Junk Removal Price Checkup: Free Break-Even & Target-Pay Calculator for Solo Haulers (Google Sheets + Excel)

Is your minimum load still profitable after dump fees and the drive?

The Junk Removal Price Checkup is a free one-tab spreadsheet. Type five numbers into the yellow cells (two more are optional, for card fees). The formulas show you:

- What your current minimum pays you per hour, counting load, dump run, and drive time — not just time at the curb.

- Your break-even price per job: covers costs and pays you $0. Below it, every job loses money.

- The price that covers your target pay: costs, card fees, and your full hourly wage, with $0 left for the business.

- Owner pay and business profit, shown separately.

- A plain verdict, colored red, amber, or green.

It opens with EXAMPLE numbers for a solo hauler’s minimum / small load: $2,400 a month in costs over 40 jobs, a $40/hr target, 2 hours all-in, a $175 current minimum (inside commonly published ~$150–$200 bands — OBSERVED FACT from operator pricing guides, not a promise), and 2.9% + $0.30 card fees. With those example inputs it shows about $54.81/hr, a $62.10 break-even, and $144.49 to cover target pay. These are illustrative numbers, not real customer data. Replace them with yours.

Every formula is visible. Formula cells are locked so a stray tap can’t break them; unlock with no password if you want.

Want the full math? The checkup checks one minimum job. The $19 Junk Removal Job Math Sheet (https://payhip.com/b/HoqAV) adds load tiers (¼ / ½ / full), surcharge columns, a trip/minimum builder with dump-fee input, a profit goal %, status flags, an Example tab, and a Quick-Start PDF.

Free to download. Payhip will ask for your email address to send the file.

What's included:

- Junk-Removal-Price-Checkup.xlsx: one tab, "Price Checkup", prefilled with EXAMPLE numbers.

- Junk-Removal-Price-Checkup-Quick-Start.pdf: a one-page 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 sign-up beyond Payhip's download email.

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes. $0. Payhip asks for your email address so it can deliver the file.

What's the difference between "break-even" and "the price that covers your target pay"?

Break-even covers your costs and pays you nothing. The target-pay price also pays your full hourly wage. A price between the two means the job covers its costs but pays you less than your target.

Is covering my target pay the same as profit?

No. At that price the business keeps $0 after paying you. The checkup shows owner pay and business profit as separate lines.

Can it price my whole menu or dump fees?

Not this one. It checks one minimum / small-load job. The $19 Junk Removal Job Math Sheet does load tiers and dump-fee math.

Is this financial or tax advice?

No. It's a spreadsheet that does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It doesn't promise any result.

Are the EXAMPLE numbers real?

No. They're illustrative only — not data from a real business.

Scheduling & invoicing tip: once your price is set, a simple ops tool helps jobs not slip — Jobber is optional (sponsored partner): https://go.getjobber.com/yr7g2b5vbfph

Support?

aaronc@theresponsiveway.com

- This is a free 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.)