BREAKING EQUIPMENT COST OUT IN JOB COSTING.
Most subcontractors bill equipment as one all in hourly rate that combines the machine, the operator, fuel, mobilization, and fees together. When the job goes over, you can't tell which one moved. Breaking equipment into separate cost codes for the machine, the operator, fuel, and fees is what lets you see where a job is losing money.
The all in rate caps your revenue at operating time while the real cost accrues all day. A machine on site for a day costs you a full day whether it operates two hours or ten, and if the only way it bills is by the hour then the idle time is a loss that never appears on a line item. Separating the codes changes what the report can tell you. The machine line answers whether the iron is earning, the operator line answers whether the labor plan held, and the fuel line answers whether consumption matched the estimate.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Equipment cost basis is the true daily, weekly, or monthly cost to own and operate a specific machine, separate from the operator who operates it and the fuel it uses.
SEPARATE WHAT MOVES SEPARATELY.
Machine cost basis
Charge a daily, weekly, or monthly rate for the machine being on the job, separate from whether it's operating. That rate covers ownership: replacement cost, maintenance, insurance, and registration spread across the days you work it. A machine on site for a day costs you a full day even if it operates two hours, so it should be billed for the day.
Operator labor
The operator is labor, not equipment. Keep them in separate cost codes so that when an operator moves to another task or a day goes long, the labor overrun is on its own line instead of muddying the equipment number. Track operator cost fully burdened, including taxes, workers comp, and benefits.
Fuel and fees
Fuel is consumption and it moves with hours operated, so it belongs on its own line where you can compare it to the estimate. Mobilization, staging, and permit fees are one time costs per deployment. Separating them is how you catch a job where the machine stayed idle and added standby cost while the schedule of values only paid for operating time.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A verified civil client at $7.1M was operating 34 pieces of equipment and 14 trucks on a single all in hourly rate. A skid steer billed at $450 an hour looked fine until the real numbers came out: $979 a day just to have it on site, $200 to mobilize, fuel at 8 gallons an hour, and an operator at $47 an hour fully burdened. On a two hour task they billed two hours and lost money every time. Once equipment was broken into separate cost codes and a daily standby rate was charged, their balance sheet improved by $779,000 in total to date.
When you bill equipment weekly or monthly there are 13 months in a year, because four weeks equals one month, which is how rental companies charge. A five week project is one month and one week. Pricing owned equipment this way recovers real holding cost and shows when renting beats owning.
SIX STEPS, ONE MACHINE AT A TIME.
Take replacement cost, maintenance, insurance, and registration over the years you plan to own it, then divide by annual working days. That's the number the machine has to earn every day it is on a job, and it's usually higher than the owner expects.
The machine rate covers presence, separate from fuel and operator. A machine delivered on Monday and used on Thursday cost you four days of ownership, and the cost code should say so rather than absorbing three of them into overhead.
Taxes, workers comp, and benefits included. When the labor plan falls behind, the overrun belongs on the labor line where somebody owns it, not blended into an equipment rate nobody questions.
Fuel consumption gets compared to the estimate month by month. Eight gallons an hour on a machine estimated at five is a variance you can see and fix, and it's invisible inside an all in rate.
Mobilization is a one time cost per deployment and standby is the cost of idle days. Both need their own lines so idle days get covered rather than absorbed by whatever hours the machine happened to operate.
Four weeks equals one month, so a year holds 13 months and a five week project is one month and one week. Pricing owned equipment the way rental companies price theirs recovers real holding cost and makes the rent versus own question answerable.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing. No payroll. The one-time onboarding fee is right here in the table.
Built for subs doing $1M to $12M. Above $12.5M we quote.
| Last 12 months revenue | Core | Strategic | Platinum | One-time onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1M | $1,900 | $3,100 | $3,300 | $1,000 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 | $4,100 | $5,300 | $1,500 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 | $5,900 | $8,300 | $3,000 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 | $7,600 | $11,800 | $4,500 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 | $8,900 | $14,900 | $6,000 |
| Above $12.5M | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted | Quoted |
The onboarding fee covers migrating your books back to the start of your last taxable year and getting you fully operational in 60 days. It's billed once, with your first invoice. It's the same for all three tiers, and it moves with your revenue band. Your first month is prorated, and your monthly engagement starts on the first of the first full month.
The three tier columns are the whole price. Which one fits depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items. The onboarding fee is right here in the table.
- Online software only: QuickBooks, Sage, Viewpoint and similar. No VPN or hosted desktop.
- Not in any tier: payroll, pay applications, collections on receivables.
- Pricing valid through 2027.
CFO work. Your own bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions and never in a report.
Your bookkeeper still does the books.
Core, plus bookkeeping and bank reconciliations, plus job costing and WIP software set up and managed for you. Use your own online accounting software or we supply it, one price.
Every job shows its margin while it is still open.
Everything in Core, plus the bookkeeping and bank reconciliations done for you, and the job costing and WIP software set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed every month. Use your own online software, or move to ours and we cover it.
A bookkeeper we choose does the books and reconciliations. No payroll.
Strategic, plus a controller who handles payables and receivables the way an in-house controller would. You approve every payment.
You approve, and the money side gets handled.
Everything in Strategic, plus a controller we choose who handles your bills and receivables for you the way an in-house controller would. They call vendors, pay the bills and keep the accounting current. We plan the cash flow first, and you approve every payment because it is your money.
A controller we choose does the payables and receivables. No payroll, no pay applications, no collections.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
PART 3 OF 6, TO WATCH.
Never Miss Payroll Without Taking On Debt is a 6 part series on making payroll out of work already performed, without reaching for a line of credit. One of the sessions covers this:
Your Equipment's Leaking Money, and It's Not the Maintenance Bill
A rate built on what you paid recovers enough to own a worn out machine. It doesn't buy the next one.
Playing on this site, with nothing to enter and nothing to join.
