Labor Burden Before You Bid - Wage Is Not Job Cost

The wage on the offer letter is not what you pay to put someone on a job. Payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits, and often PTO load the hour. Price the wage alone and markup never had a chance.

Burden rate vs loaded hourly

A burden rate is the percent you multiply onto base wages. Find it from annual burden dollars ÷ base wages with the labor burden rate calculator, then apply it with the labor burden calculator to see a loaded hourly.

Crew days and required rates

Multi-person install days belong in crew costusing burdened rates. If you sell T&M hours, check the floor with the contractor hourly rate calculator so income and overhead still clear.

Do not double-count trucks

Trucks, tools, and shop rent usually sit in overhead — recover them in O&P, not inside payroll burden twice. See methodology for the stack order we label on each tool.