Gross Profit Calculator

Updated July 13, 2026 18:13

The Gross Profit Calculator in BOLD Front Office allows you to quickly calculate pay rates, bill rates, and profit margins for rate negotiations and financial planning. This standalone tool helps you determine optimal pricing without affecting live job data.

Note: This feature is only available for Back Office Integrated Customers

Chapters:

Accessing the Gross Profit Calculator

Navigate to Account & Settings on the header menu and click Gross Profit Calculator to launch the GP Calculator Tool.

Understanding the Calculator Interface

Note: When the GP Calculator is opened, the Users' Home Office is used to determine which taxes, rates, WC codes, and burden to display in the GP Calc. The Office dropdown display will only show Offices the User has access to. Tax and Burden Rates will change based on the Office selected.

The Gross Profit Calculator contains several key input fields and calculation options:

Tax and Burden Fields:

Federal Employer Taxes: Federal tax percentage
Other Employer Tax: The summed employer tax percentage for taxes other than FUTA, FICA, MEDICARE, and SUTA taxes
SUTA State: State unemployment tax (rate updates based on selected state)
WC Code: Select appropriate WC code for rate calculation
General Liability: General liability insurance percentage
Extra Burden: Any additional burden costs
Total Burden: Automatically calculated total of all burden costs. ((Federal Employer Taxes + Other Employer Taxes + SUTA + General Liability + Extra Burden + Worker Comp) * Pay Rate) / 100
Total Cost: Automatically calculated sum of pay rate plus total burden
Reset Calculator: Resets the calculator configuration to the default view and selections
Office Dropdown: Select available Offices with preconfigured Tax and Burden Rates

Rate & Gross Profit Fields:

Pay Rate: The hourly rate paid to the employee
Bill Rate: The hourly rate charged to the client
Markup: The multiplier used to calculate rates (Bill Rate ÷ Pay Rate)
Gross Profit (GP): Dollar amount of profit per hour
Gross Profit % (GP%): Percentage of profit relative to bill rate

Calculation Modes

Choose your calculation approach by selecting from the following options:

Calculate Pay Mode
- Select "Calculate Pay" when you know the bill rate and want to determine the pay rate.

Calculate Bill Mode
- Select "Calculate Bill" when you know the pay rate and want to determine the bill rate.

Step-by-Step Calculation Examples

Note: Calculated rates may differ based on which SUTA State and WC Code are selected.

Example 1: Calculate Pay Rate Using Markup

Select "Calculate Pay"
Make a SUTA State and WC Code selection
Enter your desired Bill Rate (e.g., $20.00)
Enter your target Markup (e.g., 1.50%)
The system automatically calculates:
- Pay Rate: $13.33 (Bill Rate ÷ Markup, rounded to 2 decimal places)
- Total Burden and Total Cost update based on Tax percentages
- Gross Profit amount based on Pay Rate and Burden costs
- Gross Profit % based on Gross Profit relative to the Bill Rate

Example 2: Calculate Bill Rate Using Gross Profit Percentage

Select "Calculate Bill"
Make a SUTA State and WC Code selection
Enter your Pay Rate (e.g., $15.00)
Enter your target GP% (e.g., 25%)
The system calculates the required Bill Rate to achieve your target profit percentage

Example 3: Calculate Pay Rate Using Target Gross Profit

Select "Calculate Pay"
Make a SUTA State and WC Code selection
Enter your Bill Rate (e.g., $22.00)
Enter your target Gross Profit dollar amount (e.g., $5.00)
The system calculates: Pay Rate = Bill Rate - GP - Total Burden

Working with Tax Rates and Burden Costs

Setting Up Tax Information

Federal Employer Taxes percentages
1. Percentage value is pulled from Admin Tools > Config Option > Site > Branch Setting

Note: This value is calculated from a combination of the Federal Tax, Med, and FUTA entries found in the Tax Rate section of Admin Tools

Other Employer Taxes percentages
1. Percentage value is pulled from Admin Tools > Employer > Tax > Tax Rate

Note: Percentage value displayed is a combination of any other configured Tax Rate for the SUTA State selected, that is not FUTA, FICA, MEDICARE, and SUTA found in the Tax Rate section of Admin Tools

Select your SUTA State from the dropdown - the system will automatically apply the appropriate state unemployment rate
1. Percentage value is pulled from Admin Tools > Employer > Tax > Tax Rate

Choose the appropriate WC Code from the list
1. The WC Code selection is populated from Admin Tools > Employer > WC Code

General Liability
1. This value pulled from Burden with the name "GeneralLiability" in Admin Tools

Extra Burden
1. This value is pulled from any other Burden Factor not named "GeneralLiability" in Admin Tools

Tips for Effective Use

Rate Negotiation Scenarios:

Use "Calculate Pay" mode when a client proposes a bill rate and you need to determine if the resulting pay rate works for your margins
Use "Calculate Bill" mode when you have a target pay rate and need to quote an appropriate bill rate to achieve your profit goals

Profit Planning:

Test different GP% targets to see how they impact your required bill rates
Adjust burden costs to see their effect on your overall profitability
Compare markup vs. GP% approaches to find the most competitive pricing structure

State and WC Code Changes:

Always verify SUTA rates when working with positions in different states
Select the most accurate Workers' Comp Code for precise burden calculations

Important Notes

The calculator operates independently and does not save data or connect to job orders
All monetary values display with 2 decimal places for precision
The system handles edge cases (like division by zero) automatically without errors
Use this tool for planning and negotiation - actual job setup still requires standard BOLD workflows