Solar job profit & margin calculator

Price one installation with its revenue, direct costs, labor, overhead, and fees—then see profit, margin, cost per watt, and the selling price needed for your target.

Illustrative values are loaded below. Replace them with your job numbers; calculations stay in this browser. Results are job-level, not company-wide net income.

Job inputs

System size

Use the installed DC system size.

Target margin

Used to calculate the target selling price.

Base contract value

Contract amount before approved changes.

Panels

Panel equipment cost.

Inverter and battery

Inverter and storage equipment cost.

Labor hours

Total field and project labor hours.

Loaded labor rate

Fully loaded hourly labor rate.

Approved change orders

Signed changes added to the job.

Racking and BOS

Racking and balance-of-system materials.

Subcontractors

Subcontracted installation or specialty work.

Engineering and permitting

Design, permitting, and inspection costs.

Freight and travel

Shipping, delivery, and travel costs.

Sales and acquisition

Sales commissions and acquisition costs.

Other direct costs

Other job-specific direct costs.

Overhead method

Choose a fixed overhead amount or a percent of direct costs.

Overhead amount

Allocated overhead for this job.

Dealer or financing fee rate

Revenue-based fee rate.

Solar1Project economics

Planned job report

Illustrative example

Prepared locally in your browser

Illustrative example. Job profit $7,950 and job margin 24.09%.

Illustrative example

At or above your target

4.1 percentage points above the 20.0% target.

Job profit$7,95024.09% margin

Total job costDirect costs, allocated overhead, and the revenue-based fee.: $25,050
MarkupJob profit as a percentage of total job cost.: 31.74%
Price per wattRevenue divided by installed DC watts.: $4.13/W
Cost per wattTotal job cost divided by installed DC watts.: $3.13/W
Break-even revenueRevenue required to cover fixed job cost and the revenue-based fee.: $24,632
Target selling priceRevenue required for the target margin after the revenue-based fee.: $31,200

Assumptions used

System size: 8 kW DC
Base contract: $32,000
Approved change orders: $1,000
Overhead method and value: Fixed: $2,000
Revenue-based fee rate: 5%
Target margin: 20%
Labor hours: 48
Loaded labor rate: $45/hour
Panels: $8,000
Inverter and battery: $5,000
Racking and BOS: $2,500
Loaded labor: $2,160
Subcontractors: $1,000
Engineering and permitting: $750
Freight and travel: $400
Sales and acquisition: $1,200
Other direct costs: $390

Methodology and limitations

This report calculates with unrounded numbers and rounds only the displayed results. It uses only the revenue, costs, overhead, fee, and target entered in this browser.

Revenue = base contract + approved change orders.
Loaded labor = labor hours × loaded labor rate.
Total job cost = direct costs + allocated overhead + revenue-based fee.
Job profit = revenue − total job cost. Job margin = job profit ÷ revenue.
Target selling price solves for the selected target margin after the revenue-based fee.

Solar1 does not verify the inputs. This is an estimating aid, not a benchmark, forecast, accounting opinion, or guarantee of project or company performance.

A fictional residential installation

An 8 kW job has a $32,000 base contract and $1,000 in approved change orders. Its entered direct costs total $21,400, including $2,160 of loaded labor. The example allocates $2,000 of fixed overhead and applies a 5% revenue-based fee.

Illustrative planned-job calculation

$33,000 revenue − $25,050 job cost = $7,950 profit

Job margin24.09%

Price per watt: $4.13/W
Cost per watt: $3.13/W
Target revenue at 20% margin: $31,200

This illustrative example is not a benchmark.

How the calculator gets each result

Job profit: Revenue minus total job cost.
Job margin: Job profit divided by revenue.
Markup: Job profit divided by total job cost.
Fixed job cost: Direct costs plus the allocated overhead entered for the job.

RevenueBase contract + approved change orders
Loaded labor costLabor hours × loaded labor rate
Direct costsEntered equipment and project costs + loaded labor cost
Allocated overheadFixed amount entered, or direct costs × overhead rate
Fixed job costDirect costs + allocated overhead
Revenue-based feeRevenue × fee rate
Total job costDirect costs + allocated overhead + revenue-based fee
Job profitRevenue − total job cost
Job marginJob profit ÷ revenue
MarkupJob profit ÷ total job cost
Price and cost per wattRevenue or total job cost ÷ (system size in kW × 1,000)
Break-even revenueFixed job cost ÷ (1 − fee rate)
Target selling priceFixed job cost ÷ (1 − fee rate − target margin)

Costs to review before using the result

Include only amounts that apply to the installation, and use your own records and allocation policy.

Panels and module-level equipment
Inverter and battery
Racking and electrical balance of system
Loaded installation labor
Subcontractors
Engineering and permitting
Freight and travel
Sales commission or customer-acquisition cost
Allocated overhead
Dealer or financing fees
Approved change orders

Sources & review methodology

Source material

U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Soft Costs Basics
Defines the solar-industry activities commonly grouped as soft costs and explains how non-hardware work contributes to installed project cost.

Review limitations

The calculator applies the visible formulas to the values you enter. It calculates with unrounded numbers and rounds only the displayed results. Percentage overhead is applied to direct costs; a fixed overhead amount is added as entered. The dealer or financing fee is treated as a percentage of revenue.

Solar1 does not verify your inputs. Results omit taxes, expenses, financing structures, timing effects, and company costs you do not enter. The target price is unavailable when the fee rate and target margin total 100% or more. This is an estimating aid, not a benchmark, forecast, accounting opinion, or guarantee of project or company performance.

The cited source provides general context only. It does not supply the illustrative values, endorse this calculator, or validate a result.

Solar job profit calculator FAQs

What is job margin?

Job margin is the job profit divided by job revenue. In this calculator, job profit is revenue minus the direct costs, allocated overhead, and revenue-based fee entered for the installation.

What is the difference between margin and markup?

Margin compares job profit with revenue. Markup compares job profit with total job cost. The percentages answer different questions and are not interchangeable.

How is target selling price calculated?

The calculator divides fixed job cost by one minus the revenue-based fee rate and target margin. It cannot calculate a target price when those two percentages total 100 percent or more.

Does Solar1 receive or store my numbers?

No. The calculator runs in your browser and does not send, save, or place the entered financial values in the page URL.

Is job profit the same as company net income?

No. This result includes only the project costs and allocated overhead you enter. It does not account for taxes, omitted expenses, or the rest of the company.

Keep estimated and actual job costs on the same record.

See how Solar1 can connect estimates, purchasing, labor, billing, and actual costs for each installation.

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