The Remodeling Profit Simulator

Where remodeling businesses leak profit

• Estimates built from memory instead of line-item takeoffs. A $6,000 estimating miss repeated across 15 jobs is $90,000 a year.
• Material prices locked at bid day while lumber and finishes move before build day.
• Labor budgeted at last year's rates while sub and employee wages crept up.
• Change orders priced on the fly as favors instead of documented, priced, and signed before work starts.
• "While you're here" extras done on a handshake and never billed.
• Labor hours never compared to the estimate weekly, so overruns surface at closeout when the money is already gone.
• Winning work by lowballing, then eating the difference instead of selling on a clearly defined scope.

How it works

1. Enter your numbers.

   Plug in a few basic numbers about your business. Estimates work just fine. No spreadsheets needed.

2. See your profit leaks.

   Instantly see where money is slipping through the cracks across 13 areas of your business.

3. Get your roadmap.

   Get a detailed profit report with a prioritized action plan to start recovering that money.

FAQs

What profit margin should a remodeling contractor target per job?

Target margin by job type rather than one blanket number, since a kitchen gut and a deck build carry very different risk and labor intensity. What matters more than the target itself is comparing actual job cost to estimated cost weekly, so a drifting job gets caught in week two instead of at closeout.

How do I handle change orders without upsetting the homeowner?

Set the expectation at the signed contract, before any work starts, that anything outside the original scope gets priced and approved in writing before it happens. Homeowners rarely object to paying for extra work. They object to finding out about it after it's done and already on the invoice.

How do I estimate a remodel accurately when material prices keep changing?

Price materials as close to build day as the supplier allows rather than locking numbers at bid day and hoping they hold. On longer jobs, build a price-escalation clause into the contract for major material categories so a lumber or cabinet price swing doesn't get absorbed entirely by your margin.

How much should I budget for labor on a remodel?

Budget from your own completed jobs, tracked by task type, instead of last year's rates carried forward out of habit. Sub and employee wages move every year, and a labor budget that doesn't move with them quietly turns a profitable-looking bid into a break-even job.