How Much Cabinet Making Business Owners Make on $1515M Year 1 Sales
You’re turning custom cabinet jobs into owner pay, not just sales volume This page estimates cabinet making business profit from $1515M in Year 1 revenue across 140 projects to $3308M in Year 5 revenue across 280 projects, then separates gross margin, overhead, reserves, and owner role It excludes tax advice, guaranteed earnings, and employee wage comparisons
Owner income$1.9MNet margin56%Revenue for target pay$3.3MBusiness difficultyHard
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Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and the 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.
Want to check owner income in the Cabinet Making Business model?
See Cabinet Making Business Financial Model Template for the dashboard, assumptions, revenue build, gross margin, costs, cash flow, and owner pay; it runs from 140 Year 1 projects and $1.515M to 280 projects and $3.308M by Year 5—open the model.
Owner-income model highlights
Owner pay before taxes
Revenue, gross profit, cash flow
Mix, pricing, costs, reserves
Does hiring employees increase cabinet business owner income?
Yes, hiring can raise income in a Cabinet Making Business, but only if the extra capacity turns into profitable projects after payroll, supervision, insurance, rework, and scheduling costs. Here’s the quick math: the model goes from 140 projects in Year 1 to 280 in Year 5, so capacity doubles, but owner income only improves if that growth stays profitable and cash timing stays clean.
When hiring helps
More projects can lift income.
Owner-built work protects quality.
Hired labor can free owner time.
280 projects means 2x capacity.
What can hurt it
Payroll adds fixed cost.
Rework cuts profit fast.
Deposits protect cash timing.
Track backlog quality and workload.
What profit margin should a cabinet business have?
For a Cabinet Making Business, use the project’s direct-cost math, not a universal margin promise — see How Much Does It Cost To Open Your Custom Cabinet Making Business? for the setup side. On Year 1 assumptions, direct costs run $2,975 on a $25,000 kitchen set, $560 on a $4,000 bath vanity, $1,680 on a $12,000 home office, and $975 on a $7,000 mudroom locker, which leaves about 81% to 88% gross margin before fixed overhead. Add 5% revenue-based shop allocations first, and margins can fall fast if plywood, hardware, finishing, labor hours, install rework, or unpriced change orders run over estimate.
Direct-cost math
Kitchen: 11.9% direct cost
Bath vanity: 14.0% direct cost
Home office: 14.0% direct cost
Mudroom locker: 13.9% direct cost
Margin pressure points
Add 5% shop allocations
Watch plywood and hardware
Track finishing and labor hours
Price change orders up front
How much can a cabinet making business owner make?
A Cabinet Making Business owner can make only the cash left after direct costs, overhead, equipment payments, reserves, and reinvestment—not the full sales line. This plan shows $1.515M revenue from 140 projects in Year 1, or about $10,821 per project; by Year 5 it reaches $3.308M from 280 projects, or about $11,814 per project, while What Is The Current Growth Rate Of Customer Satisfaction For Cabinet Making Business? should be tracked because rework directly reduces owner cash.
Owner Pay Math
Year 1: 140 projects, about 11.7 monthly
Year 5: 280 projects, about 23.3 monthly
Pay comes after overhead and reserves
Rework lowers take-home cash fast
Model Impact
Solo shops keep more gross profit
Solo capacity limits annual projects
Install crews raise volume and payroll
Design-build scale needs management control
What really drives cabinet shop owner income?
1
Project Mix
$4K-$25K
Kitchen sets at $25K and bath vanities at $4K set the revenue mix, so a few more kitchens can move owner take-home fast.
2
Price Control
$278K
Holding the planned price steps and clean change orders keeps the Year 5 revenue lift instead of leaking margin on scope creep.
3
Build Margin
86%-88%
Materials, direct craft labor, finishing, and install labor leave about 86%-88% gross margin per unit, so waste and rework hit take-home fast.
4
Capacity
2x
Output rises from 140 projects in Year 1 to 280 in Year 5, and that only pays if the shop and install crews keep pace.
5
Lead Flow
High
Steady qualified leads and close rate keep crews booked, because empty weeks burn cash while payroll keeps running.
6
Overhead
$10.2K/mo
Fixed overhead runs $10.2K a month, so reserves and a lean owner role matter when project volume slows.
Cabinet Making Business Core Six Income Drivers
Average Project Value And Mix
Project Mix
Mix means the share of jobs by type, and it can lift owner income faster than selling more low-value work. A shop selling more $25,000 kitchen sets and whole-room built-ins usually creates more revenue per production slot than one filling capacity with $4,000 bath vanities or $7,000 mudroom lockers.
Here’s the quick math: higher-ticket work lifts top-line only if gross margin and scheduling stay clean. If low-ticket jobs crowd the shop, they can block higher-margin cabinet slots, stretch labor, and shrink the owner’s draw even when the backlog looks full.
Track Revenue per Slot
Use project count by type, sell price, direct labor, and install days to forecast take-home pay. For Year 1, price points are clear: $25,000 kitchens, $12,000 home offices, $10,000 entertainment units, $7,000 mudroom lockers, and $4,000 vanities.
Set a floor on what earns a production slot. If a small job uses the same design, finish, and install time as a larger one, it should carry enough margin to justify the slot. Otherwise, it lowers cash flow and delays owner pay.
Track mix by job type
Watch margin per slot
Protect kitchen capacity
1
Pricing Accuracy And Change-Order Control
Pricing Accuracy Protects Owner Pay
Custom cabinet pricing has to capture lumber, plywood, hardware, finish, direct craft labor, installation labor, design revisions, delivery, and site conditions. On a $25,000 kitchen set, one missed labor block can wipe out the owner’s draw on that job and turn a healthy sale into thin or negative profit.
Price Changes Before Work Starts
Track estimate vs. actual by job line item, then price every change order before the shop moves forward. That matters most for hardware swaps, finish upgrades, field changes, and extra install visits. The owner’s income improves when each job keeps its gross margin clean and cash comes in before extra labor hits the floor.
Use a full job-cost template.
Quote revisions as separate line items.
Approve change orders in writing.
Compare estimate to actual labor weekly.
2
Materials, Labor, Finishing, And Installation Margin
Direct Job Cost Margin
This driver is the direct cost of each cabinet job: lumber and plywood, craft labor, and installation labor. On a Year 1 kitchen set, the model uses $1,500 materials, $800 craft labor, and $500 install labor, or $2,800 total. On a $25,000 kitchen set, that is about 11.2% of revenue before rent, admin, and equipment debt.
A bath vanity is tighter: $300 materials, $150 craft labor, and $75 install labor, or $525 on a $4,000 unit, about 13.1% of sales. If waste, rework, overtime, subcontracted installation, or finish failures rise, gross margin drops fast, and owner pay shrinks even when sales stay flat.
Protect Direct Job Margin
Track material yield, labor hours, install hours, and rework by job type. Build every estimate with a direct-cost sheet, so you can see margin before overhead. A job can look profitable on revenue and still miss cash if crews burn extra hours or a finish failure adds a return visit.
Separate direct job costs from fixed overhead in every review. Watch the ratio of direct cost to sales on kitchens and bath vanities, then tighten quoting when waste or overtime pushes that ratio up. That’s the cleanest way to protect owner draw.
3
Shop Capacity And Installation Schedule
Shop Capacity And Schedule Control
Capacity is what turns a backlog into cash. If the plan grows from 140 projects in Year 1 to 280 in Year 5, the shop has to move work cleanly through design approval, fabrication, finishing, delivery, and installation, or owner pay gets stuck waiting on late deposits and unfinished jobs.
The money leak is usually not demand. It’s idle labor, long cycle time, rework, and install delays. Here’s the quick math: every stalled job ties up shop hours and cash, while every completed job can release the next deposit and final invoice. If cabinets sit in the shop waiting on installers, the backlog looks healthy but the bank balance does not.
Track The Bottleneck Every Week
Watch labor utilization, job cycle time, rework rate, and the owner’s time on the shop floor. Those four inputs show whether capacity is real or just promised. Also track how many jobs are sitting in each stage, because one slow approval or one missed install date can block a whole month of cash.
Utilization: hours billed vs. available
Cycle time: start to install
Rework rate: fixes after first pass
Deposit timing: cash before labor
If one stage keeps backing up, staff it, standardize it, or limit new starts there. The goal is simple: keep work flowing so the owner gets paid faster, not just busier.
4
Qualified Leads And Close Rate
Qualified Leads and Close Rate
Qualified leads are the inquiries that match your project mix, price point, and production calendar. For a cabinet shop, that means remodeler, builder, designer, showroom, local search, and past-client leads that can turn into $25,000 kitchen sets or $12,000 home offices, not just small one-off work. More leads only help if they lift close rate, deposit rate, and average project value.
Here’s the quick math: booked revenue = qualified leads × close rate × average project value. A shop can look busy with quotes, but if the leads are weak, the shop fills with low-ticket jobs that crowd out better work and hurt owner pay. What this estimate hides is fit risk: a full pipeline still fails if the shop cannot staff, price, and install the work on time.
Track the Leads That Actually Pay
Measure each source by close rate, deposit rate, and average project value. Split leads by source and by job type, then watch which channels produce kitchen sets, built-ins, and repeat work. A lead that books a $25,000 kitchen is worth far more than several small vanity calls, because it usually carries better gross profit and uses the shop slot more efficiently.
Set a simple rule: if a source brings low-fit work, cut it back or raise your minimum job size. Track whether leads match available capacity in design, fabrication, finishing, delivery, and install. If closing gets easier but deposits slow down, cash flow gets tight fast, and owner draw waits.
5
Overhead, Debt, Reserves, And Owner Role
Overhead, Debt, Reserves, And Owner Role
Fixed costs eat owner pay even when sales look strong. For a cabinet shop, overhead includes shop rent, utilities, machinery, software, vehicles, insurance, admin payroll, marketing, and equipment payments. Those costs sit above job costs, so a project can still leave weak take-home if monthly overhead stays high or if debt service is heavy.
Here’s the key test: after direct job costs on a $25,000 kitchen set, enough margin must still cover overhead, reserves, and taxes. Reserves are cash kept for material deposits, payroll timing, repairs, and growth. An owner-operator can mix labor pay with profit draw, but a manager-owner needs enough spread to pay crews and still leave cash in the bank.
Track cash, not just revenue
Measure monthly overhead, reserve cash, and owner draw together. If revenue rises but cash stays flat, overhead or debt is too heavy for the current job mix. Use a simple rule: each project should leave enough after direct costs to cover its share of fixed costs and still build reserves before any owner payout.
Watch the split between labor compensation and profit distribution. If the shop owner works in the business, pay that labor first, then set a separate profit draw only after rent, payroll, material deposits, and equipment payments are covered. That keeps the business from looking profitable on paper while starving the bank account.
6
Compare lean, base, and high-capacity cabinet shop income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income shifts with project mix, pricing, and how much overhead the shop can spread across jobs. These scenarios move from 140 projects in Year 1 to 280 projects in Year 5.
Compare lean, modeled, and high-volume owner-income setups.
Scenario
Low CaseLean start
Base CaseCore model
High CaseScale push
Launch model
This is the lower-earnings path from Year 1 volume, before the shop is fully loaded.
This is the modeled middle path using Year 3 volume and pricing.
This is the stronger earnings path using Year 5 volume and the widest operating scale.
Typical setup
It assumes 140 projects, about $1.515M revenue, a mostly owner-led shop, and a mix that leans on smaller jobs while fixed overhead is still heavy.
It assumes 237 projects, about $2.671M revenue, a steadier mix across kitchens, baths, offices, and storage, and enough staffing to keep production and installs moving.
It assumes 280 projects, about $3.308M revenue, a fuller mix of higher-value kitchens and baths, and more staffing and overhead to keep delivery on schedule.
Cost drivers
140 projects
$1.515M revenue
86%-88% gross margin
owner-led delivery
fixed overhead load
237 projects
$2.671M revenue
86%-88% gross margin
multi-skill staffing
overhead spread
280 projects
$3.308M revenue
86%-88% gross margin
fuller crew
higher overhead
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
Early-stage owner draw onlyNo range set
Modeled owner draw onlyModeled only
Upside owner draw onlyUpside only
Best fit
Use this to stress-test a lean launch where the owner is still selling, quoting, and coordinating most jobs.
Use this if you expect steady referrals, normal close rates, and a shop that is busy but not maxed out.
Use this to test what happens when the shop runs near capacity and the owner shifts toward sales, pricing, and margin control.
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Planning note: These scenario figures are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
