The Truck Roll Cost Calculator

Find out what a service call actually costs you — before you price the next one.

Truck Roll Cost Calculator Icon

Most contractors set their price against what the company down the road charges. Then they wonder why a full schedule doesn’t turn into a profitable month.

Put your real numbers in — truck, tech, fuel, overhead — and you’ll know exactly what you need to charge.

 

What it tells you

✓Your true cost per truck roll — truck, tech, fuel and overhead

✓Your break-even service fee

✓The price you need to charge to hit your profit goal

✓An editable Excel file — rerun it whenever your costs change

The short answer

What is a truck roll cost?

A truck roll cost is what it really costs your company to send a technician to one call: the tech's time on the job, office time to book and dispatch it, fuel, vehicle wear, insurance, marketing and overhead, plus card fees. This free calculator from The New Flat Rate, menu pricing software and training for home service contractors, adds those up so you can see whether your service fee actually covers the trip.

Frequently asked

Truck roll cost calculator FAQs

Q1

How do you calculate the cost of a truck roll?

Add the labor cost for the tech's hours on the call, the office labor to book and dispatch it, and the per-call share of fuel, vehicle, insurance, marketing, overhead and card fees. That total is your break-even cost for one call. The calculator does the math once you enter your own numbers.

Q2

What should my service call fee be?

At minimum, your service fee should cover your true truck roll cost so a call where the customer says no doesn't lose you money. To hit a target margin, divide your true cost by one minus that margin. The calculator shows both the break-even fee and the fee at your target margin.

Q3

Why does my truck roll cost more than I think?

Most contractors only count the tech's wage and fuel. The costs that get missed are office time, vehicle wear, insurance, marketing spend per call and card processing fees. Each looks small on its own, but together they can be a big share of every call.

Q4

Is the Truck Roll Cost Calculator free?

Yes. Fill out the form above and we'll send it straight to your inbox. There's no sales call.

Keep going: callbacks are the most expensive truck rolls of all. See how to cut them in our HVAC pricing guide.