How Much Can a Badminton Court Installation Owner Make? $95k Salary, $0 Profit
You’re pricing court projects while fixed payroll, tools, insurance, and marketing hit before volume catches up Under the researched first-year model, the business produces $248,760 in revenue, 66% gross margin, a $95,000 owner-manager salary, and no distributable profit Income depends on project mix, court size, materials, crew model, seasonality, facility contracts, debt, reserves, and reinvestment needs
Owner income$95k salaryNet margin28% to 46%Revenue for target pay$344kBusiness difficultyHard
Want the six levers that move owner take-home?
1
Project Volume
18 cust
Eighteen first-year customers set the base for revenue, and each added court lifts owner take-home faster than fixed costs do.
2
Contract Value
$10.2K/$26.6K
Higher residential and commercial job values push cash up per project without a matching jump in overhead.
3
Margin Control
66%
Keeping first-year gross margin near 66% leaves more money after materials and subcontracted work.
4
Crew Productivity
4.5-6.0h
More billable hours per active customer spread labor across more output, so the same crew creates more income.
5
Maintenance Revenue
$9.7K
Maintenance plans add steady recurring revenue, which helps smooth cash between new court builds.
6
Overhead Control
$108K
At $108,000 of annual fixed overhead, tight rent, insurance, fuel, and admin spend protect owner profit.
Want to test your owner pay target?
Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
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Planning note: Research-based planning estimate only. It is not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
How do you check owner income in the Badminton Court Installation Service model?
How many badminton courts do I need to install to make money?
For the Badminton Court Installation Service, you’d need about 55 blended customers to break even, or roughly $754,545 in revenue at a 66% gross margin. The modeled first year at 18 customers and $248,760 in revenue is too small, so the gap is about 3x more volume, a higher contract value, lower payroll, or all three. Here’s the quick math: $248,760 ÷ 18 = $13,820 of first-year revenue per acquired customer.
Break-even math
$248,760 divided by 18 customers
$13,820 revenue per customer
$498,000 in payroll, overhead, marketing
$754,545 revenue needed at 66% margin
What has to change
Move from 18 to about 55 customers
Or install about 162 first-year courts
Push volume to nearly 3x the model
Or raise contract value and cut payroll
Is a badminton court installation business profitable?
No, the Badminton Court Installation Service is not profitable under the base assumptions: first-year revenue is $248,760 at a 66% gross margin, while payroll, fixed overhead, and marketing total $498,000 before direct costs; see How Much To Start Badminton Court Installation Service Business? for startup cost context. Break-even revenue is about $754,545, calculated as $498,000 Ă· 66%, so owner income depends on filling the job calendar and controlling overhead.
Quick Math
Revenue: $248,760
Gross margin: 66%
Overhead load: $498,000
Break-even sales: $754,545
Profit Levers
Book more court projects
Price scopes accurately
Control change orders
Serve homes, clubs, schools, gyms
What costs affect badminton court installation profit margin most?
The biggest profit drain in a Badminton Court Installation Service is specialized flooring and surface materials at 185% of first-year revenue, followed by subcontracted excavation and foundation at 95%. If you want the margin math and what to watch next, see How Increase Profits For Badminton Court Installation Service? Project logistics and freight add 25%, and sales commissions and referral fees add 35%, so small waste or rework can wipe out owner income fast.
Biggest direct costs
Flooring and surface materials: 185% of first-year revenue
Excavation and foundation: 95% of first-year revenue
Logistics and freight: 25% of first-year revenue
Sales commissions and referral fees: 35%
Margin pressure points
First-year gross margin lands near 66%
Mature-year direct costs fall to 28%
Mature-year gross margin rises to 72%
Waste, rework, and travel hit owner pay
Key Takeaways
More installs help only when crew capacity keeps up.
Residential and commercial mix drives contract value and workload.
Margins improve with tight estimates, pricing, and less rework.
Cash can look strong while reserves and payroll stay tight.
Compare low, base, and high owner-income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income changes fast here because mix, margin, and staffing scale differently across project and maintenance work. The same revenue can leave the owner with salary only or salary plus distributions.
Low, base, and high owner-income cases for a badminton court installer.
Scenario
Low CaseDownside
Base CaseCore case
High CaseExecution heavy
Launch model
Lower project flow keeps the owner on salary only.
Modeled volume supports owner pay with no distributions.
Stronger volume can support salary plus distributions after reserves.
Typical setup
Residential work leads, commercial share is light, maintenance attach is weak, and gross margin sits at 66% or lower.
About 18 customers and $248,760 revenue at a 66% gross margin support the plan, with $498,000 payroll plus overhead plus marketing and a $95,000 owner-manager salary.
More courts per month and a higher average project value push revenue above the first-year break-even of about $754,545, maintenance revenue adds repeat work, fixed overhead stays controlled, and the owner still keeps reserves before taking distributions.
Cost drivers
Lower project volume
weaker commercial mix
weak maintenance attach
66% or lower gross margin
no distributions
18 customers
$248,760 revenue
66% gross margin
$498,000 payroll plus overhead plus marketing
$95,000 owner salary
Courts per month above plan
higher average project value
stronger maintenance revenue
controlled fixed overhead
reserves before distributions
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
Salary onlyDownside case
$95,000Base salary
$95,000+ distributionsUpside case
Best fit
Use this to stress-test a slow launch with weak repeat work and no cash distributions.
Use this as the core planning case for a founder who is still building volume and reinvesting cash.
Use this to test a best-run shop that clears break-even and still funds reserves.
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Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Badminton Court Installation Service Core Six Income Drivers
Project Volume
Project Volume
Project volume is the number of badminton courts completed and billed each month. More installs usually lifts revenue and owner income, but only if pricing, crew capacity, and cash timing hold. In the model, first-year marketing buys 18 customers at $2,500 CAC, which feeds about 162 construction jobs after the residential and commercial mix.
That pipeline translates to about 135 courts per month in the model. Here’s the catch: volume only helps if each job clears with no major delay. Weather, site-readiness issues, permitting friction, and material lead times can push completions out, so revenue may look strong while owner pay stays tight because deposits and final payments don’t line up.
Track jobs, close rate, and cash gap
Measure qualified leads, booked jobs, completed courts, and days from deposit to final payment. If any one of those slips, volume stops converting into profit. The goal is not just more sales calls; it’s more finished, collectible jobs with crews ready to start and end on time.
Keep a simple monthly control sheet: lead source, estimated start date, permit status, material ETA, crew assigned, and expected gross margin. If the schedule is full but cash is thin, slow the next start date or raise deposits. That protects payroll and keeps owner draw from getting squeezed by work in progress.
Track completed courts per month
Watch $2,500 CAC
Flag delays early
Protect deposit timing
Gross Margin Control
Gross Margin Control
This driver is the share left after direct job costs. In this model, badminton court installation gross margin starts at 66% and rises to 72% in the mature year, so every $100 of revenue leaves $66 to $72 before overhead and owner pay.
Direct costs include surface materials, excavation, foundation, freight, commissions, and referral fees. When estimates match site conditions and crews avoid rework, the business keeps more cash from each court instead of handing it back in extra labor or materials.
How to Protect Court Margin
Track the job estimate against actuals for materials, subcontracted base work, freight, and callbacks. Here’s the quick math: if direct costs stay at 34%, a $30,000 job keeps $19,800 gross profit before overhead; a 3-point leak cuts that by $900.
Lock supplier pricing early.
Write every change order.
Verify line marking before handoff.
Check site conditions before quoting.
Record rework and callbacks fast.
The owner’s take-home improves when the estimate is tight, the scope is signed, and there is no free redo work. If line marking is off or the base needs extra work, margin falls fast and cash for payroll and draws gets thin.
Crew Productivity
Crew Productivity
Crew productivity is how many install hours turn into finished badminton courts without rework, overtime, or wait time. It hits income fast because the model scales from 2 first-year FTEs to 8 mature-year FTEs; if scheduling slips, payroll rises faster than billable output. Faster clean work also cuts return trips, equipment rental days, and delayed material costs.
Outdoor jobs face weather and base-prep delays, while indoor facility work depends on access windows and shutdown schedules. The owner’s take-home improves when each crew day produces more installed scope, because labor stays close to the quoted job value instead of eating gross margin.
Track Labor Hours per Court
Measure labor hours per completed court, overtime hours, rework hours, and days lost to weather or access limits. Here’s the quick math: if the crew needs extra trips or idle time, the job keeps paying people while revenue waits. That pulls down margin and can delay owner draw even when sales look strong.
Track hours by job, not just by week.
Separate install, prep, and rework time.
Flag overtime above the quoted plan.
Log weather, access, and shutdown delays.
Overhead And Reserves
Overhead and Reserves
Owner pay only starts after fixed overhead and reserve needs are covered. Here, fixed overhead is $9,000 per month or $108,000 per year before payroll and marketing. Add first-year payroll of $345,000 and marketing of $45,000, and the business is already carrying $498,000 per year before financing, warranty callbacks, tools, vehicles, and reinvestment.
The key input is cash, not just revenue. If money is tied up in trucks, tools, deposits, and work in progress, the owner may show sales and still have no safe draw. In plain terms: revenue can look healthy while cash stays locked in the job flow.
Track cash before owner pay
Measure monthly burn and reserve balance first. Use a simple check: revenue minus payroll, marketing, overhead, financing, callbacks, and reinvestment. If that number does not leave room for reserves, owner distributions should wait. A business with strong sales but weak cash conversion can’t safely pay the owner.
Track these inputs each month: $9,000 overhead, $345,000 payroll, $45,000 marketing, plus any vehicle, tool, and warranty spend. Build reserves before draws, especially when jobs are large and cash is trapped in deposits or work in progress. That protects take-home income when collections slow.
Cash after payroll
Reserve balance by month
Work in progress cash
Warranty callback spend
Maintenance And Resurfacing Revenue
Maintenance Revenue
Maintenance and resurfacing can smooth cash between new installs, but it is not recurring revenue until the customer has a signed service plan. Here’s the quick math: 27 plans at 4 monthly hours × $75 × 12 gives $9,720 in first-year revenue. If work slips from signed plans to one-off calls, owner pay gets less predictable and cash flow gets lumpier.
This income includes resurfacing, repair, line repainting, net and post replacement, and facility service work. The main inputs are number of plans, billable hours, and hourly rate. Mature-year maintenance revenue reaches $194,940 at $90 per hour, so every extra signed hour lifts gross profit more cleanly than chasing low-value repair jobs.
Sell Signed Service Plans
Track signed plans, not just inquiries, plus billable hours, average rate, and repeat work by court. Quote the service scope in writing so maintenance does not get treated like guaranteed MRR. One clean rule: if it is not signed, do not forecast it. That protects owner draws and keeps the monthly revenue line honest.
Use a simple service menu and price by time on site. A plan with 4 monthly hours at $75 to $90 per hour creates far better visibility than ad hoc repairs. Push higher-margin jobs first, like line repainting and net-post swaps, then bundle resurfacing and facility work when access is already booked.
Track signed plans by month
Measure billable hours per plan
Compare rate by service type
Log repeat work and call-backs
Average Contract Value
Average Contract Value
Average contract value is the revenue from one court job, and it drives how much cash each install can throw off for wages, overhead, and owner pay. In this model, a residential court is about $10,200 from 120 hours Ă— $85, while a commercial build is about $26,600 from 280 hours Ă— $95.
Higher-value jobs can include multi-court layouts, indoor facility work, premium surfaces, accessories, lighting coordination, and bundled maintenance. The catch is simple: more revenue is not more profit if labor, materials, travel, design time, and project management rise faster than the price.
Price by scope, not just size
Track average price by project type, quoted hours, and change orders. Use the same inputs every time: scope, labor rate, materials, and add-ons. If a commercial job adds work without a price bump, it can look strong on revenue and still weaken take-home income.
Project type and scope
Quoted hours and labor rate
Materials, travel, add-ons
Compare actual hours to the 120-hour residential baseline and the 280-hour commercial baseline. Then price extras before work starts, not after. That keeps contract value high enough to cover the extra labor and protects owner draw.
