my price to quote: set a margin or profit-per-hour target and get the exact price.
- Save jobs and compare profit per hour to see which work actually pays. Saved jobs are unlimited (see Pricing in the app).
How the numbers are worked out
Direct costs = materials + crew labor + shipping + mileage + equipment + permits + subs + other
Card fees = price × fee% + fixed fee × payments
Total costs = direct costs + card fees + overhead
Gross profit = price − direct costs
Net profit = (price − total costs) − tax set-aside
Net margin = net profit ÷ price
Markup = (price − total costs) ÷ total costs
Profit per hour = net profit ÷ (crew hours + your hours)
…or ÷ your hours only, with “My hours only”
Billed rate = price ÷ total hours
Break-even = lowest price where price − total costs ≥ 0
Find my price = lowest price where net margin or profit per hour meets your target
Card fees = price × fee% + fixed fee × payments
Total costs = direct costs + card fees + overhead
Gross profit = price − direct costs
Net profit = (price − total costs) − tax set-aside
Net margin = net profit ÷ price
Markup = (price − total costs) ÷ total costs
Profit per hour = net profit ÷ (crew hours + your hours)
…or ÷ your hours only, with “My hours only”
Billed rate = price ÷ total hours
Break-even = lowest price where price − total costs ≥ 0
Find my price = lowest price where net margin or profit per hour meets your target
Worked example: deck repair
| Price charged | $4,850.00 |
| Materials (decking, joists, screws, hardware, stain) | −$1,069.43 |
| Crew: 16 h × $32 + 16 h × $20, + 15.65% example burden ($130.21) | −$962.21 |
| Delivery $75 + 84 mi × $0.70 | −$133.80 |
| Dumpster, permit, blades | −$345.00 |
| Square fees: 2.6% + 15¢ × 2 payments | −$126.40 |
| Overhead 10% of price | −$485.00 |
| Profit before tax | $1,728.16 |
| Tax set-aside 25% | −$432.04 |
| Net profit (26.7% margin) | $1,296.12 |
| Hours: crew 32 + you 10 = 42 | ÷ 42 |
| Profit per hour, after everything | $30.86/hr |
The price works out to $115.48 per hour worked — but after every cost you really keep $30.86. Per your hour it's $129.61.
Estimates only, based on the numbers you enter. Not financial or tax advice.