How Much LED Tape Light Installation Owners Make With $301k Revenue

Lift the Mix

Track three inputs on every lead: job type, billable hours, and quoted price. That shows whether growth is coming from small consults or larger installed scopes. If the average ticket stalls, owner pay stalls too, even if close rates look fine.

Push the mix toward work that uses more install hours per sale, but keep a reserve for callbacks and touch-ups. Use a simple job file with scope, hours, and finish details so the team can price larger jobs cleanly and protect cash flow when commercial work needs extra coordination.

• Track revenue by job type.
• Watch hours per project.
• Price warranty risk into scope.
• Review mix monthly.

Track Billable Output per Person

Measure billable hours per worker, rework hours, and payroll share on every job. For this business, the useful inputs are crew size, job hours, owner hours, and how much of the team is billing versus coordinating. If the designer, apprentices, or office help cut install delays and callbacks, they can support higher owner income. If not, they become fixed cost.

• Track billed hours by role.
• Separate rework from new work.
• Price training into crew ramp-up.
• Cap admin time that eats installs.

Here’s the quick test: if adding one worker increases billable output by less than that worker’s loaded cost plus the extra supervision time, the owner earns less. Keep the $85,000 owner salary in the forecast, then check whether each new crew layer improves gross profit enough to protect the draw.

Cut Rework, Not Price

Track planned hours vs. actual hours by job type, plus rework and callback time. Here’s the quick math: if a residential job slips from 16 to 18 hours, that is 12.5% more labor on the same ticket. Use repeatable checklists for site measurement, layout, testing, and cleanup so the crew keeps more gross profit in each job.

• Log hours by task.
• Review callbacks weekly.
• Fix the step that repeats.

Price the Full Parts List

Quote every job from a full bill of materials: LED tape, channels, lenses, drivers, wiring, dimmers, smart controls, connectors, and consumables. Markup means the price above landed cost, and it has to cover field costs too. If the job is priced off tape alone, margin leaks out in the truck, the disposal bin, and the callback.

Track landed cost by job and compare it to sell price every month. If cheaper parts cut the sale price but raise warranty risk, the owner saves little and may lose pay later. Here’s the quick math: if direct variable cost stays near 29%, pricing discipline protects cash for owner draw.

• Track cost per job.
• Separate parts from labor.
• Watch callback and warranty rates.

Track CAC Against Close Rate

Measure leads, close rate, CAC, average job value, and estimating time. If local search or remodeler referrals cut CAC, keep lead quality high so the extra savings turn into profit, not wasted bids. One clean rule: cheaper leads are good only if they book profitable work.

• Track monthly lead source mix.
• Tag quoted jobs by source.
• Watch callback and no-show rates.
• Keep overhead out of job pricing.

Track the funnel, not just leads

Here’s the quick math: planned monthly jobs = annual revenue ÷ ticket ÷ 12, so the target only works if lead flow and close rate support it. Watch booked jobs, travel minutes, install hours, and callbacks together. Route jobs in tight clusters so the crew spends more time on billable work and less time on the road.

• Booked jobs per month
• Estimate-to-close rate
• Average travel time
• Install hours per job
• Callbacks and reschedules

Protect margin by holding firm start times and clear job scopes. If one delayed job pushes the next crew slot, the business can still hit revenue on paper while cash flow weakens in the field. Tight scheduling keeps overtime down and helps the owner keep more of each dollar earned.