Margin One
Home Services Benchmark Report
The KPI ranges that separate a profitable contracting business from a busy one — with warning thresholds and how to calculate each.
Across home-services contracting, a healthy business runs a 50–60% gross margin, a 60–75% technician billable rate, a 50%-or-better estimate close rate, a $50–150 cost per lead, under 5% callbacks, and an LTV:CAC above 3:1. Below is each benchmark, its warning threshold, and how it is calculated — drawn from the Home Services Metrics Scorecard that M1COS dashboards run on.
| Metric | Healthy Range | Warning | How It's Calculated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial | |||
| Gross Margin | 50–60% | Below 42% | (Revenue − COGS) ÷ Revenue |
| Loaded Labor Cost | Burden 25–35%, utilization 55–65% | — | Wage × (1 + burden %) ÷ billable utilization % |
| Markup to Hit Target Margin | 2× (100% markup) for a 50% margin | — | Price = true cost ÷ (1 − target margin) |
| Marketing | |||
| Cost Per Lead (CPL) | $50–150 | — | Marketing spend ÷ number of leads |
| CAC & LTV:CAC Ratio | CAC $200–350; LTV:CAC above 3:1 | LTV:CAC below 3:1 | CAC = (sales + marketing spend) ÷ new customers |
| Sales | |||
| Estimate Close Rate | 50% or higher | Below 50% | Booked jobs ÷ estimates written |
| Operations | |||
| Technician Billable Utilization | 60–75% or higher | Below 60% | Billable hours ÷ paid hours |
| Callback & Rework Rate | Under 5% of jobs | 5% or more | Jobs redone for free ÷ total jobs |
Ranges reflect Margin One's Home Services Metrics Scorecard thresholds and home-services industry norms. Your right number varies by trade, market, and job mix.
Want these benchmarks scored against your actual books, not estimates? One conversation maps them to your real financials — no rip-and-replace.
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