Trade quote & markup calculator

Every trade quote comes down to three numbers: marked-up materials, labour, and GST (if you're registered). The calculator works in this order:

1. Mark up your materials. Take your cost price and add a margin to cover handling, wastage and pickup time: materials × (1 + markup%). A 15% markup on $1,000 of materials = $1,150.
2. Cost your labour. Multiply the hours by your charge-out rate: hours × rate. Use your charge-out rate (which covers super, insurance, tools and downtime), not your take-home wage.
3. Add GST if registered. In Australia GST is 10%; in New Zealand it's 15%. It applies to the subtotal (materials plus labour), and you hand it on to the ATO or IRD, so it isn't your profit.

The total is what your client pays. The markup profit line shows what your materials markup actually puts in your pocket, which is a quick gut-check on whether a job is worth the trip.

Mark up your materials (cost × (1 + markup%)), add your labour (hours × charge-out rate) to get the ex-GST subtotal, then add GST if you're registered (10% in Australia, 15% in New Zealand). The total is what the client pays.

It depends on the trade, the job risk, and how much handling, pickup and wastage a job involves. It's commonly somewhere between about 10% and 25%. The right number is whatever covers your overheads and still leaves a fair profit, so use the calculator to see the dollar impact before you commit.

Australian GST is 10%; New Zealand GST is 15%. Use the region toggle in the calculator to switch. You only add GST if your business is registered for it, and you pass that GST on to the ATO (AU) or IRD (NZ), so it is not profit.

Use your charge-out rate, not your take-home wage. The charge-out rate has to cover superannuation or KiwiSaver, insurance, tools, the vehicle, admin time and the hours you can't bill, so it's usually well above what you 'earn' per hour.

Yes. It's free, needs no sign-up, and runs entirely in your browser. If you'd rather not do the maths at all, Insta Quotes generates the full itemised quote for you from a photo or a description.