Pricing & Cash Flow
The Profitable Pricing Blueprint: Job Costing, Margins & Cash Flow
Know your real numbers — cost per job, true overhead, break-even, and target margin — and price every job to hit them.
Who This Course Is For
Revenue is up. So why does the bank account never seem to catch up?
Owners whose revenue is growing but bank balance isn't, or who have no idea what any given job actually made.
This isn't a course about being bad with money. It's about a skill that was never actually taught: connecting what a job costs to what it needs to charge, and connecting what the business earns to what actually lands in your account. Plenty of sharp, capable owners have never had either explained to them in a way that stuck.
This is probably you if:
- ✓You can tell me your total revenue, but not what any single job actually made
- ✓Payroll, materials, and your own paycheck all come out of the same account with no real order
- ✓Tax season is a stressful surprise instead of something you planned for all year
- ✓You've never sat down with your own P&L and actually understood it
Why This Matters
"Growing" and "profitable" get treated like the same thing. They aren't.
Ask around and you'll find no shortage of trade business owners hunting for the same things: a way to actually understand contractor bookkeeping, a clearer read on their own numbers, some version of "am I even pricing this right." Most of what's out there is either generic small-business advice that ignores how a trade business actually gets paid — deposits, progress draws, material float, seasonal swings — or it's software marketing dressed up as education.
The real problem usually isn't a lack of revenue. It's that job costing never happened in the first place, so nobody can say with confidence what any given job actually earned after labor burden, materials, and a fair share of overhead were accounted for. Without that number, pricing is just a guess dressed up as a bid — and cash flow management becomes reactive instead of planned, which is exactly how a growing business ends up feeling like it's always one slow month from a real problem.
This course treats pricing and financial literacy as their own flagship skill, not a single bullet point buried under “operations” the way most generic business coaching treats it. Job costing, margin targets, and cash flow planning get the dedicated, plain-English treatment they actually need for a business that runs on materials, labor, and jobs that don't all get paid the same way.
It also connects straight back to the Technician → Manager → Owner shift. A technician prices jobs the way it's always been done, because that's what feels safe. A manager starts costing jobs out and setting real markup targets. An owner uses those numbers to decide, deliberately, how much of the business's profit gets reinvested versus paid out — instead of that decision just happening by accident at the end of a stressful month.
The Curriculum
Six modules. Your real numbers, in plain English.
From revenue-vs-profit to reading your own financial statements, each module builds toward one goal: knowing exactly what a job needs to earn, and pricing it to hit that number every time.
Revenue vs. profit: why busy doesn't mean profitable
"Busy" and "profitable" are not the same word, but most trade business owners were never shown the difference in a way that stuck. This module separates the two clearly, so a full schedule stops being mistaken for a healthy business.
Job costing 101: labor burden, materials, overhead allocation
Labor burden is more than the wage on the paycheck — payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance, and downtime all belong in the real cost of a job, along with materials and a fair share of overhead. You'll build a simple job-costing structure that captures all of it, not just the obvious parts.
Setting your markup and margin targets (and sticking to them)
Markup and margin are two different numbers that get confused constantly, and confusing them is one of the fastest ways to underprice a job without realizing it. This module sets clear targets for both, and covers what it takes to actually hold the line on them when a customer pushes back.
Cash flow management: paying yourself, payroll, and taxes without panic
Growing revenue with a shrinking bank account is one of the most common — and most confusing — problems in a trade business. This module covers paying yourself a real, consistent wage, setting aside payroll and tax obligations before they're due, and managing the lag between doing the work and getting paid for it.
Reading your own financials (P&L and cash flow, plain-English)
A profit-and-loss statement and a cash flow statement tell you two different things, and most owners have never had either explained in plain English. This module walks through both in language built for a business owner, not an accountant.
Pricing for growth: reinvestment vs. owner pay
As revenue grows, every dollar becomes a choice: reinvest in the business, or pay the owner. This module covers how to think through that tradeoff deliberately instead of by default — so growth doesn't quietly starve the owner's paycheck, or the other way around.
What You Walk Away With
Numbers you can actually use, not accounting theory
This course is built around practical, usable tools — a job-costing structure you can apply to your next job, a markup and margin worksheet, a simple cash flow planning approach, and a plain-English walkthrough of reading your own P&L — not lecture-style video with no way to put it into practice.
None of it requires switching accounting software or hiring a CFO. It's built to work with whatever bookkeeping system you're already using, so you leave with a clearer read on the numbers you already have.
Format & Delivery
Self-paced, so it fits your schedule and your books
The Profitable Pricing Blueprint is delivered online and built to work through at your own pace — no fixed weekly class time, no assumption you have hours of free time between jobs. Work through a module, apply it to your actual numbers, then move to the next one when you're ready.
This course is also one of the eight pillars inside the Accelerator, for owners who want live coaching and accountability on top of the curriculum itself.
Investment
Contact us for current pricing
Investment varies by course and program, so we don't publish a fixed number here. Reach out and we'll walk you through current pricing for the Profitable Pricing Blueprint on its own, or bundled into the Accelerator — including whether payment plans are available for your situation.
Call 844-967-5247Where This Fits
Pricing connects directly to how you sell and how you run the business
Knowing your real numbers only pays off once it shows up in your bids and in how the business runs day to day. These two courses are the natural next step.
Sales & Estimating
The Close Rate Blueprint
Walk away with a repeatable estimating and sales process instead of guessing on every bid.
Operations & Systems
SystemizeIt
Written SOPs and a scheduling/project system so your business doesn't fall apart when you step away.
See more in 7 Pricing Mistakes That Are Quietly Bankrupting Your Trade Business on the blog, or revisit the full Technician → Manager → Owner framework on the homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about the Profitable Pricing Blueprint
Do I go through the courses at my own pace, or is there a set schedule?
Individual courses are built to work through at your own pace. The Accelerator coaching program follows a structured cadence — contact us for current details.
Do you provide templates, worksheets, or tools — or is it just video lessons?
The courses are built around practical, usable tools — templates and worksheets you can put to work in your business, not just lecture-style video.
How much does it cost to enroll?
Investment varies by course and program. Contact us and we'll walk you through current pricing for the course or coaching track that fits your business.
Do you offer payment plans?
Reach out to discuss payment options available for your enrollment.
Ready to know your real numbers?
Call 844-967-5247, email josh@contractorschoiceagency.com, or fill out a short form and we'll follow up within 1 business day.