Plumbing business plan: a one-page example for a one-truck shop

Most business plan templates are written for someone raising money. A plumber going out on his own usually isn't. He needs to know three things before he quits: what the business will cost every month, what he'll charge, and how many jobs a week it takes to pay for both, his own pay included.

This guide builds that plan on one page, section by section, for a one-truck residential shop. Each section has a short example. The example numbers are made up to show the math. Replace every one with your own.

The SBA describes two kinds of business plan: a traditional plan, which "can be dozens of pages long" and is what lenders and investors commonly ask for, and a lean plan, which is typically one page. If a bank is lending you the money for a truck, ask what format it wants. If not, one page is enough to start.

1. Services and service area

Write down what you'll do and what you won't. "Residential service and repair, water heaters, fixture swaps, drain clearing" is a plan. "All plumbing" is not. Saying no to new construction or commercial work at the start keeps your tools, stock and pricing simple.

Then draw your area. List the towns or ZIP codes you'll cover. A tight area means less driving, more billable hours, and a lower service call fee. If you set up a Google Business Profile, Google lets a service-area business list up to 20 service areas and says the whole area shouldn't be more than about 2 hours of driving across.

Example: Service and repair, tank and tankless water heaters, fixtures, drain clearing. No new construction, no commercial. Five towns, all within 30 minutes of home.

2. Customers

Who calls you, and how do they find you? For most new shops it's homeowners first, then the people who send repeat work: property managers, realtors, home inspectors, remodelers and general contractors. Name the two or three you'll go after, because each one is found differently.

Example: Homeowners in the service area; three property managers and two remodelers I already know.

3. Pricing approach

Your plan needs four pricing decisions, written down so every quote uses them:

• Hourly price, built from your yearly costs, your salary and your billable hours. See how to price plumbing jobs.
• Service call fee, and whether you credit it when the customer approves. See how to set a plumbing service call fee.
• Materials markup, one rule for every quote.
• Flat rates for your 20 most common jobs, kept in a plumbing price book.

Example: $100 an hour (from the worked example in our pricing guide: $110,000 a year to cover over 1,400 billable hours, at a 20% margin), a $135 service call credited if approved the same day, one materials markup rule, flat rates for the top 20 jobs.

4. Startup costs

The SBA splits costs into one-time expenses to start the business and monthly expenses to run it. List the one-time ones first. Use real quotes from your insurance agent, your state board and the dealer, not guesses.

5. Monthly costs and break-even

Now the costs that come every month, busy or not. Leave out materials: you charge for those on each job, so they rise and fall with your work. Put your own pay on a separate line. If it's not in the plan, it's not in your prices.

The SBA defines the break-even point as the point where total cost and total revenue are equal: no loss, no gain. For a plumber, the useful version counts jobs. Each job brings in its invoice total, minus the materials you bought for it. What's left pays the monthly costs.

Jobs to break even each month = monthly costs ÷ (average invoice − average materials cost per job)

In the example, the average job is invoiced at $400 and uses $100 of materials, so each job leaves $300 toward the monthly costs.

The first line is the number that keeps the doors open. The second is the one that counts: the business isn't really breaking even until it pays you.

6. How many billable jobs per week you need

Break-even is the floor. Add a profit goal on top, for a truck fund, a slow winter or your first hire, then turn the monthly number into a weekly one. A month has about 4.33 weeks (52 ÷ 12).

Two checks before you trust that number:

• Can you do the hours? At $100 an hour, $300 of labor is about 3 hours a job. 34 jobs is about 102 billable hours a month. The pricing example assumed 1,400 billable hours a year, about 117 a month, so it fits with a little room. If your target needs more hours than you can bill, raise prices or cut costs. Working harder won't close the gap.
• How many quotes does it take? Not every quote is approved. Divide your weekly jobs by the share of quotes you win. If you win half (an example, not a benchmark), 8 jobs a week means about 16 quotes a week. Track your own rate from the first month.

16 quotes a week is a lot of evenings. Plumbo, now on the App Store and Google Play, builds a quote from a spoken note and your own price book, then checks it for forgotten items before it goes out. Try the 60-second demo →

7. Marketing for the first 90 days

You won't hit 8 jobs a week in the first month. The plan should say what you'll do each month until you do.

• Days 1 to 30: Tell every past customer, friend and neighbor you're open (respect any non-solicitation agreement with your old employer). Set up your Google Business Profile with your service areas and no street address if customers don't come to you. Letter the truck. Get known at the supply house counter.
• Days 31 to 60: Ask for a review after every job that went well. Call the property managers, realtors, home inspectors and remodelers on your list, and send a fast written quote every time one of them asks.
• Days 61 to 90: Count where your calls came from. Spend more time and money on what worked and stop what didn't.

Track three numbers every week from day one: calls, quotes sent and quotes approved. They tell you whether you have a lead problem or a pricing problem. More ideas are in how to start a plumbing business.

8. Licensing and insurance checklist

Rules differ by state and city, so this is a list to confirm, not a list of requirements. Our guide to starting a plumbing business links the agencies for four places.

• The license that lets you contract in your own name, from your state board and, in some places, your city.
• Business structure (sole proprietorship or LLC), an EIN and a separate bank account.
• General liability insurance, at the amount your license board requires if it sets one.
• Commercial auto coverage for the truck. Ask your agent; don't assume a personal policy covers work use.
• A contractor bond, if your state or the cities where you pull permits require one.
• Workers' compensation before your first hire.
• Permit accounts with the building departments you'll work in most.

9. Cash reserve

Materials get paid for before customers pay you, and the first months are slow. Decide how many months of business costs you'll keep in the bank before you open, and write it down. The example uses three months, a choice, not a rule.

That reserve covers the business, not your household. If you won't take full pay while the work builds, plan your personal savings separately.

The whole plan on one page

Every number above is an example. Print the table, fill in your own, and review it at the end of each month for the first year. When the real average invoice, materials cost or approval rate differs from the plan, update the plan, not just your hopes.

Sources

• U.S. Small Business Administration, Write your business plan (traditional and lean startup plans), checked October 6, 2026.
• U.S. Small Business Administration, Calculate your startup costs (one-time and monthly expenses, break-even point), checked October 6, 2026.
• Google Business Profile Help, Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses (up to 20 service areas, about 2 hours of driving), checked October 6, 2026.