Roadside Service Mix: Measure Profitability by Job Type
A jump start, lockout, tire change, and fuel delivery may share one dispatch board, but they do not consume the same time, equipment, materials, or travel. A service-mix report reveals which jobs fit the operation and where a higher headline price may still produce less contribution per working hour.
Define job types before measuring them
Choose a short list that matches the services actually offered. Common internal categories might include jump start, lockout, tire change, fuel delivery, winch-out, and “other/manual review.” Do not force a complex job into the nearest category just to complete a report. Document what each category includes and when dispatch should escalate the request for additional qualification.
Record the requested service separately from the completed service. A caller may request a jump start, then require a tow after a failed attempt. Keeping both fields makes demand and completed work visible without rewriting history.
Track the inputs that change the decision
- Unique inquiries and accepted jobs by service type
- Completed and canceled jobs
- Collected revenue, excluding uncollected invoices
- Direct labor time, travel time, and on-scene time
- Variable vehicle cost using the company’s documented method
- Job-specific materials, tolls, parking, and subcontractor cost
- Lead or advertising cost assigned consistently
- Refunds, chargebacks, and unpaid balances
Keep fixed overhead in a separate layer at first. Mixing every insurance bill, office expense, and truck payment into each job without a consistent allocation can make one month impossible to compare with another.
Calculate contribution before overhead
A practical starting formula is collected revenue minus job-specific variable costs. Variable costs may include paid technician time, fuel or mileage allocation, materials, transaction fees, subcontracting, and the allocated acquisition cost. The result is contribution before fixed overhead and taxes—not net profit.
Then divide contribution by total occupied hours, including drive, wait, and service time. This prevents a distant high-price job from looking automatically better than a nearby lower-price job.
During a test period, 20 completed jump starts produce $1,800 of collected revenue and $900 of variable cost, leaving $900 of contribution. They occupy 15 technician hours, or $60 per occupied hour. Ten completed tire changes produce $1,500 of revenue and $700 of variable cost, leaving $800. They occupy 10 hours, or $80 per occupied hour. Although the jump-start group produces more total contribution, the tire-change group produces more contribution per occupied hour in this hypothetical sample.
Add the inquiry funnel
Job economics do not show whether incoming demand fits the service. For each category, compare unique inquiries, contacted inquiries, quoted jobs, accepted jobs, completed jobs, and collected jobs. The drop between two stages suggests where to investigate.
A low completion rate might reflect unavailable inventory, unsafe field conditions, price objections, coverage distance, inaccurate intake, or customer cancellation. Review notes and a sample of records before changing a price or pausing a category.
Account for capacity and skill
A profitable service can still be a poor fit during a particular shift if only one technician has the equipment or training to handle it. Add a capacity flag to show whether the necessary person, vehicle, tools, and consumables are available. Never dispatch a service that exceeds the team’s training, equipment, or operating procedures.
The roadside technician shift checklist can define what is truly available. The roadside capacity guide can help test expansion without assuming every inquiry should be accepted.
Make one change at a time
Review at least a few weeks of consistent data when volume allows, then choose one change: adjust a service radius, update intake questions, add an equipment check, change a schedule, or refine the service list. Record the date. If pricing changes at the same time as staffing, coverage, and lead sources, the report will not explain which change mattered.
Use a weekly service-mix checklist
- Reconcile unique inquiries with job IDs.
- Confirm collected revenue rather than quoted revenue.
- Review cancellations and changed-service outcomes.
- Check variable-cost assumptions for consistency.
- Compare contribution per completed job and occupied hour.
- Flag capacity, equipment, and training constraints.
- Document any change before the next reporting period.
Ask about roadside lead generation
Cash Cars Buyer, Inc. provides lead generation. Your business decides which services to offer and controls qualification, pricing, staffing, dispatch, safety, and compliance. Leads and completed jobs are not guaranteed.
Ask About Roadside Leads