General Conditions Percentage Calculator

What counts as a general condition versus a direct cost?

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.

Why does GC percentage drop on larger jobs?

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.

How do I handle GCs on a fast-track or accelerated schedule?

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.

Should bonds and insurance be inside or outside the GC number?

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.