How to price a job and keep your margin

Step 1: your real hourly cost

Add up what it costs to keep you working, then divide by the hours you can actually bill, not the hours you are on the clock:

• your wage and any staff wages, plus super and leave
• vehicle, fuel, tools and equipment
• insurance and licence fees
• phone, software, accounting and other admin
• time spent quoting, driving and chasing payment

Step 2: materials, with a mark up

Add materials at what you pay for them, plus a mark up that covers collecting them, waste and the risk of price rises. Write the brands and quantities on the quote.

Step 3: margin and buffer

Add a margin you keep as profit, then a buffer for the things that always come up: extra prep, access problems, a return visit. If a buffer is never used, you made more than you planned. If it always runs out, it is too small.

Step 4: check it against the market

Compare your price with published ranges, such as the painting ranges on our Costs page. A large gap either way is a reason to check your scope and costs, not to change the number straight away.

Step 5: write the scope

Put in writing what you are doing and what you are not. Changes get priced and signed before the extra work starts. That is how you keep the margin you worked out.