Enter direct job costs and a target margin or markup the bid price, equivalents, and true net profit solve live.
Target profit margin
25%
Share of company overhead this job must carry.
Markup vs. margin the gap
A 33% markup is only a 25.0% margin —8.3 points of profit you thought you had.
At 25% margin
$24,800.00
BID PRICE
Bill of materials+0% waste
Materials
Net — · Waste —
Labor
Net — · Waste —
Subcontractors
Net — · Waste —
Equipment / permits
Net — · Waste —
Total direct cost
Net — · Waste —
Cost projection
Saved on this device · No account · No cloud
“Total” above is your net true profit after overhead the number that actually hits the bottom line.
Net profit $3,720.00
$24,800.00 bid
Margin is profit ÷ price; markup is profit ÷ cost. A 30% markup is only a 23% margin the #1 pricing mistake in contracting.
Enter direct job costs and a target margin or markup the bid price, equivalents, and true net profit solve live.
Bid from margin: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). Bid from markup: price = cost × (1 + markup).
Net true profit = gross profit − overhead recovery. One click applies the markup to your Master Bid.
Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin)
Markup is profit divided by cost; margin is profit divided by selling price. A 30% markup equals only a 23.1% margin, so bidding from markup while thinking in margin leaves money on the table.
Markup = (price - cost) / cost, applied as price = cost x (1 + markup). Enter your direct job costs and the calculator solves bid price, markup %, and margin % live.
Markup = margin / (1 - margin), and margin = markup / (1 + markup). A 25% margin target needs a 33.3% markup on cost to achieve it.
It depends on overhead and profit target - most small contractors land between 20% and 50% markup on direct costs. Enter your overhead % and the calculator shows the net profit your markup actually leaves.
10-20% net margin is a healthy range for residential work after overhead is covered. The tool subtracts your overhead from gross profit so you see the true net margin before you bid.
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