Route Density and Crew-Day Economics

Time and cost must describe the same crew-day

Service capacity = floor(max(0, paid hours per person × 60 − crew travel minutes − other paid minutes) / elapsed minutes per visit)
Time slack = paid hours per person × 60 − completed visits × elapsed minutes per visit − crew travel minutes − other paid minutes
Labor cost = people × paid hours per person × loaded cost per person-hour
Route contribution = completed visits × (revenue per visit − nonlabor direct cost per visit) − labor cost − miles × variable cost per mile − other daily route cost

This model assumes a single crew moves and serves together. Adding people raises labor cost; it does not automatically shorten a visit or create parallel crews. Enter the observed elapsed service time for that crew. Include paid setup, breaks, loading and other nonservice time in the other-minutes input without duplicating travel.

An original comparison

Both hypothetical scenarios have two people paid eight hours, 20 visits at $60, 15 elapsed service minutes per visit, $5 nonlabor cost per visit and $31.25 loaded person-hour cost. Scenario A has 90 travel minutes, 30 other minutes and 60 miles at $2 variable cost per mile. Its paid labor is $500, nonlabor cost $100 and vehicle cost $120; contribution is $480. Capacity is 24 visits and the 20-visit schedule leaves 60 minutes.

Scenario B has 150 travel minutes and 120 miles under the other same assumptions. Contribution is $360, capacity is 20 and slack is zero. The $120 daily difference becomes $24,000 over an entered 200 comparable days. All rates and volumes are illustrative. The scaling does not establish demand, feasible routing or annual earnings.

Read an infeasible plan as a warning

The worksheet still shows the entered planned contribution when the time budget fails, with a prominent infeasibility warning. It does not silently reduce visits or turn an impossible schedule into achievable revenue. Zero visits leave daily labor, travel and other entered costs in place and make cost per visit unavailable. Negative contribution remains visible; blank fields are not zero.

Cost boundaries and evidence

Use time logs, paid-hour records, job margins and vehicle costs from the same operating period. The loaded hourly cost must reflect the applicable wage, benefits and overtime assumptions; this tool does not calculate labor-law obligations. DOL's hours-worked guidance distinguishes workday job-to-job travel from ordinary commuting. Confirm the actual facts and applicable rules.

If vehicle cost per mile includes fuel, do not add fuel again. If the nonlabor visit cost contains a supervisor or subcontractor, exclude that same amount elsewhere. Keep allocated overhead separate from costs that actually disappear if a route closes. This is contribution before common costs not entered, not EBITDA or net cash. It excludes collection timing, debt, taxes, replacement capital, customer loss and route optimization. Use the acquisition cash schedule for those cash questions and the landscaping profile for contract and seasonal context.

Primary references

This numerical framework is explained in the companion guide. Contract, accounting and transfer conclusions require the actual evidence and appropriate review.