How Much Material Takeoff Service Owners Make At $85/Hour
A material takeoff service owner can make roughly $36,000 to $224,000 before taxes in lean Year 1 scenarios, but only if completed paid jobs support the workload The researched base assumption is about $723 per material takeoff, from 85 billable hours at $85/hour At 40 completed takeoffs per month, revenue is about $28,900/month after 28% variable costs, $8,212 in fixed overhead plus marketing, and a 10% planning reserve, estimated owner take-home is about $9,700/month This excludes income taxes, debt service, personal living costs, and full employee payroll unless those are modeled separately
Owner income≈$58k/moNet margin32%Revenue for target pay≈$2.44MBusiness difficultyHard
What drives owner take-home?
1
Takeoff Price
$723
At about $723 per takeoff, small price gains flow through fast because fixed costs barely change.
2
Project Volume
+$45K
Each 10 extra jobs adds about $45K a month to owner pay after variable costs and a 10% reserve.
3
Production Speed
8.5h
At 8.5 hours per takeoff, even a small time cut lets the same team finish more work and keep more profit.
4
Estimator Cost
14%
Keeping freelance estimator cost near 14% protects margin on each plan set and lifts take-home.
5
Repeat Clients
$650
A stronger repeat base lowers the $650 CAC and brings steadier, better-margin work.
6
Overhead Discipline
$8.2K
Holding fixed overhead plus marketing near $8.2K a month leaves more profit for owner pay.
What would your takeoff service pay you?
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: This is a researched planning estimate, not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
How much owner income can this Material Takeoff Service model support?
How many takeoff jobs per month to earn owner income?
For a Material Takeoff Service, the real target is completed paid jobs, not quotes. At 25 jobs, revenue is about $181k/month; at 40 jobs, about $289k; and at 60 jobs, about $434k. Each takeoff uses 85 billable hours in Year 1, so the workload climbs fast as paid projects stack up.
Revenue load
25 jobs brings about $181k/month.
40 jobs brings about $289k.
60 jobs brings about $434k.
Focus on paid projects, not quotes.
Client math
Each takeoff uses 85 billable hours in Year 1.
40 jobs equals 340 billable hours.
Repeat contractor clients matter because CAC starts at $650.
Active customers average 125 billable hours per month.
What is the profit margin for a material takeoff service?
If you’re pricing a Material Takeoff Service, the quick answer is that year-one gross margin is about 80%, and after 3% payment fees and 5% project travel, lean operating margin is about 72%; if you want the planning side, see How Do I Write A Business Plan For Material Takeoff Service?
At 40 takeoffs per month, owner take-home margin can look like 436% before reserve, then fall to about 336% after a 10% reserve. That spread gets hit fast by hired payroll, rework, underpriced revisions, and admin support.
Margin stack
80% gross margin
72% operating margin
3% payment fees
5% travel cost
Profit risks
14% freelance estimator capacity
6% software cost
10% reserve cuts take-home
Rework lowers margin fast
Can a material takeoff service replace a full-time income?
Yes, a Material Takeoff Service can replace a full-time income in the planning case, but only when volume, pricing, and workload line up; a $115,000 owner-pay target equals $9,583/month before taxes. At $723 per takeoff, 72% contribution after variable costs, $8,212 overhead plus marketing, and a 10% reserve, What Are Operating Costs For Material Takeoff Service? puts the quick math near 40 completed takeoffs/month.
Income math
Target pay: $115,000/year
Monthly pay need: $9,583
Price per takeoff: $723
Needed volume: 40/month
Staffing risk
Contribution margin: 72%
Base overhead: $8,212/month
Payroll plan: $340,000/year
Break-even: 82 takeoffs/month
Key Takeaways
Price each takeoff to cover labor and revisions.
More billable takeoffs drive most monthly revenue.
Efficiency helps only when accuracy stays high.
Overhead and reserves decide real owner take-home.
Compare lean, base, and high-output owner-income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income moves with takeoff volume, pricing, and fixed overhead. Higher volume can lift cash fast, but the same cost stack can keep early income thin.
Low, base, and high cases show how monthly takeoff volume changes owner take-home.
Scenario
Low CaseDownside case
Base CaseCore case
High CaseUpside case
Launch model
This is the thinner earnings path with lower takeoff volume and tighter owner cash.
This is the modeled middle path with steadier volume and solid owner take-home.
This is the stronger earnings path with higher volume and much better owner cash.
Typical setup
About 25 takeoffs per month drive roughly $181k in revenue, with 28% variable costs, about $82k in overhead plus marketing, and a 10% reserve.
About 40 takeoffs per month drive roughly $289k in revenue, with 28% variable costs, about $82k in overhead plus marketing, and a 10% reserve.
About 60 takeoffs per month drive roughly $434k in revenue, with 28% variable costs, about $82k in overhead plus marketing, and a 10% reserve.
Cost drivers
25 takeoffs/month
$723 average fee
28% variable costs
$82k overhead and marketing
10% reserve
40 takeoffs/month
$723 average fee
28% variable costs
$82k overhead and marketing
10% reserve
60 takeoffs/month
$723 average fee
28% variable costs
$82k overhead and marketing
10% reserve
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
$30k/yearLower income
$97k/yearBase income
$187k/yearHigher income
Best fit
Use this to stress-test a slow start or a market where quote volume stays soft.
Use this as the main operating plan for lender, investor, or owner budgeting work.
Use this to test upside from stronger sales, tighter delivery, and higher monthly capacity.
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Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions. They exclude income taxes, debt service, personal expenses, and full W-2 team payroll unless toggled.
Material Takeoff Service Core Six Income Drivers
Average Takeoff Price
Price per Takeoff
This driver is the fee charged for each material takeoff, and it sets revenue per production hour. With the stated Year 1 rate of $85/hour and 85 hours, a job prices at $7,225. A $10/hour increase adds $850 per takeoff, so at 40 jobs that is about $34,000/month before costs and reserves.
The fee has to match project size, trade count, plan quality, turnaround speed, and revision policy. If a complex set is priced like a simple one, hidden owner time rises, gross margin falls, and take-home shrinks even when revenue looks steady.
Protect the Rate
Track real hours per job, revision count, and effective hourly rate so you know what the work really pays after rework. If plans are messy or the deadline is tight, price that risk up front instead of donating owner labor.
Set price bands by project size.
Add fees for extra revisions.
Separate simple and complex plans.
Measure cash collected per hour.
Use written scope limits and clear revision rules. Complex plans should not sell at simple-plan prices, because that is where owner pay disappears into unpaid review time, slower cash flow, and margin loss.
Production Efficiency
Production Efficiency
Efficiency only helps income when accuracy stays intact. The model assumes 85 billable hours per material takeoff in Year 1, rising to 105 by Year 5 as plans get harder. If one hour is saved on a fixed-fee job, that hour can be sold again; if billing is hourly, the rate has to protect income or faster work lowers revenue.
What this estimate hides: rework, scope creep, and bad plan sets can erase the gain fast. Track hours per takeoff, revision count, and error rate together, because a speed win that creates one extra correction is not a win.
Track Time, Rework, and Rate
Use templates, checklists, standard assemblies, plan naming rules, and software fluency to cut wasted time. Measure billable hours per takeoff, then break out review hours and redo hours so you can see where the leak is.
If Year 1 work sits near 85 hours, a 1-hour gain frees capacity without hurting quality. If jobs move toward 105 hours by Year 5, protect pricing on larger scopes and complex revisions so efficiency does not turn into unpaid labor.
Track hours by job type
Log every revision request
Protect hourly pricing on complex plans
Hold a zero-defect review step
Repeat Contractor Client Base
Repeat Contractor Base
Repeat contractors make volume steadier and cut the pressure to keep buying new leads. In the model, CAC falls from $650 in Year 1 to $475 by Year 5, while active customers rise from 125 billable hours per month to 185. That mix lifts revenue quality, because familiar scopes mean less kickoff time, fewer plan questions, and less rework. More repeat work usually means better owner pay planning.
Here’s the quick math: if repeat clients fill more of the calendar, less cash gets burned on acquisition, and more of each billed hour can reach profit. Weak repeat business does the opposite. It pushes the owner back into marketing, makes monthly volume harder to forecast, and can leave take-home income swinging with each new bid cycle.
Track Repeat Hours, Not Just New Leads
Measure repeat billable hours, CAC, and hours per active customer each month. The key inputs are active contractors, billed hours, and how often the same client returns. If a customer keeps giving the team work, that client should lower sales effort per hour and support steadier cash flow. One clean target is simple: more hours from known accounts, fewer one-off starts.
Watch where repeat jobs still create hidden labor. If the same contractor keeps changing scopes, the margin gain disappears fast. Track kickoff time, revision count, and rework by client. If familiar scopes are shrinking those hours, the owner can plan draws with more confidence. If not, the business is still buying revenue the hard way.
Monthly Completed Project Volume
Monthly Completed Project Volume
This driver is the count of billable takeoffs completed and invoiced each month, not bid requests. At 25, 40, and 60 takeoffs, revenue is about $181k, $289k, and $434k at $723 per job. More completed work lifts owner pay only if quality stays high and revisions do not eat the extra hours.
Here’s the quick math: one more paid takeoff adds about $7,225 of revenue and about $4,480 after 28% variable costs and a 10% reserve. Capacity is limited by turnaround time, 85 hours per job, review work, and scope size, so volume is capped by labor, not demand alone.
Track Paid Work, Not Lead Count
Track completed, billed, and collected takeoffs separately. A busy bid queue does not pay the owner. The key inputs are paid jobs, average fee per job, variable cost rate, reserve, and hours spent on review and revisions.
Count only paid takeoffs.
Watch hours per job.
Price revisions separately.
Plan capacity weekly.
If turnaround slips, the next job gets delayed and cash comes in later. Protect margin by capping scope creep, using clear review rules, and keeping the reserve intact so extra volume becomes owner draw, not just backlog.
Direct Estimator Labor Cost
Direct Estimator Labor Cost
Direct estimator labor is the pay tied to taking off plans, checking quantities, fixing revisions, and managing the estimate flow. In Year 1, freelance estimator capacity is modeled at 14% of revenue, so labor can grow output but still pressure margin. Employee pay also matters: $62k for a junior estimator, $88k for a senior estimator, and $115k for the principal estimator.
Here’s the quick math: if pricing does not cover production, review, revisions, and management, owner take-home shrinks even when revenue rises. Subcontractors can cover spikes, but review time still has to land on someone’s payroll or owner time. Owner labor is not free; if it is not priced in, profit looks better on paper than it feels in cash.
Track Labor by Job, Not Just by Month
Measure labor cost as a share of revenue, plus the hours spent on production, review, and revisions per takeoff. Also track who did the work: freelancer, employee, subcontractor, or owner. That shows whether the business is buying capacity or just hiding unpaid work inside the margin.
Practical control points are simple: set a price floor that covers all direct labor, use freelancers for spikes, and cap rework with a clear revision policy. If the owner is still reviewing every job, that time must be priced like labor, not treated like profit. Otherwise, take-home drops even when completed volume looks healthy.
Track: labor percent of revenue
Log: review and revision hours
Price: for owner time too
Test: freelancer vs employee mix
Overhead And Reserve Discipline
Overhead And Reserve Discipline
Take-home starts after the boring costs. In Year 1, fixed overhead is $6,170/month for rent, insurance, IT, accounting, utilities, and supplies, plus about $2,042/month for marketing. Add variable costs of 6% for software, 3% for payment fees, and 5% for travel, and owner pay shrinks fast if pricing or volume is soft.
The main inputs are monthly revenue, collected cash, and job volume. A 10% planning reserve protects cash for revisions, bad debt, and slow collections, but it lowers distributions. Cutting that reserve can lift short-term owner pay, yet one delayed payment can wipe out the extra draw.
Protect Owner Draw
Track overhead as a share of revenue each month and separate fixed costs from variable ones. The quick math is simple: take-home equals revenue minus $6,170 fixed overhead, $2,042 marketing, fee load, travel, and the 10% reserve. If any of those creep up, owner pay falls before the top line does.
Keep the reserve in cash, not in hoped-for invoices. Review collections weekly, flag slow payers early, and hold the reserve until revisions and bad debt stay predictable. That keeps distributions steady and stops one messy project from turning into a personal cash crunch.
