# Gross Profit per Truck Calculator

Gross profit per truck is the gross profit (revenue minus materials, field labor and other direct job costs) divided by the number of revenue-producing trucks. Divide again by working days for a daily number. A 5-truck shop with $93,000 of monthly gross profit makes $18,600 per truck, or $886 per truck per day.

## Key takeaways

- Gross profit per truck = (revenue − direct job costs) ÷ revenue-producing trucks.
- Per truck per day is the number to manage: it shows on today's schedule, not next quarter's P&L.
- Compare it to overhead per truck per day. The gap is what each truck really earns.
- Add a truck only when the new one can cover its own added cost and its share of overhead.

## What is gross profit per truck?

Gross profit per truck measures how much money each service truck or crew brings in after paying for the parts, materials and labor on its jobs. Service companies use it because the truck is the unit of capacity: every truck on the road carries a tech's wages, a vehicle payment, insurance and stock, so each one has to earn its keep.

**Formula**

```
GP per truck per day = (R − M − L − D) ÷ T ÷ W
```

Where:
- R = revenue for the period
- M = materials and parts
- L = burdened field labor
- D = other direct costs: subs, permits, equipment rental
- T = revenue-producing trucks or crews
- W = working days in the period

## How to calculate gross profit per truck

1. **Pick a period and pull revenue.** A month is easiest. Use revenue from completed jobs, not deposits on future work.
2. **Subtract direct job costs.** Materials, parts, burdened field labor, subs and permits: your cost of goods sold. What's left is [gross margin](https://www.brix.so/learn/gross-margin) in dollars.
3. **Count only trucks that make money.** Service vans and crew trucks that run jobs. Leave out the owner's truck, the sales or estimator vehicle, and a spare.
4. **Divide by trucks, then by working days.** Gross profit ÷ trucks = per truck per month. Divide by working days for per truck per day.
5. **Compare to overhead per truck per day.** Monthly overhead ÷ trucks ÷ working days is the daily gross profit each truck needs just to break even.

> **Worked example: five-truck service shop**
>
> Revenue $210,000. Materials $46,000, burdened field labor $63,000, other direct $8,000: direct cost $117,000. **Gross profit $93,000**, a 44.3% gross margin.
>
> Per truck: $93,000 ÷ 5 = **$18,600 a month**, $223,200 a year. Over 21 working days, **$886 per truck per day**.
>
> Overhead is $60,000 a month, $12,000 per truck, so each truck needs $571 of gross profit a day to break even. Each one clears about $6,600 a month; the shop nets $33,000.
>
> A sixth truck that adds about $4,000 a month in payment, insurance, tools and stock (an example figure) has to make $190 of gross profit a day before it adds a dollar, and more if it means another office hire.

## Gross profit per truck by trade

Route trades make money on volume; repair trades make it on ticket size. The examples below are illustrative truck-days, not benchmarks. Plug in your own stops, ticket and margin.

**Illustrative gross profit per truck per day**

| Trade | Work | Stops per day | Avg ticket | Gross margin | GP per truck per day | GP per year (250 days) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HVAC service | Repair and maintenance calls | 3 | $520 | 55% | $858 | $214,500 |
| Plumbing service | Repair and drain calls | 4 | $450 | 55% | $990 | $247,500 |
| Electrical service | Residential service calls | 3 | $600 | 50% | $900 | $225,000 |
| Garage door | Spring, opener and repair calls | 4 | $380 | 60% | $912 | $228,000 |
| Pest control | Recurring route stops | 10 | $120 | 60% | $720 | $180,000 |
| Lawn care | Mowing route stops, 2-person crew | 14 | $60 | 45% | $378 | $94,500 |

_Example inputs only. Gross profit per day = stops × average ticket × gross margin._

## How to raise gross profit per truck

- **Fill the schedule.** An empty slot is pure lost gross profit; the truck, tech and insurance cost the same. Answer every call and follow up every estimate.
- **Cut drive time.** Tighter routing and zoning put more paid stops in a day. See [route optimization](https://www.brix.so/learn/route-optimization).
- **Raise the ticket.** Present options, sell maintenance plans, and fix it right the first time. See [first-time fix rate](https://www.brix.so/learn/first-time-fix-rate).
- **Stock the truck right.** Supply-house runs eat hours you can't bill. See [truck stock](https://www.brix.so/learn/truck-stock).
- **Price for your real costs.** If gross margin is thin, the [job pricing calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/job-pricing-calculator) shows what the price needs to be.

## Common mistakes

- **Counting every vehicle.** The owner's pickup doesn't produce revenue. Including it makes every truck look worse.
- **Using revenue per truck instead of gross profit.** A truck selling $50,000 of equipment at a thin margin can earn less than one doing $30,000 of repairs.
- **Ignoring the season.** Look at slow months too. A truck that only works in July still costs money in March.
- **Mixing truck costs.** Put vehicle costs in overhead or in job costs, not both. Be consistent so months compare.

Track the underlying driver with the [technician utilization calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/technician-utilization-calculator), and check the whole business with the [break-even calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/break-even-calculator).

BRIX answers every call and books it onto the schedule, assigns the right tech based on skills and location, and syncs jobs and invoices to QuickBooks so gross profit per truck comes from real numbers.

- [AI receptionist](https://www.brix.so/features/ai-receptionist): Answers every call 24/7, qualifies the caller, books the job and texts back anyone it misses.
- [Scheduling and dispatch](https://www.brix.so/features/scheduling-dispatch): Assigns the right crew to the right job based on skills, location and availability.
- [QuickBooks sync](https://www.brix.so/integrations/quickbooks): Syncs customers, invoices and payments with QuickBooks so the books match the jobs.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do you calculate gross profit per truck?

Subtract direct job costs (materials, burdened field labor, subs, permits) from revenue to get gross profit. Divide by the number of revenue-producing trucks for a monthly figure, then by working days for a daily figure.

### What is a good gross profit per truck?

Good means it comfortably beats your overhead per truck. Divide monthly overhead by trucks and working days to get the daily break-even; every truck needs to clear it with room for profit. Compare trucks to each other and to your own history rather than a national number.

### Should I use gross profit or revenue per truck?

Gross profit. Revenue per truck rewards selling expensive equipment at thin margins. Gross profit per truck shows what's actually left to pay overhead and profit.

### When should I add another truck?

When your current trucks are booked out, you're turning down or delaying work, and the added truck's cost plus any extra overhead is covered by the gross profit it can realistically make in its first months. Run the numbers at half-full before you buy.

### Is gross profit per truck the same as gross profit per tech?

They match when each truck has one tech. For crews, divide by crews (trucks) for capacity planning and by people to judge labor productivity. Pick one and track it the same way every month.

## Related

- [What Is Gross Margin?](https://www.brix.so/learn/gross-margin)
- [What Is Gross Profit per Hour?](https://www.brix.so/learn/gross-profit-per-hour)
- [What Is Route Optimization?](https://www.brix.so/learn/route-optimization)
- [What Is Truck Stock?](https://www.brix.so/learn/truck-stock)
- [Technician Utilization Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/technician-utilization-calculator)
- [Break-Even Calculator for Service Businesses](https://www.brix.so/tools/break-even-calculator)
- [Overhead Rate Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/overhead-rate-calculator)
- [Scheduling and Dispatch Software That Puts the Right Crew on Every Job](https://www.brix.so/features/scheduling-dispatch)
- [Maintenance Agreement Pricing Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/maintenance-agreement-calculator)
- [Markup and Margin Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/markup-margin-calculator)

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Written by BRIX Editorial Team. Last updated 2026-10-12.
Canonical: https://www.brix.so/tools/gross-profit-per-truck-calculator