The owner’s entire paid month is not a billable field calendar. This fictional suburban US handyman first reserves administration, then applies sold utilization to the remaining field hours. Its January 2027–December 2029 forecast includes economic owner compensation rather than treating administration or field work as free.
Keep the paid owner month intact and sell only the field time that remains. A small operating surplus is not the same as owner distributions or recovered van investment.
How much of the owner month is available for jobs?
The owner has 160, with 40 reserved before allocating 120 field hours. The administration allowance is removed once; deducting it again would understate capacity, while ignoring it would overstate sellable time.
The modeled sold share is 55%. After the opening ramp, April sells 66. Travel, quoting, callbacks and unfilled appointments consume the same owner calendar; there is no assistant or second crew.
| Task | Sold hours | Fee/hour | Earned fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home repairs | 19.8 | $110.00 | $2,178.00 |
| Assembly | 16.5 | $95.00 | $1,567.50 |
| Paint and patch | 9.9 | $105.00 | $1,039.50 |
| Caulk and seal | 9.9 | $100.00 | $990.00 |
| Maintenance | 9.9 | $100.00 | $990.00 |
What does the hourly fee cover?
The selected offer is minor home maintenance: repairs, assembly, paint/patch work, caulking and preventive maintenance. Customers buy major fixtures themselves; routine consumables are direct costs. Structural work, major remodeling and tasks outside the owner’s capability are outside this offer.
A fee must match the agreed task and access. A long appointment displaces another job, and travel cannot be added back as spare billable capacity. Log quoting and return visits before promising a daily job count from monthly hours.
Does the mature month pay the owner?
April revenue is $6,765.00, direct costs are $473.56 and operating expenses are $5,665.03. EBITDA is $626.41, after economic owner pay of $4,000.00.
The owner line has no employer allowance in this scenario; that is not a personal tax conclusion. Operating-year 2027 EBITDA is $1,685.51 but net income is -$4,621.19. Depreciation and the model tax provisions reduce the final result. Owner remuneration is already included; profit is not another salary.
What opening reserve supports the route?
Startup uses of $30,150.00 are supported by proposed equity of $50,000.00. Minimum forecast cash is $15,271.41. Materials are bought per job, with no planned stock, customer credit or supplier credit.
The existing home garage does not create a new commercial lease. Vehicle/tool allowances still need condition and suitability checks. Funding is uncommitted, and the initial investment remains unrecovered within the saved forecast despite later improvement.
What should the first paid route log capture?
Record the full owner day: administration, travel, accepted work, materials, cleanup, callbacks and payment. Compare sold field hours with the allowance rather than judging the business only by time spent at the customer’s home.
Collect real vehicle, tool and coverage quotes and verify the selected local scope. Adjust the service area, minimum accepted scope or fee when travel and returns displace too much work. Preserve owner compensation when rerunning a slower workload.
Make the next decision with your own evidence
Use complete paid owner-day logs to verify administration, travel and sold field hours before increasing the job calendar.
Explore published business plan examples ↗Alder Home Tasks is a fictional prelaunch scenario prepared with AI assistance. Inputs are illustrative; forecast results come from the matching saved financial model. 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.
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