How to price a job so you actually make money

Pricing off a gut feeling or matching the guy down the road is how good tradespeople stay broke. Here is how to price a job on real numbers.

Start with your true hourly cost

Before you can price a job, you need to know what an hour of your time actually has to earn. That includes the pay you want, your overhead (truck, tools, insurance, phone, fuel) and a profit margin, spread over the hours you can genuinely bill, not the hours you work. Our free hourly rate calculator does this math for you.

Estimate the hours honestly

Walk the job and estimate the labor hours realistically, then add a bit, jobs almost always take longer than you think. Multiply by your hourly rate for the labor portion. Do not forget travel, setup and cleanup time.

Add materials with a markup

Bill materials on top of labor, and mark them up. Marking materials up covers the time you spend sourcing, hauling and fronting the cost, and it is standard in the trades. A markup calculator helps you land the right number.

Add a margin, then round up

On top of covering pay, overhead and materials, build in profit so the business earns more than it spends and can ride out slow spells. When you land on a number, round up, not down. Undercharging by a little on every job adds up to a lot over a year.

Charge for the value, not just the hours

If you are fast and experienced, hourly-only pricing punishes you for being good. For well-defined work, a flat price based on the value to the customer often earns more and is easier for them to say yes to. Use your hourly cost as the floor, not the ceiling.