Use this overhead and profit calculator when direct job cost is already known and you need to apply a separate O&P add-on. This is the classic ten and ten math: 10 percent for overhead, 10 percent for profit, both applied to direct cost. It is not the same as a target-margin markup calculation, and it is not a full job-costing worksheet. The direct cost line should already include the scope you are pricing: labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, and other job costs that belong in the base. The calculator adds overhead and profit on top, then shows the final price and the effective markup percent.
Overhead and Profit Calculator: 10 and 10 Add-On
Calculate the classic overhead and profit add-on from direct cost, overhead percent, and profit percent. Built for clean O&P math.
Overhead and Profit Calculator
Enter direct cost, overhead percent, and profit percent. The calculator returns the O&P amount, final price, and effective markup.
O&P amount$2,000
Final price$12,000
Effective markup20.0%
Estimates for planning only. Check the result against your plans and a supplier quote before you order.
How to Use the Calculator
Enter the direct cost first. Use the cost you would have before the overhead and profit add-on lands on the estimate. If the estimate has material, labor, equipment, subcontractor, permit, and disposal lines, total those direct costs and enter that number. Next, enter the overhead percent. Ten percent is the default because it is the familiar O&P convention in restoration and insurance estimating, but your business overhead may be different. Then enter the profit percent. The calculator adds the two percentages together, applies them to direct cost, and returns the O&P amount and the final price.
The Formula
The formula is final price = direct cost x (1 + overhead percent / 100 + profit percent / 100). The O&P amount is final price minus direct cost. For a $10,000 direct cost with 10 percent overhead and 10 percent profit, the O&P amount is $2,000 and the final price is $12,000. The effective markup is 20 percent because the add-on is $2,000 divided by the $10,000 base. That is why this calculator keeps the effective markup visible. It shows the add-on plainly without turning it into margin math.
Different From Markup and Job Costing
This calculator is for a named overhead and profit add-on. A construction markup calculator starts with cost and a target margin, then backs into a sales price that protects that margin. A job-costing calculator builds a bid from several cost buckets and applies markup to the total. O&P is narrower. It says the direct scope costs this much, overhead is this percent, profit is this percent, and the sell price is the sum. Keep those models separate in your paperwork. Mixing O&P language with margin language creates arguments because the percentages do not mean the same thing.
Worked Example
Say a repair estimate has $18,400 in direct cost after materials, labor, equipment, and subcontractor quotes are loaded. The file calls for 10 percent overhead and 10 percent profit. The calculator adds those two percentages for a 20 percent add-on. The O&P amount is $18,400 x 0.20, or $3,680. The final price is $22,080. If overhead moves to 12 percent and profit stays at 10 percent, the add-on becomes 22 percent, the O&P amount becomes $4,048, and the final price becomes $22,448. The cost base did not change. The business add-on did.
Scope Notes
The direct cost base matters more than the calculator. Put the same kind of cost in the base every time, or the O&P line stops meaning anything. If a subcontractor line already includes that sub's overhead and profit, that is still a direct cost to the contractor carrying the contract. If an owner or carrier excludes a line from O&P, show that exclusion clearly instead of burying it in the base. For target margin pricing, use the construction markup calculator. For a cost bucket view of materials, labor, equipment, and overhead allocation, use the job-costing calculator.
Paper Trail Notes
I also keep the paper trail clean. The direct estimate should show the cost lines. The O&P line should show the overhead percent, profit percent, dollar add-on, and final total. If a scope revision changes direct cost, recalculate the O&P against the revised base instead of hand-editing the final total. That keeps change orders readable. It also prevents the common problem where the O&P percentage says one thing, the dollar amount says another, and nobody can tell which number was supposed to control.
O&P Reference
| Reference | Planning value | Field note |
|---|---|---|
| Classic O&P | 10% overhead + 10% profit | A 20% add-on to direct cost |
| Direct cost | Base scope cost | Labor, materials, equipment, subs, and job costs before O&P |
| O&P amount | Final price - direct cost | The separate dollar add-on |
| Effective markup | O&P / direct cost | Shows the add-on as a percent of the base |
| Not margin | Different denominator | Margin is profit divided by price, not cost |
FAQ
What does 10 and 10 mean? It means 10 percent overhead and 10 percent profit applied to direct cost. On a $10,000 direct cost, the O&P add-on is $2,000 and the final price is $12,000.
Is overhead and profit the same as markup? No. O&P is a named add-on with overhead and profit entered separately. Markup can be any percentage added to cost, and margin math uses price as the denominator.
What belongs in direct cost? Direct cost should include the job scope before O&P: labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, disposal, permits, and other costs tied to the work being priced.
Why show effective markup? Effective markup makes the add-on easy to read. If overhead is 10 percent and profit is 10 percent, the effective markup is 20 percent of direct cost.