How to understand the direct margin on a cleaning job

Start with the net job revenue

Use the customer charge for the scope you are measuring, excluding sales tax. Make sure it reflects credits or adjustments. A quote is an estimate; an invoice and its corrections describe the commercial result. Collections are a separate view of when money actually arrived.

Worked example: a $300 clean

This is a fictional illustration, not a RUNLY customer result. A job has $300 of net revenue. Two cleaners each work three hours at an assumed direct hourly cost of $25. Labor is $150. Materials cost $20, and other direct costs are $10. Total direct cost is $180; direct contribution is $120; direct margin is 40%.

What the 40% does not mean

It is not necessarily net profit. The example does not include office overhead, insurance, marketing, financing or every payroll burden. Define whether your hourly cost already includes employer-related costs and avoid counting the same cost twice. Use the same definition when comparing jobs.

Investigate the difference from the estimate

A job with a lower direct margin may have taken longer than planned, needed a return visit or used more materials. Review those records before changing pricing. Also check for missing time, an unrecorded material cost or an unresolved customer credit.

Make the review repeatable

Review comparable jobs together and record why an exception occurred.

• Use a consistent scope and net-revenue definition.
• Include all relevant visits and recorded direct costs.
• Separate estimates from actual recorded results.
• Explain credits, returns and missing entries.
• Review cash collections separately from invoiced revenue.

Use supporting records in RUNLY

Use Project or Service cost records and the permitted financial views to investigate labor and materials. Owner reports provide the invoiced-sales and collections context. The calculator below is an illustration; it does not read your RUNLY data or provide tax or accounting advice.