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Markup vs margin calculator
A 20% markup is not a 20% margin, and that gap is why a lot of busy tradies quietly go backwards. Punch in a job cost and your markup to see what you're really keeping, the markup you actually need, and what the mix-up costs you per job.
The real numbers
Fill in your numbers to see what your markup is really keeping.
This is a guide, not accounting advice. Markup is measured against your cost; margin is measured against the sale price. The calculator uses the figures you enter to show the difference and the price you'd need for your target margin.
Markup vs margin, in plain English
Markup is what you add on top of what a job costs you. Margin is what you actually keep out of the price the customer pays. They're measured against different numbers, so they're never the same. Mark up $2,000 by 20% and you sell at $2,400 and keep $400, but that $400 is only 16.7% of the $2,400 sale, not 20%. To truly keep 20% you'd need to sell at $2,500, a 25% markup. Do that maths wrong across a year of jobs and it's the difference between a healthy business and a busy one going nowhere.
Want the full breakdown? Read markup vs margin for tradies, work out your true hourly rate with the charge-out rate calculator, or if the gap above stung, book a free call and I'll find the rest of the leaks too.