Marketing budget planner for contractors

Put in the new jobs you want each month, what a job is worth, your close rate and the leads you already get for free. See how many leads you need to buy, the monthly budget, and what share of the new work it takes.

From jobsNot a rule of thumb

Owned vs paidCounts free leads first

FreeNo email, no sign-up

Monthly marketing budget for 20 new jobs

$2,229

$111 per job, 15.9% of the new work it brings in

58Leads needed

33Paid leads to buy

$6,300Profit on those jobs before marketing

How we got this

Leads needed20 jobs ÷ 35% close rate = 57.1 leads
Leads you already get25 a month without a per-lead fee
Leads to buy57.1 − 25 = 32.1
Paid lead budget32.1 × $60 = $1,929
Total budget$1,929 + $300 fixed = $2,229
Against the new work$2,229 ÷ $14,000 in new jobs = 15.9%A share of sales, worked out from your own numbers rather than a rule of thumb.
Against the profit$6,300 − $2,229 = $4,071 left from the new jobs

Owned leads a month	Paid leads to buy	Monthly budget	Share of new sales	Marketing per job
25 (today)	32.1	$2,229	15.9%	$111
35 (10 more)	22.1	$1,629	11.6%	$81
50 (25 more)	7.1	$729	5.2%	$36
75 (50 more)	0	$300	2.1%	$15

Sources: Local Services Help: How leads work; Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google; Koira: pricing. Checked 2026-10-09.

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Key takeaways

Budget from the jobs you want: leads needed = jobs ÷ close rate. Then subtract the leads you already get without paying per lead.
Every lead you own is one you do not have to buy. Growing owned leads shrinks the budget faster than a cheaper lead price.
Check the result against profit, not sales. A budget can be a small share of sales and still eat the profit on the jobs it buys.

Why a percentage of sales is the wrong place to start

The most common advice is to spend some fixed percentage of revenue on marketing. The trouble is that the right number depends on things the rule ignores: your close rate, how many leads you already get from reviews and past customers, and what a lead costs in your trade and town. Two contractors with the same revenue can need wildly different budgets.

This planner starts from the other end. You decide how many new jobs you want, it works out the leads that takes, subtracts the ones you already get, and prices the rest at what your paid leads really cost. The percentage of sales comes out at the end, as a check, not as a target.

How the planner works

Leads needed = new jobs wanted ÷ close rate
Leads to buy = leads needed minus the leads you already get without a per-lead fee
Paid budget = leads to buy × what a paid lead costs you
Total budget = paid budget + fixed monthly marketing (site, software, postcards, listings)
Share of new sales = total budget ÷ (new jobs × average job)

With the starting numbers, an example only: 20 new jobs a month, a $700 average job, a 45% margin, a 35% close rate, 25 leads a month you already get, $60 a paid lead and $300 a month of fixed marketing.

Step	Math	Result
Leads needed	20 ÷ 35%	57.1
Leads to buy	57.1 − 25	32.1
Paid budget	32.1 × $60	$1,929
Total budget	$1,929 + $300	$2,229
Share of new sales	$2,229 ÷ $14,000	15.9%
Profit left from the new jobs	$6,300 − $2,229	$4,071

Where to find each input

Close rate: last month's booked jobs ÷ leads you talked to. If you do not track it, count the last 20 leads and how many booked.
Leads you already get: calls, texts and form fills that came from past customers, referrals, your Google profile, your site and neighbors, with no per-lead fee.
Cost of a paid lead: from your own bills. Google says lead prices vary with your location, the job type, the type of lead and your bidding mode. It does not publish a price list. Use the cost per lead calculator to check what a booked job really costs from that source.
Fixed costs: website, software, listings, postcards and anything else you pay monthly whether or not leads come in.

Grow the leads you own, and the budget shrinks

The table under the result shows what happens as owned leads grow. With the starting numbers, 10 more owned leads a month cut about $600 from the paid budget, and 25 more cut about $1,500. That is the case for spending some of the budget on things that keep working: reviews after every job, a site with booking and a price, cards to the neighbors of each job and reminders to past customers.

Google says prominence is based partly on how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. So the free side of Google is earned, not bought, and it compounds.

Seasonal trades

If your work swings with the seasons, run the planner twice: once for your busy months and once for the quiet ones. Busy months often need little paid spend because the phone rings anyway; the job then is answering every call. Quiet months are where paid leads and campaigns to past customers earn their keep. Plan the quiet months' budget during the busy ones, when cash is easier.

Where Koira fits in the budget

Koira is a fixed cost in this plan, not a lead cost. Koira Grow is $249 a month plus usage at cost: texts, call minutes and emails with nothing added. Koira Front Office is $499 a month flat, with usage included. It works on the owned side: a site with Book online and Get a price, review asks after every paid job, neighbor postcards priced per card, and campaigns to past customers. See pricing and marketing ideas by trade.

Last checked October 9, 2026.

FAQ

How much should a contractor spend on marketing?

Work back from the jobs you want: divide by your close rate to get leads needed, subtract the leads you already get, and price the rest at what your paid leads cost. The planner does that math.

What percentage of revenue should go to marketing?

There is no single right percentage. The planner shows your budget as a share of new sales as a check, worked out from your own numbers rather than a rule of thumb.

How do I lower my marketing budget without losing jobs?

Raise your close rate and grow the leads you own: reviews, referrals, past customers and your site. Each owned lead is one you do not have to buy.

Should a new contracting business spend more on marketing?

Often, because it has few owned leads yet. Set owned leads low in the planner and expect the paid share to fall as reviews and repeat customers build.

Is a website a marketing cost?

Yes, put it in fixed monthly marketing along with software, listings and postcards.

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