Compare duct and HVAC cleaning by the hours of the whole crew and by the included components. Fictional Clearpath Duct Care offers 147 available crew-hours per base month, while Airway Clear Services starts with 168. Both use two field workers, but neither calendar should be multiplied by two again.
Select one complete service scope and calendar before comparing collected contribution.
These are two operations with different calendar definitions
Clearpath Duct Care is a single-van duct-service case in a suburban US territory still to be selected. Routine preparation is already outside its available field pool. Its paid owner is the lead technician, working with a paid cleaning technician and limited administration. The fictional forecast covers January 2027 to December 2029.
Airway Clear Services is a broader mobile HVAC-cleaning case in an unselected mid-cost suburban territory. Its paid lead and technician form one crew, while fractional owner dispatch is support. Its scheduled field calendar starts before utilization. Neither case establishes a health outcome or a replacement/repair service.
Clearpath: preparation is already removed from available hours
Clearpath sells 80.85 base crew-hours at 55% utilization, producing $14,189.18. Home ducts, business ducts, dryer vents, standalone coil work and inspection allocate that sold time once. The forecast also has seasonal weights and requested growth.
Standalone component work is a separate allocation only when it is not already included in a duct-service bundle. The following quantities are financial averages; totals use unrounded allocations, so displayed rounded rows can differ slightly from the total.
The table is an independent base calculation from unrounded whole-crew-hour allocations. Hours are displayed to two decimals; multiply the underlying allocations before rounding revenue to the nearest cent. Saved monthly and annual forecast amounts retain the native model’s own results.
| Service | Base sold volume | Fee per crew-hour | Base revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home ducts | 40.43 crew-hour | $165.00 | $6,670.13 |
| Business ducts | 20.21 crew-hour | $190.00 | $3,840.38 |
| Dryer vents | 8.09 crew-hour | $200.00 | $1,617.00 |
| Coil cleaning | 8.09 crew-hour | $180.00 | $1,455.30 |
| Inspection | 4.04 crew-hour | $150.00 | $606.38 |
| Total selected mix | 80.85 crew-hour | $175.50 weighted | $14,189.18 |
Airway: more scheduled hours do not mean twice the workers
Airway sells 84 base whole-crew hours at 50% utilization, producing $17,178.00. Residential and commercial HVAC cleaning, coils, blowers and inspection share the same crew. The retained case has no requested-volume growth.
A coil or blower already inside a complete cleaning scope is not billed again as standalone work. Different included components, system access and purchase responsibilities mean the two weighted fees are not prices for an identical appointment.
| Service | Base sold volume | Fee per crew-hour | Base revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home HVAC | 42 crew-hour | $200.00 | $8,400.00 |
| Business HVAC | 21 crew-hour | $230.00 | $4,830.00 |
| Coils | 10.08 crew-hour | $180.00 | $1,814.40 |
| Blowers | 6.72 crew-hour | $180.00 | $1,209.60 |
| Inspection | 4.2 crew-hour | $220.00 | $924.00 |
| Total selected mix | 84 crew-hour | $204.50 weighted | $17,178.00 |
Compare paid roles, purchased inputs and cash separately
Clearpath's direct-cost ratio is 9%; Airway's is 8%. Goods holding applies only to each case's physical consumables share, not to outside disposal or specialist services. Both retain paid field wages and owner remuneration, with the owner delivering in Clearpath and dispatching in Airway.
Clearpath's opening-year EBITDA is -$28,313.05 and net income is -$38,738.05. Airway's opening-year EBITDA is -$6,129.28 and net income is -$18,587.59. EBITDA excludes depreciation, interest and income tax. Clearpath remains EBITDA-negative in the final year at -$4,887.82; Airway's final-year EBITDA is $2,502.51 but net income remains -$9,741.58.
Clearpath assumes $105,000.00 owner-only equity and has a forecast minimum cash reserve of $1,378.41. Airway assumes $109,575.21 owner-only equity with minimum cash of $31,043.34. Both proposals are uncommitted. Deposits/prepayments and unquoted specialist/system requirements remain excluded. These are separate forecasts, not a blended business.
Choose a scope and rebuild its actual calendar
Write the included accessible components, worker roles, preparation time and purchased inputs for the intended service. Use the matching calendar definition, then log whole-crew hours, travel, callbacks and accepted fees.
Do not transfer Airway's fee to Clearpath's available-hour assumption or use Clearpath's owner-delivery roster with Airway's separate owner dispatch cost. The useful comparison is whether each complete scope covers its own paid operation and cash timing.
Make the next decision with your own evidence
Choose the actual included components and owner role, measure preparation and whole-crew occupation, and obtain the matching goods/service and payment terms before comparing the two complete models.
Explore published business plan examples ↗Clearpath Duct Care and the separately identified comparison case are fictional prelaunch scenario prepared with AI assistance. Inputs are illustrative; forecast results come from the matching saved financial models. Funding is proposed. The diagrams explain the case and do not depict actual premises, established demand or promised earnings. Replace the assumptions with evidence before committing.
Read our methodology