Quote Profitability Checker
Test a quote you have already written before you send it.
Who it is for: UK self-employed tradespeople and small trade contractors.
What you get: Cost, gross profit, margin, markup equivalent, effective hourly rate and warnings.
How this calculation works
This tool runs in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Below are the assumptions used.
- Overhead is applied per labour hour, so a quote with no labour hours will understate cost.
- The target-margin price uses cost ÷ (1 − margin), which is the correct margin arithmetic.
Hypothetical worked examples
To help you understand the outputs, here are illustrative examples generated using the same logic.
Illustrative example 1: A sole trader working 30 billable hours per week with £18,000 in annual overheads needs to recover £11.54 per hour before any profit is added. If they want a £35,000 target owner pay before personal tax, the true hourly rate rises to around £28–£32 based on the inputs entered.
Illustrative example 2: A small team with a van, premises and two employees requires a higher day rate to cover shared operational costs. The calculator shows the break-even point clearly so the business owner can set a rate that covers all costs before profit is considered.
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Questions people ask
- What gross margin should a trade job aim for?
- Markus's working assumption is that a healthy gross margin for a trade job — after labour, materials, travel and overhead but before tax — is 20–35%. Below 15% leaves very little room for callbacks, slow payment or a bad week. The right figure depends on your cost structure, so use this as a starting point and replace it with your own target.
- What is the difference between margin and markup?
- Markup is the profit expressed as a percentage of cost. Margin is the profit expressed as a percentage of the selling price. A 25% markup on a £100 cost gives a £125 selling price and a 20% margin. Confusing the two is a common and expensive mistake: if you aim for a 25% margin but apply a 25% markup, you will consistently underprice.
- What does 'effective hourly rate' mean in the result?
- The effective hourly rate is your quoted price divided by the total labour hours. It shows what you are actually earning per hour after materials and overhead are stripped out. If it is below your true hourly rate, the quote is not covering your costs.
- What should I do if the checker shows the quote is too low?
- You have three options: increase the price, reduce the scope, or walk away. The checker also shows the price you would need to hit your target margin, which gives you a concrete number to work from. If the gap is small, a revised quote is usually worth sending. If the gap is large, the job may not be worth taking at the price the customer expects.