Mobile Dog Grooming Job Math Sheet: Pricing, Break-Even & Travel-Fee Template (Google Sheets + Excel)

A groom takes longer than the time the dog is on the table. Van setup, sanitizing, and the drive to the next stop all use your day, and the van payment and generator fuel come out of every groom.

The Mobile Dog Grooming Job Math Sheet does that math for every service 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 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 travel fee: what the drive costs you, if you bill it as its own line, plus 4 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 mobile groomer's menu: small, medium and large full grooms, a bath & tidy, a nail trim and a de-matting add-on; $2,400 a month in fixed costs over 90 jobs, 2.9% + $0.30 card fees, $0.60 a mile, and a $40/hr target. With those inputs the Small dog full groom column at $110 shows about $37.21/hr, a $115.31 break-even, a $130 suggested price and a $21 travel fee (STATUS: BELOW TARGET PAY). The $110 / $130 / $160 small, medium and large full-groom prices sit near published 2026 mobile-groomer starting prices (median about $120 small, $140 medium and $165 large in a 2026 survey of posted mobile groomer prices), not a promise. 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

• Mobile-Dog-Grooming-Job-Math-Sheet.xlsx, with 3 tabs:

  ◦ Start Here: short instructions and definitions.

  ◦ Example: filled in with an example menu (6 columns: Small dog full groom, Medium dog full groom, Large dog full groom, Bath & tidy (medium), Nail trim add-on, De-matting (per 15 min)).

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

• Mobile-Dog-Grooming-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.

Who it's for

• Solo mobile dog groomers working from a van or trailer who set their own prices.

• Owners who want to check whether a groom by dog size, a bath, an add-on or a travel fee covers their time and costs.

• Not built for payroll, scheduling, inventory, bookkeeping or customer quotes/invoices.

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.

How do I enter drive time on a route day?

Enter your drive SHARE per stop (e.g. 0.35 hours), not your whole day's driving. Use 0 for add-ons and a second dog at the same house.

Why do add-on columns sometimes show LOSES MONEY?

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

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, not data from a real business.

How do I get support?

Use the "Contact" link on our Payhip store page and we will reply within one business day.

• 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.