Many companies have bidding and pricing down to a science–and then the fudge-factors of "overhead," are trundled in.

Recognizing that overhead often is poorly defined and calculated, Brian Drucks applied his self-taught accounting and software development skills to create a Web-based service to help companies calculate it. Drucks, the president and fourth-generation owner of Drucks Inc., a commercial painting contractor in Whippany, N.J., says getting a fix on overhead ensures that contract prices will cover costs–critical for ensuring profit on the bottom line.

Drucks introduced his product, "Your Cost Center," three months ago, and the word is spreading. He says he is concentrating in his own market, painting, but already is getting clients in other trades. "So far, the feedback has been incredible," he says.

For a $199 annual subscription fee, yourcostcenter.com uses a series of on-line questionnaires to gather information about taxes, insurance costs, schedules, holidays and vacation policies, as well as salaries and other expenses, and computes the overhead. Information is saved for quick recalculation as situations change.

One discerning early user is pleased. "It’s great that it’s easy to enter data, but perhaps more important that it’s easy to understand," says Bruce Baron, accountant and owner of Baron & Co., Morganville, N.J. "I think my clients are going to like it."