What is included in payroll burden percentage?

Payroll burden covers employer-paid taxes, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, paid time off, and other costs beyond base wages. For cleaning operations it typically runs 18-28% of gross wages depending on your state and benefit package. Enter your actual loaded labor rate to get an accurate comparison.

When does a day porter cost less than night crew?

Day porters cost less when their shorter shifts or lower hourly rate offset the night crew's longer coverage window. More often the day porter costs more but delivers real-time response to spills, restocking during business hours, and visible customer service that a night crew cannot provide. The delta tells you what that daytime presence costs.

Should I add a night shift differential for the night crew wage?

If your market or contract requires premium pay for overnight hours, enter that percentage in the night shift differential field. Common differentials run 5-15% above the day rate. If your night crew wage already includes the premium, leave the differential at zero to avoid double-counting.

Day Porter vs Night Crew ROI

Presence is a product — and it has a monthly price.

Inputs

Day porter wage ($/hr)

Day porter hours/day

Day porters on shift

Night crew wage ($/hr)

Night crew hours/day

Payroll burden (%)

Night shift differential (%)

Days per month

Compare the monthly labor cost of staffing day porters against a night cleaning crew. Enter your hourly wages, shift lengths, and payroll burden to see which deployment costs less or whether daytime visibility justifies the premium.

Instruction

Enter the day porter wage per hour, hours per day, and number of porters on shift.
Set the night crew wage per hour and hours per day, plus any night shift differential.
Read the monthly cost for each model and the delta showing which option costs less.

Worked example

One day porter at $19/hr × 8 hrs/day vs night crew at $17.71/hr × 6 hrs, both with 22% burden over 22 working days.

Day porter ~$4,080/mo vs night crew ~$2,780/mo — about a $1,300 monthly premium for daytime presence (break-even near 5.5 day-porter hours).

Questions operators ask

What is included in payroll burden percentage?: Payroll burden covers employer-paid taxes, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, paid time off, and other costs beyond base wages. For cleaning operations it typically runs 18-28% of gross wages depending on your state and benefit package. Enter your actual loaded labor rate to get an accurate comparison.
When does a day porter cost less than night crew?: Day porters cost less when their shorter shifts or lower hourly rate offset the night crew's longer coverage window. More often the day porter costs more but delivers real-time response to spills, restocking during business hours, and visible customer service that a night crew cannot provide. The delta tells you what that daytime presence costs.
Should I add a night shift differential for the night crew wage?: If your market or contract requires premium pay for overnight hours, enter that percentage in the night shift differential field. Common differentials run 5-15% above the day rate. If your night crew wage already includes the premium, leave the differential at zero to avoid double-counting.