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Job Pricing Calculator

Work out exactly what to quote — direct costs, overhead, margin, and tax, in one place.

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Job Costs
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Overhead, Margin & Tax
%
Share of this job's cost that goes toward your fixed business overhead.
%
%
GST, VAT or sales tax — leave at 0 if you'll add tax separately.
You Should Quote
$0
Final price to the customer, including tax
    What If The Job Goes Over Budget?

    Your quoted price is fixed. See how rising costs eat into profit.

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    How the Job Pricing Calculator works

    This is the flagship calculator on Trade Tools Hub — it takes every cost that goes into a job (materials, labour, equipment, travel, subcontractors and overhead) and works out the price you need to quote to hit your target profit margin, before tax is added.

    Use Price the Job mode when you're building a quote from scratch. Switch to Customer Gave Me a Budget mode when a customer has already told you what they can spend, and you want to know what that means for your profit.

    How to use it

    • Enter every direct cost for the job — materials, labour, equipment hire, travel, subcontractors, permits and anything else.
    • Set an overhead allocation percentage to cover your fixed business costs (rent, insurance, vehicle, admin).
    • Set your desired profit margin — this is margin (profit ÷ selling price), not markup (profit ÷ cost). See our markup calculator for the difference.
    • Use the risk simulator to see what happens to your profit if materials or labour run over.

    The formula

    Total Direct Cost = Materials + Labour + Equipment + Travel + Subcontractors + Permits + Other Overhead = Total Direct Cost × Overhead % Break-Even Price = Total Direct Cost + Overhead Recommended Price = Break-Even Price ÷ (1 − Profit Margin %) Final Customer Price = Recommended Price + Tax

    Worked example

    Materials $2,000, 40 labour hours at $35/hr ($1,400), equipment $300, travel $100. Total direct cost: $3,800. With 15% overhead ($570), break-even price is $4,370. At a 25% profit margin, the recommended price is $5,826.67, giving a profit of $1,456.67. Add 10% tax and the final customer price is $6,409.33.

    This tool provides general calculations only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal or professional advice. Job pricing depends on your local market, risk and client relationship as well as cost — use this as a starting point, not a final answer.

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is this the same as a markup calculator?

    No. This calculator prices a whole job from itemised costs and a target profit margin. Our markup calculator converts between cost, markup and margin for a single price.

    Should I use margin or markup here?

    This calculator uses profit margin (profit as a percentage of the selling price), which is the number most contractors use to compare job profitability. A 25% margin is not the same as a 25% markup — see our markup vs margin comparison.

    What should I put for overhead allocation?

    It's the share of your fixed business costs (vehicle, insurance, rent, admin, software) this job should contribute toward. Use our overhead calculator and break-even calculator to work out a realistic percentage for your business.

    Does the risk simulator change my quote?

    No — the risk simulator assumes your quoted price stays fixed and shows how your profit changes if costs run over. It's there to help you decide how much contingency to build in before you quote.

    Is tax included in the price I should quote?

    The main result includes tax if you've entered a tax percentage. If you show tax separately on your quote, set tax to 0 here and add it in your quote instead.