{
  "slug": "general-conditions-percentage",
  "title": "General Conditions Percentage Calculator",
  "heading": "General Conditions Percentage Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/general-conditions-percentage",
  "summary": "Turn jobsite overhead staffing and rentals into a % of hard cost.",
  "description": "General conditions (GCs) are the non-trade costs of running the jobsite: superintendent salary, site trailer, temp power and water, portable toilets, dumpsters, safety supplies, small tools, and project engineer time. Estimators typically build GCs as a lump sum from a duration-based staffing plan, then check the result against a percentage of the hard construction cost to sanity-check the number against project size. Commercial GC ranges run 5-12% of hard cost for a typical 6-18 month job; small renovations run higher (10-15%) because fixed costs don't scale down, and large multi-year jobs run lower (3-6%) because staffing spreads over more volume. This tool takes your monthly GC burn rate and project duration, computes the lump sum, and expresses it as a percentage of hard cost so you can compare it against industry benchmarks before you finalize the number in your bid.",
  "formula": "GC lump sum = Monthly GC cost × Duration (months). GC % = GC lump sum ÷ Hard cost × 100.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=general-conditions-percentage",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "monthlyGc",
      "label": "Monthly GC cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 18000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "duration",
      "label": "Project duration",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 10,
      "unit": "months",
      "min": 0.5,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "hardCost",
      "label": "Hard construction cost",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2200000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "pct",
      "label": "GCs as % of hard cost",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "lumpSum",
      "label": "GC lump sum",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total cost (hard + GC)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "dailyRate",
      "label": "GC burn rate per day",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Monthly GC cost: 18000 $",
      "Project duration: 10 months",
      "Hard construction cost: 2200000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "GCs as % of hard cost: 8.18%",
      "GC lump sum: $180,000.00",
      "Total cost (hard + GC): $2,380,000.00",
      "GC burn rate per day: $592.11"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter monthly gc cost ($).",
      "Enter project duration (months).",
      "Enter hard construction cost ($).",
      "Read your gcs as % of hard cost on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "monthlyGc": 11000,
        "duration": 6,
        "hardCost": 1320000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "monthlyGc": 18000,
        "duration": 10,
        "hardCost": 2200000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "monthlyGc": 29000,
        "duration": 16,
        "hardCost": 3520000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What counts as a general condition versus a direct cost?",
      "a": "GCs are costs that exist because the job is happening, not because of a specific scope item: supervision, temp facilities, safety, project controls, cleanup. If a cost is tied to installing a specific material (rebar, drywall, conduit) it's a direct/hard cost even if it's on the same invoice as a GC item. Getting this split wrong understates your GC line and makes future bids look artificially cheap."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why does GC percentage drop on larger jobs?",
      "a": "Superintendent and PM salaries are largely fixed regardless of project size — one super can run a $2M job or, with tighter oversight, a $6M job. As hard cost scales up faster than staffing, the percentage falls. That's why applying a flat 8% GC rule to both a $500K tenant improvement and a $20M building will misprice one of them badly; build from staffing plans, not a blanket percentage."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do I handle GCs on a fast-track or accelerated schedule?",
      "a": "Compressing duration doesn't proportionally cut GC cost because you often need the same or more supervision packed into fewer months, plus overtime premiums. Model accelerated schedules with a duration multiplier of 1.15-1.3x on monthly burn rate rather than just shrinking the months, or you'll underbid the acceleration."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should bonds and insurance be inside or outside the GC number?",
      "a": "Most contractors carry builder's risk, general liability, and bond premiums as separate line items below GCs, not folded in, because they're calculated off total contract value rather than duration. Keeping them separate also makes it easier to re-price GCs alone when a schedule slips without recalculating insurance."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/jobsite-overhead-per-day",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/overhead-and-profit-allocation",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/contingency-reserve-percentage"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — General Conditions Percentage Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/general-conditions-percentage)"
}