Coming soon
Release ST-80
Overview
Sales Margin Control lets office employees set minimum profit margins for estimates. ServiceTitan checks each Estimate against these limits and warns or blocks users when pricing falls below the required margin. This protects gross margin, prevents underpriced jobs, and standardizes pricing so every Sold estimate supports healthy profit.
You can set global thresholds that apply to all estimates, or create custom rules scoped to specific roles, business units, and Job Types. Enforcement includes soft warnings that let you proceed and hard blocks that prevent selling or emailing until pricing is corrected.
Who uses this feature
Administrators, office employees, and technicians
Primarily benefits Residential Service and Replacement business types, Residential Construction business types
Applies to all trades
Feature configuration
The Edit margin thresholds permission is required to configure margin rules. Contact the account administrator on your team to manage this permission.
Things to know
ServiceTitan evaluates each estimate against the most specific matching custom rule. If no custom rule matches, the global defaults apply.
There are two types of enforcement:
Hard block (below Global Minimum or custom rule Minimum Margin %): You cannot email or sell the estimate. You can still print it. A message shows the dollar amount needed to reach the required margin.
Soft warning (below Global Warning Threshold or custom rule Acceptable Margin %): A warning appears, but you can still proceed with the sale.
Custom rules can be scoped by Role (Employee or Technician), Business Unit, and Job Type. The system resolves which rule applies using specificity: Role is evaluated first, then Business Unit, then Job Type. The most specific match wins.
Turning on No Limit for a custom rule disables all margin enforcement for estimates matching that rule, including the global defaults.
If an estimate is not associated with a job, only rules that do not specify a job type (or rules with "No Job Type" selected) apply. A rule that specifies a job type will not apply to estimates without a job.
The warning threshold must always be set higher than the minimum. ServiceTitan shows an inline validation error if you try to save a value that violates this.
Best practices
Start with a realistic global minimum margin that matches your company's profitability goals.
Set the Global Warning Threshold above the minimum to give office employees and technicians an early alert before estimates reach the hard block.
Use custom rules to apply different thresholds to different parts of your business. For example, set a stricter minimum for your Commercial business unit than for Residential.
Avoid using No Limit except for trusted roles or specific business units that truly need full pricing flexibility.
Review margins regularly to confirm they're aligned with your discounting and commission policies.
Use cases
A sales representative creates a $10,000 estimate; the office global minimum is 25%. Their margin falls to 18%, which is below the minimum. A hard block prevents them from emailing or selling the estimate until they adjust pricing.
A multi-business-unit company sets a 30% minimum margin for its Commercial BU and a 20% minimum for Residential. An estimator working on a Commercial job sees the stricter threshold applied automatically.
A technician role is set to No Limit through a custom rule, allowing them to discount heavily in the field, while a Technician – Sales role has a 20% minimum margin to protect profitability.
An office employee creates an estimate that falls between the warning threshold and the minimum. They see a soft warning with the dollar shortfall but can still proceed with the sale after reviewing.
A manager sets a higher minimum margin for sales reps than for standard technicians to align with different commission structures.
Understand how margin rules work
When an estimate is evaluated, ServiceTitan determines which margin rule applies using the following priority:
Custom rule match: ServiceTitan looks for a custom rule that matches the current user's role, the estimate's business unit, and the estimate's job type. The most specific matching rule wins.
Global default: If no custom rule matches, the global minimum margin and warning threshold apply.
If a matching custom rule has No Limit enabled, no enforcement is applied and the global defaults are not evaluated. To learn how to set these margin rules, see the sections below:
Set global margin thresholds
Set default margin limits that apply to all estimates unless overridden by a custom rule.
Go to the top toolbar and click Settings
.In the side panel, go to Estimates > Estimate Revenue Protection.
On the Estimate Revenue Protection screen that opens, click Estimate Margin Control.
On the Sales Margin Control screen that opens, in the Global Minimum Margin card, enter a value in the Global Minimum Margin % field. Estimates that fall below this value are hard blocked.
Enter a value in the Global Warning Threshold % field. Estimates between this value and the minimum trigger a soft warning.
Note: The warning threshold must be higher than the minimum.
Click Save.
Create custom rules
Custom rules override the global thresholds for specific roles, business units, or job types.
Go to the top toolbar and click Settings
.In the side panel, go to Estimates > Estimate Revenue Protection.
On the Estimate Revenue Protection screen that opens, click Estimate Margin Control.
Click + Add Rule. A new empty rule row appears in edit mode.
Define what this rule applies to. Select any combination of the following:
Role: Select one or more roles.
Business Unit: Select one or more business units. BU and Job Type selectors are bidirectionally filtered. Selecting a BU narrows the Job Type list, and vice versa.
Job Type: Select one or more job types.
Note: Clearing either BU or Job Type resets the filter on the other.
Set the margin thresholds for this rule:
Minimum Margin %: Enter the hard block threshold. Estimates that fall below this value cannot be emailed or sold.
Acceptable Margin %: Enter the soft warning threshold. Estimates between this value and the minimum trigger a warning, but the office employee or technician can still proceed.
No Limit: Turn on this toggle to disable all margin enforcement for estimates matching this rule. When No Limit is on, the Minimum Margin % and Acceptable Margin % fields are disabled.
Click Save.
Tip: To duplicate a rule, click More
> Duplicate. To delete a rule, select Delete from the same menu and confirm in the dialog.
Work with margin limits on estimates in the office
After you set up Sales Margin Control, estimate margins are checked against the applicable rule (custom or global) whenever you work with estimates in the office.
Go to Projects > Estimates and open an existing estimate, or create a new one.
On the Estimate screen that opens, add items to build the estimate.
ServiceTitan calculates the margin and checks it against the applicable rule. Depending on the result:
Hard block (below minimum): A blocking message appears with the following message: The price is $x below minimum requirement. Please review and adjust your estimate to meet the required price, or contact your manager. You cannot email or sell the estimate, but you can still print it.
Soft warning (below warning threshold but above minimum): A warning banner appears with the dollar shortfall. You can acknowledge it and proceed with the sale.
Adjust the estimate to meet the margin requirement. For example, you can:
Increase prices on existing items.
Add additional services or equipment.
Reduce or remove discounts and fees.
When the margin meets or exceeds the applicable threshold, the warning or block disappears and you can sell the estimate.
Enforcement on the Estimate Email and Opportunity screens
When you send estimates via the Estimate Email screen or view them on the Opportunity screen, margin enforcement also applies:
Estimate Email screen: ServiceTitan calculates the margin for all estimate options within the opportunity. Estimates that fall below the margin minimum have their checkbox disabled and cannot be sent to the customer.
Opportunity screen: ServiceTitan calculates the margin for each estimate. The Sell / Convert button is disabled for estimates that fall below the margin minimum.