Step 1
Overhead Guru
Clean the P&L, verify billable hours and calculate the overhead each productive hour must recover.
For project-driven companies that quote jobs and run crews
Keep More of the Profit You Price Into Your Next Job.
Know what every labour hour must recover before the quote leaves your hands. Once the customer accepts the price, labour costs your rate missed must be absorbed somewhere—often from the profit you expected to keep.
- Use your own P&L, payroll information and productive hours.
- Find missing costs and build the complete six-layer labour cost.
- Carry the verified cost and intended profit into your next quote.
$27
Find My True Labor Cost →
One-time purchase · Digital training, worksheets and quote tools
CORE BLUEPRINT + Quote System Bonus
The quote is the last safe place to correct the rate
Once the Price Is Accepted, Missing Labor Costs Consume Expected Profit.
An incomplete labour rate repeats across every hour on the job. Test the potential exposure before the quote becomes a commitment—and before delays, rework or unbilled changes create additional pressure.
Simple annual example—change any of the three values
$/hr
$/hr
$/hr
Potential Profit Loss
-$27,150
Per Employee / Per Year
Calculated labour value: $93.10/hr. Entered in quote: $75.00/hr.
Illustration uses historical planning standards from the reference calculator to estimate labour burden, overhead burden and 1,500 productive hours per employee. The example models the three constant cost layers: base wage, labour burden and overhead burden. When the labour value used in the quote equals the charge-out rate, the calculator treats that number as a selling rate with 25% profit included and removes the margin before comparing costs. It is not a diagnosis of your actual costs and does not predict or guarantee a financial result.
A number is not the same as a verified number
Can You Show Where Your Current Labour Rate Came From?
?Does the rate recover the real overhead attached to productive hours?
?Are payroll costs, benefits, paid time and nonproductive hours included?
?Are task-specific costs attached to the work that consumes them?
?Can you explain the rate without relying on memory, an old price sheet or a guess?
The number most companies seeEmployee Wage
The layers the wage can leave behind
Operating overhead
Employer payroll costs
Paid nonproductive time
Benefits and allowances
Task-specific expenses
Shift and overtime conditions
The wage is where the calculation starts. It is not where the calculation ends.
The mechanism
Build the Six-Layer True Labor Cost Stack
The Blueprint separates the layers so every cost has one proper home—never skipped and never counted twice.
1Base WageAlways applies
2Shift DifferentialWhen applicable
3Overhead Burden RateYou calculate this
4Labor Burden RateYou calculate this
5Task-Specific BurdenYou calculate this
6Overtime PremiumWhen applicable
What you build
Three company-specific numbers. One defensible cost foundation.
- Separate overhead from direct labour and job costs.
- Load real employer costs onto productive hours.
- Keep specialized task costs with the work that consumes them.
- Apply conditional layers only when they actually occur.
True labour cost is the floor your selling price must clear before the job can produce profit.
Three guided calculations
Follow the Steps. Use Your Records. Build the Numbers.
Every page has a short walkthrough so you can learn one decision, complete the corresponding work, and carry the verified result forward.
Step 2
Labor Analyst
Load employer costs and paid time onto actual productive hours to calculate what each employee really costs.
Step 3
Burden Builder
Match specialized costs with the tasks and hours that consume them instead of burying them in one flat rate.
Built for operators—not accountants
Use the Records You Already Have. Complete One Rate at a Time.
You do not need to master accounting theory or rebuild your entire operation. The walkthroughs show you what belongs in each calculation, what must be removed and how to avoid counting the same cost twice.
Bring Your Records
Start with your current P&L, payroll information, paid-time policies and productive-hour records.
Follow the Short Walkthroughs
Each practical 1–2 minute video explains one decision and the corresponding worksheet action.
Build the Stack
Verify each company-specific rate, assemble the six applicable layers and carry the result into an upcoming quote.
Your first useful output is a verified cost you can test in an upcoming quote. No ProjectWatchPRO software or accounting qualification is required.
Illustrative worked example
A $28 Wage Became a $96.01 True Labor Cost.
The six-layer stack shows exactly how the applicable costs accumulate for this employee, task and overtime scenario.
Every layer is considered.
Some layers always apply. Others apply only when the shift, task or overtime conditions trigger them.
The point: the wage is only the first layer of the labour cost carried into the quote.
1
$28.00/hrBase WageAlways applies
2
$0.00/hrShift DifferentialNot applicable in this example
3
$25.81/hrOverhead Burden RateCompany operating cost per productive hour
4
$8.20/hrLabor Burden RateEmployer costs and paid non-productive time
5
$20.00/hrTask-Specific BurdenBlasting cost carried only by blasting hours
6
$14.00/hrOvertime PremiumAdditional half-time wage premium
=
$96.01/hrComplete Applicable CostAll six layers reviewed; applicable layers totalled
Illustrative company conditions from the course example. These figures are not universal rates or promised results.
What the math exposed in real businesses
Three Companies. Three Different Rate Problems.
Each example illustrates a different reason to verify the number before it is repeated across another quote.
Abrasive Blast & Paint
$50,000
John reports that correcting the rate contributed to $50,000 in additional profit during the first month. The company has reportedly used the method since 2004.
Historical ProjectWatchPRO client example · Company-specific result
Ken LaPain & Sons
+$20/hr
A single $110 flat rate was being used across the business while true regular employee cost was already above $100 per hour. The calculation showed only one task was profitable at that rate.
Historical ProjectWatchPRO client example · Company-specific result
Heartland Coatings
$35/hr
The review reportedly found that quoted work was $35 per hour short of covering true labour cost plus the intended margin, while some subcontract work was capped at approximately true cost.
Historical ProjectWatchPRO client example · Company-specific result
These historical ProjectWatchPRO client examples reflect company-specific conditions. They are not typical results, independently audited claims or guarantees of what another company will achieve.
Included bonus
Knowing the cost is only useful if it reaches the quote
The Bulletproof Quote System
The Blueprint builds the numbers. The included worksheets and Excel tools help carry those verified costs and your intended profit into the next quote.
- Build the quote around measurable tasks and hours.
- Apply labour, material, expense and third-party costs.
- Include applicable task-specific burden.
- Set and test the profit you intend to earn.
- See the effect before the price is submitted.
Do the work—not just the watching
Four Moves From Records to a Stronger Quote
Gather
Bring your current P&L, payroll information, paid-time policies and productive-hour records.
Follow
Use each short walkthrough to understand what belongs, what must be removed, and why.
Calculate
Complete the worksheets and tools using your company’s actual numbers and assumptions.
Apply
Carry the verified rates into the Bulletproof Quote worksheets and test an upcoming quote.
Your complete working package
Everything You Need to Go From Wage Guess to Quote Check
Complete Field ManualThe method, rules, examples and worksheets in one reference.
Short Walkthrough VideosPage-by-page guidance in practical 1–2 minute lessons.
Overhead WorksheetsClean the P&L, find billable hours and calculate the rate.
Labor Calculation ToolsBuild employer and employee costs from real inputs.
Task Burden WorksheetsMatch specialized expenses with the tasks that use them.
Worked Company ExampleFollow a complete calculation before entering your own records.
Six-Layer Cost StackAssemble applicable costs into one defensible labour figure.
Bulletproof Quote BonusWorksheets and Excel tools for carrying cost into the quote.
Built for the way your company works
For Companies That Quote Jobs, Schedule Work, Run Crews and Invoice by the Job.
Use it when labour, overhead and task costs must be recovered through the jobs your company sells.
Construction and specialty contractors
Industrial service and field-service companies
Fabrication, coating, blasting and painting operations
Electrical, plumbing, mechanical and welding contractors
Owners, estimators, bookkeepers and operations leaders
Best fit: an operating company with access to basic P&L, payroll and time information. This is not a generic wage survey or a substitute for professional tax, payroll or accounting advice.
Why this system exists
Profit Is Often Lost Before the Report Shows It.
Most contractors do not intend to quote bad work. They lose profit because the number used to build the quote was incomplete, the specialized costs were spread incorrectly, or the final report arrived after the crew had moved on.
John A. McCabe developed the Profit Pulse System to connect the numbers used in the quote with the work performed in the field. The True Labor Cost Blueprint teaches the three foundational calculations that the later quoting, scheduling and profit-control steps depend on.
This is not accounting theory. It is a practical way to show what every productive hour must recover before the company can earn profit.
John A. McCabe
Founder, ProjectWatchPRO
Check the number before you repeat it
Get the Complete True Labor Cost Package for $27
One incomplete rate repeated across one job could expose hundreds or thousands of times more than the price of the Blueprint.
One-time purchase
Get the Blueprint and Quote Tools →
True Labor Cost Blueprint
Complete working field manualIncluded
Short page-by-page walkthroughsIncluded
Three burden-rate calculationsIncluded
Worksheets and worked examplesIncluded
Six-layer True Labor Cost StackIncluded
Bulletproof Quote worksheets + Excel toolsBonus
Your price today$27
Compare that withone incorrect rate
across one job.
across one job.
One-time paymentDigital accessNo software required
Questions before you begin
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this calculate my selling price?
The Blueprint calculates the cost foundation behind the labour in your quote. The included Bulletproof Quote System helps carry those costs, other quote inputs and your intended profit into a proposed selling price. Market conditions and management decisions still determine the final price.
Is true labour cost the same as profit margin?
No. True labour cost is the cost the selling price must first recover. Profit is built above the applicable costs. A rate that only recovers true cost leaves no profit for that labour.
Do I need to be an accountant?
No. The training explains what information is needed, what belongs in each calculation and what must be removed. You will need access to accurate company records, and you may involve your bookkeeper, payroll provider or accountant when confirming inputs.
What records should I have available?
Bring your current P&L, approximately 12 months of operating expenses, payroll and employer-cost information, paid-time policies, productive or billable hours, and records for any task-specific expenses you want to calculate.
Will it work outside Canada?
The calculation method applies broadly, but payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, pensions, benefits and other employer costs vary by jurisdiction. The course includes regional reference examples, and you must confirm the current rates and rules that apply to your company.
Does every labour hour use all six layers?
No. Base wage, overhead burden and labour burden are the always-on foundation in the course model. Shift differential, task-specific burden and overtime premium apply only when the relevant condition occurs.
Is ProjectWatchPRO software required?
No. You can complete the Blueprint and quote worksheets independently. ProjectWatchPRO is the software platform built around the broader Profit Pulse System, but it is not required to use this training package.
Is this the complete Profit Pulse System?
No. This package teaches the three True Cost Foundation steps. The complete system continues into task planning, quoting, scheduling, live job visibility, profit-drift correction and continuous improvement.
Before the next quote becomes the next job
Give the Profit in Your Next Quote a Stronger Cost Foundation.
Calculate the three company-specific burden rates, assemble the complete six-layer labour cost, and carry the verified number into the quote before the price is accepted.
One-time purchase · Replace the checkout placeholder when the GHL order page is ready.