Gross margin by work type
Separate service, install, commercial, residential, maintenance, warranty, and project work. Blended averages hide the truth.
Owner benefit beats net income
Many owner-run businesses understate or overstate profit depending on how the owner pays themselves.
Margin leaks are operational
Pricing matters, but so do callbacks, labor utilization, missed materials, late change orders, and poor closeout.
Field note
The blended margin is where truth goes to hide
A contractor can have one work type carrying the company and another quietly draining it. Service, install, commercial, residential, warranty, and project work deserve their own view.
The owner should not have to guess which jobs to sell. The numbers should make that obvious.
Do not guess from the symptom
The symptom may be cash stress, tax pain, low profit, or exit anxiety. The cause is usually deeper in the operating rhythm.