StashGrade for decking
Composite vs. wood vs. rails: see what each line keeps.
Deck builders carry the same silent leaks as fencing: material pass-through on lumber and composite, change orders that never hit the invoice, repair work priced like a favor.
QuickBooks, CSV, or QBO export. First insight in minutes.
Where deck builders leak money
Lumber and composite pass-through
Composite prices moved hard the last few years. If your quotes are built on last season's board cost, the margin difference comes out of your pocket. The books show materials as a share of revenue, year over year.
Change orders that vanish
Extra footings, upgraded rails, stairs that grew. If billed revenue per job stays flat while job costs climb, change-order work is happening for free. The pattern shows in the P&L.
Winter eating the year
Overhead runs all twelve months. Decks get built in seven or eight. The books show whether your busy-season pricing carries the quiet months.
Typical ranges for a deck builder
Typical shares of revenue for a deck builder. They are directional estimates drawn from trade surveys and cost data, and StashGrade’s analysis uses the same ones. Your mix and your market move them.
| Measure | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Gross margin | 35 to 50% of revenue |
| Overhead | 15 to 25% of revenue |
| Field labor | 25 to 35% of revenue |
| Materials | 30 to 40% of revenue |
A worked example: a $1.2M deck builder
Round numbers, not a customer. One deck builder, two seasons, the same crews and the same price book.
| Last season | This season | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Materials | $396,000 (33%) | $456,000 (38%) |
| Field labor | $360,000 (30%) | $360,000 (30%) |
| Gross profit | $444,000 (37%) | $384,000 (32%) |
Nothing about the work changed. Composite went up, the quotes did not, and $60,000 came out of gross profit. That drops the business under the typical range for a deck builder, and the books show it as materials climbing from 33% to 38% of revenue.
Questions deck builders ask
How do I work out my net margin as a deck builder?
Do I need clean books before I connect?
Can it show composite and wood margins separately?
How do I keep winter from eating the year?
See it in the product
See what your numbers say about your decking business.
Instantly know how your KPIs stack up against a healthy decking business. Messy books welcome.