Construction Pro Forma Template

Once assumptions are set, review the Job Cost Model sheet and adjust the cost percentages for each project type to match your actual experience. This is the most important customization step — the default percentages are industry averages, but your actual material and labor costs depend heavily on your market, your crew structure, and how you use subcontractors. Verify that the gross margins in the Job Cost Model match what you actually see on your best and worst jobs before using the model for any financial presentation. Then review the Overhead & G&A sheet and enter your actual or projected overhead line items.

The two numbers that define construction financial health are gross margin per project (20–35% is typical for general contractors; specialty trades can run higher) and overhead as a percentage of revenue (healthy companies keep this at 10–18%). A contractor with a 28% gross margin and 15% overhead runs at 13% EBITDA — a solid business. A contractor with the same 28% gross margin but 22% overhead is barely breaking even. Overhead percentage almost always improves as revenue grows, because most overhead costs are fixed — the project manager, the office rent, the insurance premiums don't double when revenue doubles. This is the core scaling logic that makes a construction pro forma useful: it shows at what revenue level the business becomes meaningfully profitable.