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Job Pricing Calculator
Enter what the job costs you and the margin you want. The calculator shows your total costs, the price to quote and the profit you should make. Nothing is saved — it all stays in your browser.
Skips, permits, parking, subcontractors.
Recommended job price
£1,272.00
- Labour
- £560.00
- Materials + markup
- £460.00
- Total costs
- £1,060.00
- Estimated profit
- £212.00
- Profit margin
- 16.7%
Calculated your price? Now save the job.
Tradie Business Base saves your job pricing against real customers and jobs, turns it straight into a quote or invoice, and shows what each job actually made.
How to price a job profitably
A profitable price is built up, not guessed down. Work out every cost the job creates, add the margin you need to keep the business going, and only then compare the total with what you think the customer will accept.
The order matters. If you start with a number that 'sounds about right' and work backwards, the shortfall always comes out of your own wages.
- Labour — hours or days at a rate that already covers overheads such as van, insurance, tools and phone.
- Materials — current merchant prices plus your markup, not last year's prices.
- Travel — mileage and time, especially for jobs outside your normal patch.
- Equipment — hire, consumables, blades, discs and anything you will replace because of this job.
- Other costs — skips, parking, permits, waste disposal, subcontractor labour.
- Margin — the profit that pays for quiet weeks, replacement tools and growth.
Quoting the number with confidence
Itemised quotes win more work than vague cheap ones. Break out labour, materials and allowances, state clearly what is excluded, and put an expiry date on the price so material rises are not your problem.
If a customer pushes back on price, change the scope or specification rather than your rate. Discounting your labour is the fastest way to end up busy and broke.
Check the job afterwards
The quote is a forecast. The useful number is what the job actually made once extra hours, extra trips and forgotten materials are counted. Comparing quoted profit with real profit across a few jobs tells you exactly where your pricing is out.
Common questions
How should a tradesman price a job?
Start from your real costs: labour hours at a day or hourly rate that already covers your overheads, materials at merchant price plus a markup, travel, plant or equipment hire, and anything else the job needs. Add the profit margin you want on top of that total. If you are VAT registered, VAT at 20% is added to the final figure — it is not part of your profit.
Should I add markup to materials?
Most trades do. A markup of roughly 10–25% covers the time spent sourcing and collecting, the money you have tied up before the customer pays, waste and price rises between quoting and buying. Say in the quote how long material prices are held for.
What's the difference between markup and profit margin?
Markup is added to your cost (£100 of materials plus 20% markup is £120). Margin is measured against the price you charge (£120 with £100 of cost is a 16.7% margin). A 20% markup is never a 20% margin, which is why jobs can look profitable and still come up short.
Should travel time be included in a quote?
Yes. Travel is time you cannot sell to anyone else, plus fuel and wear on the van. Either build an average into your day rate or add travel as its own line so the customer can see what a distant job really costs.
How much profit should a trade job make?
There is no single right number, but 10–20% on top of full costs is a common target for domestic work, with more on specialist, awkward or high-risk jobs. Check what jobs actually made afterwards rather than assuming the quote held.
General guidance for UK trades, not tax, legal or financial advice.
Learn more
Learn more about pricing jobs
Not sure what costs you should include? Read our complete guide to pricing trade jobs.
Read: How to Price a JobRelated tools
Day Rate Calculator
Work out the day rate you need once overheads and non-billable days are counted.
Profit Margin Calculator
Check what a finished job actually made you, in pounds and as a margin.
Material Markup Calculator
Turn trade prices into customer prices — and work backwards from what you charged.
Free Invoice & Quote Generator
Build a compliant UK invoice or quote with VAT and download it in minutes.
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