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FREE TOOL

Contractor ad budget: how much spend do your jobs actually need?

Start with the number of jobs you want. The calculator works backward to the estimates, leads, and monthly ad spend it takes to get there.

By the BlueSmith team · Updated

At a glance

You enter
  • Signed jobs you want per month
  • Average project value
  • Leads that become booked estimates
  • Estimates you close
  • Cost per lead you expect
You get
  • Monthly ad budget
  • Leads needed per month
  • Booked estimates needed
  • Ad spend as share of that revenue
How the math works
  • Estimates needed
  • Leads needed
  • Monthly ad budget
  • Spend as a share of revenue
What it costs
Free. No signup, no email. Arithmetic on your own numbers, not a promise of results.
4
35%
30%

Monthly ad budget: $3,048

Monthly ad budget$3,048
Leads needed per month
38
Booked estimates needed
13
Ad spend as share of that revenue
3.0%

4 signed jobs at $25,000, 35% of leads booked, 30% closed, $80 per lead.

See what we’d build for these numbers

Starts with example numbers. Change them to yours. Arithmetic only, not a promise of results.

HOW IT WORKS

Three steps. Your numbers.

  1. 01

    Enter your numbers

    Enter the signed jobs you want per month and your average project value.

  2. 02

    Watch it recalculate

    Add your lead-to-estimate rate and your close rate.

  3. 03

    Use the answer

    Add the cost per lead you expect to pay.

How the math works

Estimates needed

Signed jobs wanted ÷ close rate. If you close one in four, you need four estimates for every job.

Leads needed

Estimates needed ÷ lead-to-estimate rate. Not every lead books, so you need more leads than estimates.

Monthly ad budget

Leads needed × expected cost per lead. This is ad spend only. Agency fees and setup are separate.

Spend as a share of revenue

Ad budget ÷ (signed jobs × average project value). Example: 4 jobs at $25,000, 25% close, 40% booking, $75 leads = $3,000 a month, or 3% of $100,000.

KEEP GOING

Use it with these.

STRAIGHT ANSWERS

Questions we hear.

Is this a promise of results?

No. It shows what your goal takes at the rates you enter. Real cost per lead and conversion rates move with your market, season, and offer.

What cost per lead should I enter?

Your own recent numbers if you have them. If you don’t, use the break-even calculator to see what you can afford, and treat that as a ceiling to test against.

Does this include agency fees?

No. It covers ad spend paid to the platform. Add any agency fee and setup on top when you plan your total budget.

Why does close rate move the budget so much?

It sits at the top of the chain. A lower close rate means more estimates, which means more leads, which means more spend for the same jobs.

Numbers are the start. Let’s build the system.

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