Consumables & PPE Cost Calculator
Build up your typical per-job spend on tape, plastic, gloves, masks, and small consumables — get a per-job figure to bake into every quote.
Build Up Your Per-Job Consumables & PPE Spend
Every job burns through a handful of small items — tape, plastic, gloves, masks, fasteners, rags — that individually feel like pocket change but add up to real money across a year. List the items you typically consume on a job, set how many jobs each batch lasts (1 for items used up every job, more for items you reuse), and the calculator gives you a per-job figure to bake into your quotes, plus the yearly, daily, and per-area equivalents.
Your Business Volume
Per Job is the primary output — the other figures (Per Year / Per Day / Per Area) need your business volume to convert.
Your Consumables & PPE
Three columns, one formula: (Cost each × Qty) ÷ Lasts = $ / job. Cost each = price of one unit. Qty = how many units. Lasts = how many jobs that quantity covers.
- 3 rolls of tape used every job at $5 each → Cost
5· Qty3· Lasts1= $15 / job - 1 glove box at $30 that lasts 5 jobs → Cost
30· Qty1· Lasts5= $6 / job - 2 drop sheets at $10 reused over 4 jobs → Cost
10· Qty2· Lasts4= $5 / job
Enter your consumable costs above to see the per-job total.
Rule-of-thumb spreader, not an inventory tracker. The point is to stop absorbing small consumables into profit. Pair with the Equipment Depreciation Calculator for gear you keep, and the Fixed Cost Spreader Calculator for monthly bills.
How the Consumables & PPE Cost Calculator Works
- Set your business volume — working days per week, weeks worked per year, jobs per year, and typical area per job. These drive the alternative output views.
- Add a row for each consumable or PPE item — name it, enter the unit cost, the quantity you buy, and how many jobs that quantity lasts.
- For items used up every job (tape, fasteners), set Lasts = 1. For reusable items or bulk purchases that span multiple jobs (drop sheets, glove boxes, cleaning supplies), set Lasts to how many jobs the quantity covers.
- The calculator computes per-row cost as (unit cost × qty) ÷ lasts, then sums all rows into the per-job total.
- Read the headline: Per Job. That's the figure to enter into your "Consumables & PPE" overhead line on the Business Profile.
Examples
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the "Lasts (jobs)" column for?
It lets you handle items that span multiple jobs without doing weird fractional-quantity math. For tape and fasteners you use up every job, set Lasts = 1. For a box of gloves that lasts 5 jobs, set Qty = 1 and Lasts = 5 — the calc divides automatically and gives you the right per-job cost. For 2 drop sheets that last 4 jobs (you reuse them), set Qty = 2 and Lasts = 4. The formula is (unit cost × qty) ÷ lasts.
What counts as a consumable vs an equipment cost?
Consumables are anything you USE UP on a job — you can't reuse them. Tape rolls, plastic sheeting (after it gets messy), gloves, masks, rags, fasteners that go into the work. Equipment is what you keep — grinders, vacuums, drills, ladders. Equipment goes in the Equipment Depreciation Calculator; consumables go here.
Should I include PPE here or somewhere else?
Here is fine — gloves, dust masks, ear plugs, knee pads are all consumed over time. Bigger PPE (steel caps, hi-vis vests, hard hats) lasts longer and is more like equipment. Use your judgement: if it gets replaced every few jobs, it's consumable; if it lasts a year+, it's equipment.
What if my consumables vary a lot job-to-job?
Use a typical/average job. The point is to bake in a sensible per-job buffer, not match every job exactly. If you do very different jobs (a small repair vs a full install), build the calculator for your AVERAGE job and accept that big jobs will absorb a little more and small jobs a little less — it'll average out.
Why show "per area" if this is a per-job thing?
Because not everyone quotes in jobs. Coating contractors often quote in m²/ft²; some trades quote a day rate. The per-area and per-day figures let you pick whichever allocation fits how you price work — they're all describing the same underlying annual spend.
How accurate do the quantities need to be?
Order-of-magnitude is fine. If you use "a few rolls of tape" per job, enter 3. If you go through "a box of gloves a month," figure out your monthly job count and divide. The point is to stop forgetting these costs entirely — most contractors absorb consumables into profit without realising.
Should I add markup to consumables when I quote?
That's a pricing decision separate from this calc. Some contractors charge consumables as a flat per-job fee (with margin); others roll the actual cost into overhead and recover via their hourly/day rate. Either is fine — what matters is that the cost is recovered somewhere. This calculator gives you the cost; how you bill it is up to you.
Should I include site protection materials too?
Yes — drop sheets, poly sheeting, door covers, edge tape, dust barriers all belong here if they're used per job. If you protect a SPECIFIC area and the materials scale with area, you can also add a "per m²" or "per ft²" line by setting unit cost as $/m² and quantity as area-per-job.
Important Notes
- Per-row cost = (unit cost × qty) ÷ lasts. Set Lasts = 1 for items consumed every job; higher for items that span multiple jobs.
- Per-job total = sum of all rows. Per-year = per-job × jobs/year. Per-day = per-year ÷ working days. Per-area = per-year ÷ annual area covered.
- Default rows are universal contractor consumables — rename, adjust the Lasts column, or remove rows to match your trade.
- Site protection (poly, edge tape, door masking) belongs here when it's used per job.
- Pair with the Fixed Cost Spreader and Equipment Depreciation Calculator for full overhead coverage.