How to Price a Job as a Tradesperson

How to Price a Job as a Tradesperson (Without Underselling)

Pricing a job well means adding up five things: materials, labour, overheads, margin and a contingency — then presenting one clear figure to the customer. Most trades who undersell aren’t bad at the work. They just forget the parts of the cost that don’t show up on a merchant receipt. Get the method right and you quote the same way every time, without guessing and without leaving money on the table.

Why so many trades underprice

The usual reason is simple: you price the visible bits and ignore the rest. You count the cable, the consumer unit and the day on site, then knock off a bit because you’re worried the customer will say no.

What gets missed is everything that keeps you working at all — the van, the insurance, the fuel, the hour you spent quoting, the tools you replace, the accountant, the phone. That’s your overhead, and if it isn’t baked into every price, you’re paying to do the job.

The second reason is fear. You assume the customer only cares about the cheapest number. Some do. Most care more about turning up, doing it properly and not disappearing halfway through. Price for the customer who wants that, not the one who’s ringing round for the lowest quote.

The five parts of a price

Work through these in order for every job. Once it’s a habit, a quote takes minutes.

1. Materials

List everything you’ll fit and everything you’ll use up — the second category is the one people forget. Consumables like fixings, sealant, tape, blades and waste disposal add up.

Price materials at what they actually cost you on the day, not last year’s price, and add a handling margin on top. You carry the cost, you make the trip to the merchant, you deal with returns and duff parts. A mark-up on materials is standard and fair, not a con.

1. Labour

Work out how long the job really takes — including travel, setting up, clearing away and the tip run at the end — then multiply by your day rate.

If you don’t have a firm day rate, set one from the income you need, not from what the bloke down the road charges. Take your target yearly earnings, add your overheads (see below), and divide by the number of days you can realistically bill in a year. That’s fewer days than you think once you take off holidays, sick days, quoting time and paperwork.

1. Overheads

These are the running costs of being in business whether or not you’re on a job today: van finance and fuel, tools, insurance, phone, software, accountant, training and certification, workwear. Add them up for a year.

You recover overheads one of two ways — fold them into your day rate, or add a percentage to each job. Either works. What doesn’t work is pretending they’re free.

1. Margin

Margin is your profit — the bit left over after every cost is covered. It’s not a luxury. It’s what pays for slow weeks, a new van when the old one dies, and the buffer that stops one bad month sinking you.

Decide a margin you’re comfortable with and apply it consistently. If a customer negotiates, you want to know exactly how much room you’ve got before you’re working for nothing.

1. Contingency

Every job has surprises: the wall that’s solid where you expected stud, the “quick” board that turns into a full rewire, the part that’s on back order. A contingency covers the risk you can’t see from the doorstep.

The messier or more unknown the job, the bigger the buffer. A like-for-like swap needs almost none. Chasing a fault in a sixty-year-old installation needs plenty. If nothing goes wrong, that margin drops through to profit. If it does, you’re covered and you haven’t had to have an awkward conversation.

A worked example

Take a self-employed electrician in Reading, working alone, quoting a consumer unit upgrade in a small terraced house. The figures below are rounded and illustrative — use your own real costs, not these.

• Materials: the consumer unit, breakers, cable, fixings and testing consumables — say roughly £250 at cost, plus a handling mark-up.

• Labour: a full day on the tools plus travel and the certification paperwork, at his own day rate.

• Overheads: a slice of his annual running costs, folded into that day rate.

• Margin: his standard profit percentage on top of cost.

• Contingency: a modest buffer, because it’s a known installation and he’s fairly sure what’s behind the board.

He adds the five together, rounds to a sensible figure, and quotes one number. He does not itemise every screw, and he does not drop the price because he feels awkward saying it out loud. If the customer wants it cheaper, he knows his margin is the only bit that can move — the costs can’t.

The point isn’t the pounds. It’s that he built the price from his own numbers, in the same order, every time.

How to present the quote

How you present a quote matters almost as much as the figure.

Give one clear total. Break it into materials and labour if the customer wants detail, but lead with the headline figure. A wall of line items invites haggling on every line.

Put it in writing. A written quote — even a simple email — sets out what’s included, what isn’t, and how long the price holds. It protects both of you and it looks professional.

Be specific about scope. Say what the price covers and, just as importantly, what it doesn’t. “Making good plasterwork not included” saves a row later.

Don’t apologise for the number. Send it plainly and let it stand. The moment you start justifying or softening the price, you tell the customer it’s negotiable.

Follow up once. A single polite nudge after a few days is fine. Chasing three times isn’t.

When to walk away

Not every job is worth quoting, and not every customer is worth having.

Walk away when the numbers don’t work — if the only way to win the job is to price below your costs, it’s a job that loses you money, and volume won’t fix that. Walk away from a customer who’s beaten you down before you’ve started, who wants the work off the books, or who’s clearly shopping for the cheapest quote and nothing else. They’ll be the hardest to please and the slowest to pay.

Saying no to the wrong work leaves room for the right work. A diary full of underpriced jobs for difficult customers is worse than a lighter diary of properly priced ones.

FAQ

How do I set my day rate?

Work backwards from the income you need. Add your target earnings to your annual overheads, then divide by the number of days you can realistically bill in a year — after holidays, sick days, quoting and admin. That gives a rate that actually pays for your business, rather than one copied from a competitor.

Should I charge for quoting?

For a standard quote, no — it’s a cost of winning work, and you recover it through your overheads. For a detailed design, a full survey or a long drive to a one-off job, it’s reasonable to charge a call-out or survey fee. Say so up front.

Is it fair to mark up materials?

Yes. You carry the cost, source the parts, handle returns and stand behind them if they fail. A materials mark-up is standard across the trades and it’s part of a sustainable price, not a hidden extra.

What if the customer says I’m too expensive?

Ask what they’re comparing against — often it’s a cheaper quote that covers less work. Explain what your price includes. If they still only want the lowest number, that’s your cue to let it go, not to drop below your costs.

Fixed price or day rate?

A fixed price suits well-defined jobs where you can see the scope clearly, and customers usually prefer the certainty. A day rate suits open-ended or unpredictable work where a fixed price would force you to load in a big contingency. Use whichever protects you on the job in front of you.

How much contingency should I add?

As much as the uncertainty demands. A like-for-like swap needs almost none. Fault-finding or work in an old property needs a healthy buffer. If nothing goes wrong, it becomes profit; if it does, you’re covered.

Quote with confidence, get paid fairly

Good pricing is a habit, not a talent. Add up materials, labour, overheads, margin and contingency, present one clear number, and walk away from the jobs that don’t add up. Do that every time and you stop underselling for good.

Related reading: VAT threshold for trades · day rate vs price work · how to write a quote that wins the job · trade pricing playbook

The other half of getting paid fairly is only quoting work that’s worth your time. Trade Pilot is free to join and only charges you when a real local job lands in your inbox — no monthly fees. Each lead is sold to no more than three local trades, so you’re not one of thirty firms racing to the bottom on price. You quote fewer jobs, on better terms, for customers who actually want the work done properly.