Pick the trade's piece unit, enter total quantity and the agreed rate per unit. Add crew size and estimated completion time (in days or hours). Compare the effective hourly yield against local wages if it lands far below market, expect quality or retention problems.
Total sub payout
$3,600.00
Bill of materials+0% waste
Total subcontract payout
Turnkey piecework contract
Net 200 sheets × $18.00 · Waste —
Effective hourly yield
per worker
Net 4 workers · 40 hrs · Waste —
Production velocity
units installed per man-hour
Net 200 sheets · Waste —
Cost projection
Saved on this device · No account · No cloud
≈ $22.50/hr per worker
$3,600.00 payout
Total payout = quantity × piece rate: the exact check you'll write the subcontractor.
Pick the trade's piece unit, enter total quantity and the agreed rate per unit. Add crew size and estimated completion time (in days or hours). Compare the effective hourly yield against local wages if it lands far below market, expect quality or retention problems.
Effective hourly yield = payout ÷ man-hours: what each installer really earns compare against local wages.
Production velocity (units per man-hour) becomes your benchmark for bidding the next job of the same type.
$/hr effective = (qty × rate) ÷ man-hours
Effective $/hr = (quantity x piece rate) / man-hours. The calculator outputs this per worker so you can compare it against local hourly wages for the trade.
It should meet or beat the local hourly wage - piece work usually pays a 10-20% premium since the crew absorbs downtime risk. If the math shows $18/hr effective in a $28/hr market, the rate is too low or the time estimate too generous.
Velocity (units per man-hour) is your bidding benchmark. Record it per crew and trade, then divide the next job's quantity by velocity to estimate man-hours and sanity-check any sub's proposed schedule.
This calculator assumes labor-only piece rates. If your sub supplies materials - common in roofing and flooring - add a separate material line from the relevant calculator and keep the piece rate labor-only for clean comparisons.
Expect quality or retention problems - good installers won't stay at below-market pay. Raise the piece rate, tighten the time estimate, or rebid the work before the crew walks.
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