Fully Burdened Rate
The number that belongs in every BSC bid model's labor cost cell is not the hourly wage on the offer letter. It is the fully burdened rate: the gross wage multiplied by one plus the aggregate burden rate, yielding the true all-in hourly employment cost that must be recovered from each contracted labor hour. At the BLS May 2024 national median wage for Janitors and Cleaners (SOC 37-2011, NAICS 561720) of $17.27/hour and a 28% aggregate burden rate, the fully burdened rate is $22.11/hour. A BSC who prices a 10,000-hour-per-year account at $17.27/hour instead of $22.11/hour loses $48,400 per year on that account before overhead and profit are even considered. Multiplied across a 50-account portfolio, using base wage instead of burdened rate in bid pricing is an existential financial error.
Why it matters for building service contractors
The fully burdened rate has two primary applications in BSC operations: forward (bid pricing) and backward (break-even analysis and account profitability auditing).
Forward application — bid pricing:
Annual direct labor cost = Fully burdened rate × Annual projected hours
Minimum bid price (at target GM) = Annual direct labor cost ÷ (1 − target gross margin)
Example: A 15,000-hour-per-year account, fully burdened rate $22.50/hour, target gross margin 35%:
Direct labor = $22.50 × 15,000 = $337,500
Minimum bid = $337,500 ÷ (1 − 0.35) = $519,231/year = $43,269/month
This formula assumes labor is the only direct cost; add direct chemical cost, equipment costs, and any direct subcontracting before applying the margin divisor if those costs are material.
Backward application — profitability audit: Divide actual monthly direct labor cost by actual hours worked to verify that the average burdened rate being realized matches the rate used in pricing. A BSC who bid at $22.50 but whose payroll data shows an average burdened rate of $24.10 (due to overtime, high-turnover state unemployment increases, or workers' comp audit surcharges) is underwater by $1.60/hour — $24,000 per year on the 15,000-hour account.
Turnover's interaction with the fully burdened rate deserves specific attention. A new hire in their first 90 days may produce at 60–75% of a trained worker's ISSA 447 production rates while incurring 100% of the burdened labor cost. In a BSC with 80–100% annual turnover (NAICS 561720 BLS JOLTS sector average), the effective burdened labor cost per productive hour is substantially higher than the nominal rate. Turnover cost modeling should be a separate line in account profitability analysis.
How it's used in commercial cleaning
Fully burdened rate calculation by burden component (illustrative mid-rate scenario):
| Component | Rate / Basis | $ per $17.27 base wage hour |
|---|---|---|
| Gross wage | $17.27/hr | $17.27 |
| FICA (employer) | 7.65% of gross | $1.32 |
| FUTA | 0.6% (effective) | $0.10 |
| SUTA | 2.5% (mid-rate experienced) | $0.43 |
| Workers' comp (Code 9014) | 5.5% of payroll (mid-rate state, EMR 1.00) | $0.95 |
| PTO accrual | 40 hrs/yr = 1.9% | $0.33 |
| Fully burdened rate | Total | $20.40 |
This illustrative rate of $20.40 represents a 18.1% burden rate — below the 28% example in the seed definition because it excludes health benefits. Add employer health insurance contribution of $3.00–$6.00/hour equivalent (based on $500–$1,000/month plan cost for individual coverage) to reach 28–35% total burden in a benefits-providing BSC.
Common variations and related concepts
Fully burdened rate and fully burdened cost per labor hour are equivalent terms referring to the same calculation. The term "loaded rate" is also used interchangeably. The fully burdened rate is a direct cost concept — it covers what it costs to have the worker perform work, not the overhead costs of running the business (management, office, vehicles, insurance beyond workers' comp). A complete cost model for bid pricing includes: fully burdened rate × hours + direct materials + direct subcontracting = total direct cost; total direct cost ÷ (1 − target GM) = minimum bid price. Overhead allocation (as a percentage of revenue or as a per-account fixed contribution) belongs in the target GM calculation, not added to the direct cost line.
Pitfalls and best practices
Recalculate the fully burdened rate at least annually — at minimum when SUTA rates reset in January and at workers' comp policy renewal. State unemployment insurance tax rates are reassigned annually based on each employer's claims experience from the prior year; a year with high termination-related unemployment claims can increase SUTA rates by 1–3 percentage points for the following year, materially affecting the burdened rate applied to existing multi-year contracts. Build rate change sensitivity into your account profitability review: if the fully burdened rate increases by $0.50/hour and the account runs 12,000 hours/year, that is a $6,000 annual margin reduction that must be recovered in the next contract renewal.
Related Opora guides
- Labor Burden for Cleaning Operators: The Fully Loaded Rate Calculation
- Workers' Compensation EMR Explained
- Bid Math: Break-Even Calculation Framework
- Account Profitability Auditor Methodology for BSCs
Primary sources
- IRS Publication 15 — Employer's Tax Guide (FICA, FUTA rates)
- NCCI — Workers' Compensation Classification and Rate Data
- BLS OES SOC 37-2011 — Janitors and Cleaners, 2024 Wage Data
Last updated: 2026