FREE TOOL
Cost in, price out — with the profit and the margin equivalent, so markup-vs-margin confusion never underprices a job again.
| Markup (on cost) | Margin (of price) | $1,000 cost bills at |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | 9.1% | $1,100.00 |
| 15% | 13.0% | $1,150.00 |
| 20% | 16.7% | $1,200.00 |
| 25% | 20.0% | $1,250.00 |
| 30% | 23.1% | $1,300.00 |
| 50% | 33.3% | $1,500.00 |
Markup is profit over cost; margin is profit over price. Quoting a “20% margin” but calculating a 20% markup underprices the work — a 20% markup is only a 16.7% margin. Typical contractor material markups run roughly 10–35% by trade and job type.
Commonly 10–35% depending on trade and job type — higher for small-quantity service work with real handling time, lower for high-volume commodity material on bid work. The markup covers procurement time, carrying cost, warranty exposure, and overhead — not just profit.
Markup is profit as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A 25% markup equals a 20% margin. Quoting margin but calculating markup underprices the work.
Yes — handling materials has real costs: ordering, pickup, returns, financing the gap between the supply-house bill and customer payment, and warranty risk on installed product. Materials billed at cost mean working those hours free.
The real leak isn't the percentage — it's supply-house invoices that never get billed through at all. RevnuPros captures every receipt per job and shows exactly what hasn't been billed to the customer yet.
Start free →Also free: permit expiration calculator · what is materials markup? · contractor glossary