Hourly and day rate calculator
The day and hourly rate you need to charge to take home what you want, after tax and costs.
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Price the job, not a guess.
Labour, materials, travel, the hire you forgot and the overheads you never count - add them up, put a real margin on top, and copy a clean quote to send the customer.
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Build your quote
How it works
How the price is built
Direct costs
Labour (hours × people × rate), materials plus your markup, travel (miles × pence per mile × trips), and hire, subcontractors, parking and disposal.
Overheads
A percentage on top of the direct costs to cover what every job shares: the van, insurance, phone, software and the time spent quoting jobs you do not win.
Margin on the price
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). A 20% margin means 20% of what the customer pays is profit. Adding 20% to your costs only gives a 16.7% margin.
VAT
If you are VAT registered, 20% is added to the price. If you are not, you must not charge VAT at all.
The quote
The text summary lists each part of the price. Fill in what is included and what is not before you send it, so there are no arguments later.
The defaults are placeholders, set for a one-day, one-person job. Change every figure to your own. This is a pricing aid, not accounting or tax advice.
Questions
Common questions
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Markup is what you add on top of your costs, as a percentage of the costs. Margin is the profit as a percentage of the final price. On £200 of costs, a 25% markup gives a £250 price, and the £50 profit is a 20% margin. Pricing with markup when you meant margin leaves money on the table.
What profit margin should a small business aim for?
It depends on your sector, your costs and how busy you are, so there is no single right figure. The important thing is that overheads are covered separately, so the margin is genuine profit rather than money that quietly pays for the van. Your accountant can tell you what similar businesses achieve.
Should I mark up materials?
Most businesses do, because buying, collecting, storing and standing behind materials takes time and carries risk if something is faulty. Whatever you decide, be consistent, and be ready to explain your price if a customer asks.
What should a written quote include?
What the job is, what the price includes and excludes, the price with VAT shown if you charge it, how long the quote is valid, and your payment terms. A clear quote is also your protection if there is a disagreement about what was agreed.
Is a quote the same as an estimate?
No. A quote is a fixed price for the work described, and the customer can expect to pay it. An estimate is your best guess and can change. If you are giving a fixed price, call it a quote and describe the work carefully.
Let customers ask for a quote online
£299 setup, then £99 a month. Live in 3 working days. Tell us what your business does - we reply the same working day.