How Much Pool Pebble Finish Owners Make at $19M Revenue
You’re pricing crews, materials, trucks, and callbacks before you know what owner pay is safe In the provided five-year model, Year 1 revenue is $1914M with $771k EBITDA, but pool contractor owner pay still depends on job volume, pricing, cost control, owner role, reserves, debt service, and market conditions
Owner income$866kNet margin40%–55%Revenue for target pay$2.15MBusiness 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. Actual owner income changes with revenue mix, payroll, taxes, debt, and reserve policy.
Want the six income drivers?
1
Jobs
19/mo
At Year 1 pace, more completed jobs are the fastest way to grow owner take-home.
2
Contract Value
$8.5K
A higher average contract value lifts revenue on every booked pool and improves cash flow.
3
Labor Efficiency
42h/mo
More billable hours per active customer spread crew time over more revenue and protect margin.
4
Material Cost
16%-18%
Keeping pebble and site prep costs in line stops each job from giving back profit.
5
Overhead Load
$8.65K/mo
Underused yard, office, and admin time makes fixed overhead bite harder on every job.
6
Warranty Rate
Low
Fewer callbacks save labor and materials, so more of each sale reaches owner take-home.
Want to see the income forecast in Pool Pebble Finish Application?
How much revenue does a pool pebble finish business need?
A Pool Pebble Finish Application business needs about $881k in annual revenue to support a $100k owner draw before reserves and debt service, using a 70.5% contribution margin and $620.8k of fixed costs. The Year 1 model shows $1.914M revenue, $771k EBITDA, and $372k payroll, so the top line clears that mark on paper. Still, high contract revenue can feel tight if trucks, insurance, callbacks, or collections slip.
If you’re pricing a Pool Pebble Finish Application job, the margin isn’t a fixed market number; it comes down to job math, and How To Start Pool Pebble Finish Application Business? shows the setup. In the Year 1 model, EBITDA margin is about 403% and rises to 551% by Year 5, but the real swing comes from material yield, mix accuracy, crew productivity, subcontractor rates, waste, warranty work, and pricing discipline.
Margin drivers
Material yield changes take-home fast.
Mix accuracy cuts waste and rework.
Crew productivity lifts job speed.
Pricing discipline protects EBITDA.
Year 1 cost buckets
180% pebble aggregate and cement.
40% site prep consumables.
50% fuel and transportation.
25% waste disposal.
Key Takeaways
Completed jobs drive cash; leads don’t pay the bills.
Average contract value sets how fast fixed costs clear.
Labor efficiency and material waste protect contribution margin.
Rework and overhead pressure owner draws in slow months.
Pool pebble finish owner income scenario table
Owner income table
Owner income moves with job count, contract value, crew depth, and fixed overhead. Higher revenue can lift draws fast, but it also puts more pressure on cash and reserves.
Low, base, and high cases show how scale changes take-home pay.
Scenario
Low CaseCash tight
Base CaseSteady build
High CaseScale strain
Launch model
Owner income stays thin because volume is modest and draws have to stay tight.
Owner income tracks the Year 1 model and can support a steady draw if volume holds.
Owner income rises faster in the Year 2 path, but only if crew depth and cash reserves keep up.
Typical setup
About 12 jobs a month with lower contract value keeps the business lean and limits owner take-home.
About 19 jobs a month, $1.914 million revenue, and $771,000 EBITDA with a $95,000 GM salary built in.
About 32 jobs a month, $3.351 million revenue, and $1.700 million EBITDA require more labor and more reserve cushion.
Cost drivers
12 jobs per month
smaller contract value
tighter owner draws
fixed overhead
reserve pressure
19 jobs per month
$1.914M revenue
$771k EBITDA
$95k GM salary
moderate crew depth
32 jobs per month
$3.351M revenue
$1.700M EBITDA
crew depth
reserve pressure
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
tight owner drawLean case
salary-backed owner incomeCore case
higher owner draw pathUpside case
Best fit
Use this to stress-test a slow launch or weak sales ramp.
Use this as the main budget and lender case.
Use this to test scale-up demand and cash strain.
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Planning note: Scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Pool Pebble Finish Application Core Six Income Drivers
Completed jobs per month
Completed Jobs Per Month
Income comes from completed and collected jobs, not leads or signed estimates. With the Year 1 model pointing to about 19 jobs per month at a $8,505 blended contract value, each delay from weather, prep, inspections, customer readiness, or crew gaps pushes revenue into later months and tightens cash flow.
That timing matters because fixed costs still hit every month. Higher completion rates spread $8,650 of monthly overhead and $372k of Year 1 payroll across more finished pools, which lifts profit per job and makes owner pay safer.
Track Finished Jobs Weekly
Measure the flow from scheduled to started to completed and collected. A clean one-liner: if it is not finished and paid, it does not help owner income yet. Track why jobs slip, then fix the bottleneck that is slowing the next cash receipt.
Use a simple weekly report with:
Jobs completed versus scheduled
Jobs collected versus billed
Days delayed by each cause
If completion starts slipping, revenue moves right, but payroll, rent, insurance, and equipment costs do not.
Direct labor efficiency
Direct labor efficiency
Direct labor is the paid field crew that installs the finish, not the owner’s time or subcontracted application work. In Year 1, that means one $72k crew lead and two $58k installation specialists, or $188k in field payroll, about $15.7k per month. If jobs need return trips, overtime, or idle days, each pool carries less contribution, so owner draws stay tight.
Here’s the quick math: fixed payroll must be recovered before profit turns into safe owner pay. Bad staging, waiting on site prep, and subcontractor markups all cut labor efficiency, so the same revenue can leave less cash. More completed pools per paid hour means more income the owner can actually keep.
Track crew hours per finished pool
Measure billable hours, overtime, return trips, and subcontracted hours by job. Compare paid field hours to completed pools each month, then flag any crew that needs extra trips or staging fixes. That tells you whether the $188k payroll is being spread across enough work to support owner income.
One clean rule: finish more pools with fewer paid hours. Use tighter pre-job checks, stage materials before arrival, and price subcontracted work so markup does not eat margin. If labor drift adds even a few unplanned hours per job, contribution drops fast and the owner gets paid later.
Track hours per completed pool.
Separate owner labor from crew labor.
Log overtime and return visits.
Price subcontractor work before start.
Rework and warranty rate
Rework and warranty rate
This is the share of finished pools that come back for free work, refunds, or dispute handling. A callback drains take-home through unpaid labor, materials, fuel, disposal, and admin time. On a Year 1 blended job value of $8,505, even a few warranty jobs can wipe out margin fast when the model only clears about 19 jobs per month.
The usual triggers are surface defects, staining claims, delamination concerns, acid wash issues, and finish appearance disputes. Track callbacks per 100 jobs, cost per callback, and days from install to complaint. One line: quality control protects cash as much as it protects reputation.
Reserve for warranty before owner pay
Set a warranty reserve before any owner distribution. A practical formula is warranty reserve = expected callback cost × completed jobs. If finish quality is still uneven, raise the reserve and hold draws until the complaint window passes, because cash used for rework cannot pay payroll, overhead, or the owner.
Measure these monthly:
Callback rate per 100 jobs
Average cost per callback
Days to complaint after handoff
Refunds and dispute dollars
Then tighten inspection before acid wash, photo-document the finish at handoff, and require sign-off on texture and appearance. That keeps free return trips from turning sold work into lost cash.
Average contract value
Average Contract Value
Average contract value is the signed and collected price per job. In Year 1, the blend is about $8,505, pulled from $6,475 residential resurfacing, $7,000 new pool installation, and $25,200 commercial finishing. That number drives revenue per crew day, so a richer mix lifts owner pay only when pricing covers the real hours and materials.
Here’s the quick math: 35 hours × $185 for resurfacing, 40 × $175 for new installs, and 120 × $210 for commercial work. If scope, finish detail, prep, and coordination aren’t priced before the crew arrives, the average contract can look strong but still squeeze cash and profit.
Price Scope Before the Crew Starts
Track project type, finish level, estimated hours, prep work, and change orders on every bid. One clean rule: no free complexity. If the job needs stain removal, access work, or extra coordination, price it before the start date so the owner’s take-home isn’t donated to overtime and rework.
Price by finish complexity.
Log hours by job type.
Bill prep and coordination.
Requote late scope changes.
Mix matters too. Commercial finishing can reach $25,200, but it uses 120 hours, so the cash gain depends on crew capacity and collection speed. Smaller residential jobs may be lower value, yet they can protect cash flow if the estimate matches labor, materials, and site conditions.
Pebble material cost control
Pebble Material Cost Control
Materials are the swing factor in this job. Year 1 pebble aggregate and cement are modeled at 180% of revenue, plus site prep consumables at 40%. That means every pool can look busy on paper but still drain cash if mix, freight, or waste run hot. One bad estimate can turn owner pay into a delay instead of a draw.
By Year 5, those rates improve to 160% and 32%, so the business keeps more of each dollar only if yield, purchasing, and estimating stay tight. Track revenue per job, pounds used per pool, freight, spoilage, and rework. Don’t let material waste become unpaid labor.
Track Yield, Freight, and Waste
Measure material use against the bid, not against memory. Here’s the quick math: if actual usage runs above the estimate, the overage cuts gross profit before overhead and owner pay. The key inputs are job size, mix design, freight, prep consumables, and waste from breakage, spills, or poor staging.
Log material use by pool.
Price freight separately when needed.
Review estimate vs. actual weekly.
Lock purchasing before crews arrive.
When mix accuracy and buying discipline improve, the owner keeps more cash in the business and has a cleaner path to pay themselves. If estimates miss by even a little on a high-material job, the loss shows up fast in gross margin and can wipe out the month’s profit cushion.
Overhead utilization
Overhead Utilization
If jobs slip in a slow month, the bill still lands. Overhead utilization is how much of the fixed cost base gets covered by completed, collected work. Here, that base is $8,650/month for rent, insurance, maintenance, utilities, software, and dues, plus $45k/year marketing and $372k/year payroll, or about $43,400/month before owner pay.
That pressure matters because trucks, compressors, pumps, and admin costs do not pause when work moves out. Seasonal delays can push revenue into later months, so the owner can feel profitable on paper and still run short on cash. The key test is simple: does each month’s collected work cover the fixed load fast enough to leave room for profit and a draw?
Track the Fixed-Cost Floor
Build the forecast from completed jobs, not signed estimates. Track collected revenue, average contract value, and month-by-month seasonality so you can see when the overhead floor is at risk. In the plan, treat marketing as $3,750/month and payroll as $31,000/month, then compare that total against the $43,400/month fixed load.
Collected jobs per month
Average contract value
Seasonal booking gaps
Payroll and marketing timing
Idle truck and crew days
If the business runs below that floor for two or three months, owner pay gets squeezed fast. Set a minimum booked backlog, meaning sold and scheduled work, before the month starts. Then keep overhead tied to utilization, so fixed costs are spread over more finished pools, not more promises.
