CPOH stands for Contractor's Profit & Overheads — a percentage (conventionally 15% in CPWD-style rate analysis) added on top of material, labour, and water charges to cover site establishment, supervision, and the contractor's margin. It is applied before cess and GST.
If you've seen CPOH in a rate analysis sheet and weren't sure what it stood for or why it's there, this guide covers the full form, what it actually pays for, where exactly it sits in the build-up of a unit rate, and a complete worked calculation.
What is the full form of CPOH?
CPOH stands for Contractor's Profit & Overheads. It is a single combined percentage — not two separate line items — added to the cost of material and labour to account for what it costs a contractor to actually run the job site, plus their profit margin on the work.
What does CPOH actually cover?
CPOH is a bundle of three things, rolled into one percentage rather than itemised separately:
Where CPOH sits in the rate build-up
A unit rate is built up in a fixed order — material and labour first, then water charges, then CPOH, then cess, and finally GST on top of everything:
Rate = Material + Labour + Water charges + CPOH + Cess + GSTCPOH is calculated as a percentage of the material + labour + water chargessubtotal — not on the final GST-inclusive figure, and not on cess (cess is added afterwards).
Worked example — CPOH calculation step by step
Take an item where material + labour comes to ₹6,000, with 1% water charges and 1% cess:
CPOH here is 15% of ₹6,060 (material + labour + water charges) = ₹909, taking the running total to ₹6,969 — before cess and GST are layered on top.
Is CPOH always 15%?
15% is the conventional CPWD figure and the one most commonly used across DSR and NSR rate analysis. It isn't a fixed statutory number, though — some departments, contract conditions, or specific works can specify a different percentage. Always check the applicable schedule or contract clause rather than assuming 15% by default.
Is CPOH the same as contractor's profit?
No — profit is only part of CPOH. The rest covers the real, unavoidable cost of running a site: establishment, temporary facilities, and supervisory staff. Treating CPOH as pure profit understates what a contractor actually spends to execute the work.
See it applied live: build a rate on the NSR Items or DSR Workbook pages and Mulyankan shows the CPOH component separately in the breakdown — free, with a PDF export.
For the complete build-up of a unit rate — not just the CPOH step — see the full rate analysis guide.