Free tools →Visible assumptions. Explainable answers.
Contractor Numbers can make assumptions, but it should never hide them. This page explains the hierarchy, formulas, and location logic used by the current calculators.
The hierarchy used in every calculator
- Your actual business number — if you entered or saved a real company number, it takes priority.
- Localized starting estimate — when location and trade can defensibly improve a starting value, Contractor Numbers may use a local planning estimate.
- Contractor Numbers default — when neither of the above is available, a clearly labeled planning default may be used.
Location logic
The current ZIP lookup identifies city and state. For supported trades, wage starting values begin with a May 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupation wage baseline and are adjusted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis 2024 state Regional Price Parity. Certain Contractor Numbers dollar defaults may also be adjusted by the state price level.
We do not currently use ZIP to change booking rate, close rate, contribution margin, billable utilization, recovery rate, price sensitivity, or other structural assumptions unless the contractor changes those inputs.
Hiring Readiness
The Hiring calculator compares revenue from work you could take on now with the revenue required to cover the full monthly cost of another employee.
Total monthly employee cost = wages + included payroll burden + included benefits + included truck/field costs + included other costs
Revenue needed to cover hire = total monthly employee cost ÷ contribution margin
The result is YES when work available now is at least the modeled revenue needed to cover the hire. Otherwise it is NOT YET. Cash reserve is shown as runway/context and does not independently change the signal.
Payroll burden, benefits, truck/field costs, and other costs can be included or excluded when they truly do or do not apply. Contribution margin is required because the break-even math depends on it.
True Labor Rate
The Labor Rate calculator spreads loaded technician cost and annual overhead across the billable hours the company can actually sell.
Annual billable hours = billable hours/tech/day × working days × revenue-producing techs
Loaded annual tech cost = wage × paid hours/week × 52 × (1 + payroll burden) + benefits + field cost
Break-even sold-hour rate = (annual overhead + loaded tech cost × tech count) ÷ annual billable hours
Target sold-hour rate = break-even rate ÷ (1 − target labor profit margin)
The model is cost-based. It does not claim that competitor pricing determines what your company should charge.
Missed Call Revenue
The Missed Call calculator converts unanswered inbound-call volume into a planning estimate of lost completed jobs and associated revenue.
Missed new-prospect opportunities = monthly calls × missed-call % × new-prospect %
Estimated lost jobs = missed new-prospect opportunities × booking % × completion/close %
Estimated lost job revenue = estimated lost jobs × average first ticket
If the contractor uses Google Local Services Ads, the tool can add a separate paid-lead exposure estimate using LSA lead volume, missed-call rate, and cost per lead—or CallRail missed-LSA counts received through the current CallRail data setup when available.
The current CallRail setup is webhook/data configuration inside Contractor Numbers; it is not a provider-authenticated CallRail login. Google-specific billing outcomes still depend on Google's current valid-lead rules, business hours, call duration, exceptions, and account facts. The tool does not guarantee that a specific missed call will be charged.
Price Increase Impact
The Price Increase calculator is a sensitivity model, not a forecast of exact customer behavior. It compares a modeled decline in jobs with the contribution gained from a higher ticket.
Current planning sensitivity factors vary by work type: urgent/necessary repair, planned repair/replacement, recurring maintenance/service, and optional upgrades/improvements. Those factors are Contractor Numbers planning assumptions and remain separate from location data.
Current contribution/job = current ticket − estimated variable cost
New contribution/job = new ticket − estimated variable cost
Modeled monthly contribution change = (remaining jobs × new contribution/job) − (current jobs × current contribution/job)
The useful guardrail is the break-even number of jobs the business can lose before the contribution benefit of the increase disappears.
What to trust most
Actual company records should always outrank a benchmark or starting assumption. If your payroll report says the true burden is 22%, use 22%. If your average ticket is $612, use $612. If your CallRail data shows an 8.4% missed-call rate, use the actual call data.
Contractor Numbers is designed to become more company-specific over time as the Living Business Profile learns verified business numbers.