Home Inspection Business Profit Calculator — Fee, Profit per Hour, Hire an Associate

1. The standard inspection and its fee

Standard inspections booked per week

Average home size (sq ft)

Base fee, up to the threshold ($)

Threshold size (sq ft)

Added fee per sq ft above the threshold ($)

Standard inspection on-site hours

Standard inspection report-writing hours

Standard inspection direct cost ($ each)

2. Add-ons and re-inspections

Sewer scope add-ons per week

Sewer scope fee ($)

Sewer scope extra hours

Sewer scope direct cost ($ each)

Radon tests per week

Radon test fee ($)

Radon test extra hours

Radon lab and canister cost ($ each)

WDO or mold add-ons per week

WDO or mold fee ($)

WDO or mold extra hours

WDO or mold lab cost ($ each)

Re-inspections per week

Re-inspection fee ($)

Re-inspection on-site and report hours

Re-inspection direct cost ($ each)

3. Driving, mileage and fall-through

Drive hours per trip (round trip)

Average round-trip miles per trip

Vehicle cost per mile ($)

Bookings that fall through (% of booked trips)

Share of a fallen-through slot's hours you cannot refill (%)

4. Fixed cost, marketing and your time

E&O and liability insurance ($ per month)

Report software and scheduling ($ per month)

Other fixed cost: license, dues, CE, phone ($ per month)

Equipment: ladder, camera, moisture meter, radon monitor ($)

Years you will use the equipment

Agent marketing and referral cost (% of fees)

What your own hour should pay you ($)

Hours you work per week

Target margin on each fee (%)

5. Solo or hire an associate

Extra standard inspections an associate would take per week

Associate pay per completed standard inspection ($)

Associate share of add-on and re-inspection fees (%)

Your report-review hours per associate inspection

Associate fixed cost: E&O seat, software seat ($ per month)

Enter your numbers or load the example, then click Work out the business.

Result

Each inspection type

Type	Fee	Hours	All-in cost	Profit each	Margin	Per hour before your pay	Fee for target

Hiring an associate: extra inspections booked per week

Extra booked	Completed	Associate pay per week	Your review hours	Added per week	Your week after your pay

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

A standard inspection's fee is the base fee plus the per-square-foot rate on the area above the threshold. Add-ons (sewer scope, radon, WDO or mold) ride on a standard inspection's trip, so they add hours and direct cost but no drive, mileage or share of fixed cost. A re-inspection is its own trip.
A booking that falls through earns nothing. You tell the calculator what share of its hours you cannot refill; those hours are spread over the inspections that do happen and are counted in your hours and in the cost of each one.
Each trip costs your loaded hours at the hourly figure you type, mileage, direct cost, the referral share of its fee and its share of the weekly fixed cost: insurance, software, other dues and equipment spread over the years you will keep it.
Per hour before your pay is the fee less referral, mileage, direct cost and fixed share, over the hours the job takes including lost hours. Profit each is what is left after paying your hours too.
An associate is paid a flat amount per completed standard inspection plus a share of the add-on and re-inspection fees at your current mix, supplies their own vehicle, and every report is reviewed by you. The comparison assumes the extra bookings really exist, with your add-on mix and fall-through rate.
Not modelled: income tax, sales tax, card fees, vehicle purchase and depreciation beyond the per-mile figure, associate licensing and worker-classification rules, liability claims, seasonal swings, the time to find and train an associate, and any pay to you beyond the hourly figure.

Common questions

How much should a home inspector charge for an inspection?

Add your on-site, report-writing and drive hours at what your time is worth to the mileage, the direct cost of the job, the referral or agent-marketing share of the fee and the job's share of insurance, software and equipment, then divide by one minus the margin you want. Type your own hours and costs and read the fee off for each inspection type.

Which add-on pays best per hour: sewer scope, radon or mold and WDO?

Each add-on's fee less its lab or equipment cost and its referral share, divided by the extra hours it takes. Add-ons ride on a trip you are already making, so they carry no drive and no extra share of fixed cost, which is why they usually beat the standard inspection per hour. The calculator prints the figure for each so you can compare them with the standard inspection.

How many inspections a month does a home inspector need to break even?

The weekly fixed cost (E&O insurance, report software, other dues and the equipment spread over the years you will keep it) divided by what each completed trip leaves after mileage, direct cost, referral cost and, for the stricter figure, your own pay. The result is shown as completed trips per week and the number you would have to book per month at your fall-through rate.

What does a deal that falls through cost?

Agent-driven deals fall through after you have booked the slot. A fallen-through booking earns no fee, and you cannot refill all of its hours. The calculator takes the share of hours you tell it you lose and spreads them over the inspections that do happen, then prints the fees lost per week and per year.

Is it worth hiring an associate inspector paid per inspection?

It depends on whether the extra inspections exist and on what is left after the associate's pay, your own review time on each report, referral cost and the associate's fixed cost. The calculator prints what each completed associate inspection leaves, what the extra volume adds to your week, the extra bookings at which the associate breaks even, and the most you could pay per inspection and still hold your target margin. It assumes the extra bookings are real and mirror your add-on mix.

What does this leave out?

Income tax, sales tax, card fees, vehicle purchase and depreciation beyond the per-mile figure, licensing and state requirements for associates, worker classification, liability claims, seasonal swings, the time to find and train an associate, and any pay to you beyond the hourly figure. It is a planning aid, not an estimate of record.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, which you choose whether to send.