Markup
The amount added on top of your cost to set the selling price, usually...
Margin (Gross Margin)What's left after the cost of a job as a share of the price charged. O...
Net ProfitWhat remains after all costs — job costs and overhead — are subtracted...
Labor BurdenThe full cost of an employee beyond the base wage — payroll taxes, wor...
OverheadThe ongoing cost of running the business that isn't tied to one job — ...
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)The direct costs of delivering a job — materials, the labor that perfo...
Break-EvenThe point where revenue exactly covers all costs — no profit, no loss....
Change OrderA written, priced, and signed agreement to change the scope of work af...
Scope of WorkThe detailed description of exactly what's included in a job — and, ju...
RetainageA portion of payment (often 5–10%) held back until the job is fully co...
MobilizationThe cost and effort of getting set up to start a job — moving crew, eq...
AllowanceA budgeted dollar figure for an item the client hasn't finalized — til...
ContingencyA reserve built into a price for the unknowns a job is likely to revea...
General ConditionsJob costs that don't belong to any single trade — dumpsters, portable ...
Bid BondA surety bond that guarantees a contractor will honor their bid and en...
Lien WaiverA document in which a contractor or supplier waives their right to fil...
Draw ScheduleA payment plan that releases money at defined milestones — deposit, ro...
Time and Materials (T&M)A pricing method that bills actual labor hours plus materials (with ma...
Fixed-Price ContractA contract for a set price regardless of the contractor's actual cost,...
Cost-PlusA contract that bills the actual cost of the work plus an agreed fee o...
Punch ListThe list of small items to finish or fix before a job is considered co...
TakeoffThe measured quantities pulled from plans or a site visit — square foo...
Overhead RateThe amount of overhead recovered per billable hour (or per dollar of r...
Progress BillingInvoicing for portions of a job as it reaches milestones, rather than ...
Stop pricing from memory
The Contractor Authority System™ turns this into a repeatable process — burdened labor & overhead, change-order protection, and client-ready proposals. One-time $97.