Junk Removal Job Math Sheet: Pricing, Break-Even & Minimum-Load Template (Google Sheets + Excel)

A minimum load can look fine on the invoice and still pay less per hour than you think once dump fees, the drive, card fees, and monthly costs are counted.

The Junk Removal Job Math Sheet does that math for every tier and surcharge on your menu. You type your own numbers into the yellow cells. The formulas do the rest.

For each service it shows:

- Real hourly rate: what the job pays per hour of your time, before and after a tax set-aside.

- Owner compensation and business profit, kept separate: your wage at your target pay, and what the business keeps after paying you.

- Cost floor: the price that only covers costs (including dump fees) and pays you $0.

- Break-even price: the lowest price that pays your full target hourly, with $0 left for the business.

- Suggested price: target pay plus your profit goal, rounded up.

- Suggested trip / minimum fee: what the drive costs you, if you bill it as its own line, plus optional distance bands.

- A status flag: LOSES MONEY, BELOW TARGET PAY, BELOW PROFIT GOAL, or ON TARGET.

Example tab (illustrative). The sample tab is filled with EXAMPLE numbers for a solo hauler: a $175 ¼-truck / minimum (1.0 hour load, 0.5 dump run, 0.5 drive, 18 miles, $35 dump fee) inside the commonly published ~$150–$200 minimum band (OBSERVED FACT from operator pricing guides, not a promise), plus ½ truck, full truck, and stairs / Freon / mattress surcharge columns; $1,600 a month in fixed costs over 40 jobs, 2.9% + $0.30 card fees, $0.55 a mile, and a $40/hr target. With those inputs the ¼-truck column shows about $42.36/hr, a $170.13 break-even, a $190 suggested price and a $31 trip fee (STATUS: BELOW PROFIT GOAL). These are example numbers for illustration, not real customer data. Your results depend on what you enter.

Every formula is visible. Formula cells are locked so a stray tap can't break them, and you can unlock them (no password) if you want to change something.

What's included:

- Junk-Removal-Job-Math-Sheet.xlsx, with 3 tabs:

- Start Here: short instructions and definitions.

- Example: filled in with an example menu (6 columns: ¼ / ½ / full truck + stairs, Freon, mattress).

- My Numbers: blank prices, up to 6 columns with name hints, and 4 trip-fee distance bands.

- Junk-Removal-Job-Math-Sheet-Quick-Start.pdf: a one-page quick-start guide with the worked example and the formulas.

Works in Google Sheets (upload to Drive, then File > Save as Google Sheets) and Microsoft Excel. No macros, add-ons or subscription.

FAQ

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive, open it, and choose File > Save as Google Sheets. It also opens directly in Excel.

Do I need to know spreadsheets?

No. Type only in the yellow cells. The grey and blue cells are formulas.

Can I add more services?

The blank tab has 6 columns. For more, unprotect the tab (no password) and copy a column to the right.

Is dump fee per job or monthly?

Per job (or per load). Enter it in the yellow dump-fee row for each column. Monthly fixed costs are truck, insurance, ads and wear — not landfill tickets.

Why do surcharge columns sometimes show LOSES MONEY?

Each column still carries a full fixed-cost share when priced alone. When a surcharge rides on top of a load job, that share is already covered by the load tier.

Is this financial or tax advice?

No. It's a spreadsheet template that does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. The tax set-aside % is a savings rule of thumb, not a tax calculation. Talk to a qualified professional about your own situation.

Will this increase my income?

The sheet doesn't promise any result. It shows what your current prices pay you, based on your inputs. What you charge is your decision.

Are the example numbers real?

No. They're illustrative numbers for a solo hauler’s menu, not data from a real business.

How do I get support?

aaronc@theresponsiveway.com

- This is a spreadsheet template for estimates, not financial, tax, or legal advice.

- All example numbers are illustrative, not real customer data.

- AI assistance: AI tools helped draft the spreadsheet, the guide, this listing, and the product images. The formulas were checked with a LibreOffice recalculation against independent calculations.

(This is my own product.)