Free Markup Calculator Australia: Cost to Selling Price for Tradies
For electricians, plumbers, builders and subbies: turn material cost and markup into a quotable price, profit per job line and the real margin.
Last updated 31 May 2026
This markup calculator is built for Australian tradies and construction businesses pricing materials on quotes and variations. Enter the ex-GST cost of your materials and the markup you want to add, and it returns the selling price, profit per unit and the equivalent margin. On the tools, the danger is marking up materials at a number that feels fair, say 20%, then discovering it only delivers a 16.7% margin once handling, pick-up time, wastage and warranty risk are counted. Trades also carry heavy labour on-costs: super at 11.5%, leave, workers compensation and award rates that shift each 1 July. A material markup that does not contribute to those overheads erodes the whole job. Price materials deliberately, keep labour as its own line, and email the result straight into your quoting software or job file.
How to use this tool
- 1
Enter your cost price (ex-GST)
Type the true cost of the product or job before GST. If you are registered for GST you claim the GST back on purchases, so your real cost is the ex-GST amount. For labour, load in super at 11.5% and other on-costs so the cost price is complete.
- 2
Set your markup percentage
Enter the markup you want to add on top of cost, for example 40%. Markup is always calculated as a percentage of cost, not of the selling price, which is exactly what separates it from margin.
- 3
Read your selling price and margin
The calculator returns the selling price, the profit per unit in dollars, and the equivalent margin. Compare the margin against your target to confirm the price is healthy, then email yourself the result for your quote or price list.
Markup versus margin: the distinction that costs Australian businesses money
Markup and margin both describe profit, but they measure it against different bases, and mixing them up is a genuine cash-flow risk. Markup is profit expressed as a percentage of cost. Margin is the same profit expressed as a percentage of the selling price. Because the selling price is always larger than the cost, the margin is always a smaller number than the markup. Work through it. A product costs $100 and you apply a 50% markup. The profit is $50, the selling price is $150. But the margin is $50 divided by $150, which is 33.3%, not 50%. If you budgeted your overheads assuming a 50% margin, you are short by a sixth on every sale. Scale that across a year of trading and it is the difference between a profitable business and one that works hard for nothing. The practical rule: set prices using markup because it is easy to apply to a known cost, but judge whether a price is good using margin, because margin tells you how much of each dollar of revenue you actually keep. This calculator shows both at once so you never have to guess. Decide the margin your overheads require first, then work backwards to the markup that delivers it. A 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup; a 40% margin needs a 66.7% markup; a 50% margin needs a 100% markup. Knowing these conversions stops you from setting a markup that feels generous but leaves the business undercapitalised.
Where GST fits when you mark up a price
GST is a frequent source of pricing errors, so handle it deliberately. If your business is registered for GST, which is compulsory once turnover reaches $75,000, the 10% GST you charge is not yours to keep: you collect it for the ATO and remit it on your BAS. For that reason you should always calculate markup and margin on GST-exclusive figures. Mark up your ex-GST cost to reach an ex-GST selling price, then add 10% GST as the final step to get the price the customer pays. Here is the trap. If you buy stock for $110 including GST, your real cost is $100, because you claim back the $10 GST credit. Marking up the $110 figure inflates your price and makes your margin look healthier than it is, or prices you out of a competitive quote. Always strip GST out of supplier costs before applying markup. When you present the price, be clear about whether it is GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive. Consumers under Australian Consumer Law generally expect a single GST-inclusive price, so retailers should display the final figure including GST. Business-to-business quotes commonly show the ex-GST price plus GST as a separate line. Either way, the profit and margin you actually earn come from the ex-GST numbers. Use this calculator on ex-GST figures, then add 10% at the end, and your reported margins will match what lands in your bank account after each BAS period.
Setting a markup that survives rising costs and the AU financial year
A markup is not a set-and-forget number. Costs in Australia move constantly: supplier price lists, fuel and freight, insurance, and labour all drift upward. The superannuation guarantee sits at 11.5% and continues stepping toward 12%, and award rates are reviewed each year by the Fair Work Commission, with changes typically taking effect from 1 July. Because the Australian financial year runs 1 July to 30 June, that date is a natural checkpoint to review every markup you use. When you cost a job or a product, your cost price should reflect fully loaded costs, not just the obvious ones. For labour, that means the wage plus 11.5% super, plus leave loading, workers compensation and payroll tax if you are over the state threshold. A tradesperson billed at their bare hourly wage with no on-costs will produce a markup that looks fine on paper but loses money once super and overheads are paid. Build a deliberate review habit. At the start of each financial year, re-enter your updated costs into this calculator and confirm your selling prices still hit your target margin. If a supplier lifts prices mid-year, run the numbers again rather than absorbing the hit. Small, regular markup adjustments are far easier for customers to accept than one large catch-up increase, and they keep your cash flow steady. Pricing by gut feel works until one quiet quarter; pricing from current costs and a known target margin works in every quarter.
From spreadsheet pricing to automated pricing
A calculator is perfect for checking one price at a time, and for many owners that is exactly the right tool. The friction shows up later, in the repetition. If you are re-keying costs into a spreadsheet every time a supplier updates a price list, copying markups across hundreds of products, or manually adjusting quote templates each July when wages and super change, you are spending skilled time on mechanical work, and every manual step is a chance for a typo that ships a loss-making price. This is the point where pricing becomes a process rather than a one-off sum. The same logic this calculator runs, cost in, markup applied, margin checked, GST added, can be wired directly into your accounting or point-of-sale system, so new supplier costs flow through to selling prices automatically, target margins are enforced as a rule, and price lists update themselves at the start of the financial year. Owners stop pricing manually and start reviewing exceptions. Clever Ops builds exactly this kind of automation for Australian businesses in the $1M to $50M range, connecting your supplier feeds, accounting platform and quoting tools so pricing stays accurate without anyone re-keying numbers. If you find yourself reaching for this calculator dozens of times a week, that is a strong signal the work is ready to be automated. Book a free assessment and we will map where your pricing process is leaking time and margin, and what it would take to fix it.
Pricing materials and labour on trade quotes
Most trade quotes split into two parts: materials and labour. The smart approach is to mark up materials and rate-set labour separately, because they behave differently. Materials are a hard cost you can mark up to cover the real work of sourcing, collecting, storing and warranting them, commonly 15% to 50% depending on the trade and the item. Labour is priced on a charge-out rate that must absorb super at 11.5%, leave loading, workers compensation, vehicle and tool costs, and downtime between jobs. The classic tradie mistake is marking up materials at cost-plus a round number without checking the margin it produces. A 20% material markup is only a 16.7% margin; on a $4,000 materials bill that is the difference between $800 and $667 of gross profit, and the gap widens on bigger jobs. Run materials through this calculator and confirm the equivalent margin actually covers the time materials handling steals from billable work. Don't forget GST. Your supplier invoices include 10% GST that you claim back, so mark up the ex-GST cost, never the invoice total. When you present the quote, show materials and labour clearly, then GST as a line, then the inclusive total. This transparency wins trust with both homeowners and builders. Finally, revisit your markups and charge-out rate every July. Supplier price rises, the annual Fair Work wage review and the rising super guarantee all eat into margin if your pricing stays static. Tradies who reprice once a year hold their margin; those who quote from last year's costs slowly work for less.
Worked example
A supplier pricing a single product line for wholesale customers.
- Cost price (ex-GST)
- $80.00
- Markup
- 45%
Selling price $116.00 ex-GST, profit per unit $36.00, equivalent margin 31.0%.
The 45% markup feels generous, but the equivalent margin is only 31%. If overheads need a 35% margin to break even comfortably, this price is short, and the owner would need to lift markup to roughly 53.8% to reach a 35% margin. Adding 10% GST takes the customer-facing price to $127.60.
Who uses this tool
Plumber on a renovation
A plumber buys fittings and a hot water unit for $1,480 ex-GST. A 30% markup gives $1,924 ex-GST on materials, a 23% margin, covering collection, handling and warranty. Labour is quoted separately at a charge-out rate that already absorbs super and workers comp.
Builder pricing a variation
A builder hit with a mid-project supplier price rise re-runs the numbers. Decking timber jumped from $52 to $61 per length ex-GST; keeping a 25% markup lifts the line from $65 to $76.25, protecting margin rather than absorbing the increase into the fixed-price contract.
Electrician quoting a fit-out
An electrician marks up a $3,200 ex-GST cable and switchgear order by 40% to $4,480, a 28.6% margin. He checks the margin covers store runs and re-stocking offcuts, then adds labour and 10% GST for the client-facing total.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate selling price from cost and markup?
Multiply the cost by the markup percentage to get the profit, then add it to the cost. For a $100 cost with a 40% markup: $100 x 0.40 = $40 profit, so the selling price is $140. The formula is selling price = cost x (1 + markup percentage). This calculator does it instantly and also converts the result into the equivalent margin for you.
Should I include GST in my cost price?
No. If you are registered for GST, work entirely in GST-exclusive figures. You claim back the GST on what you buy, so your real cost is the ex-GST amount. Apply your markup to the ex-GST cost to reach an ex-GST selling price, then add 10% GST as the final step. Marking up GST-inclusive costs inflates prices and distorts your true margin.
What markup do I need to hit a specific margin?
To convert a target margin into the required markup, divide the margin by one minus the margin. A 30% margin needs a 42.9% markup, a 40% margin needs a 66.7% markup, and a 50% margin needs a 100% markup. Decide the margin you need to cover overheads first, then work backwards to the markup. The calculator's equivalent margin output makes checking this quick.
What is a good markup percentage for an Australian business?
It depends entirely on your industry and overheads, so there is no universal figure. Retail often runs 50% to 100% markup, trades commonly mark up materials 15% to 50%, and hospitality marks up ingredients far higher to cover labour and waste. The right number is whichever delivers the margin you need after rent, wages, super at 11.5% and other overheads. Use your real costs rather than copying a rule of thumb.
Does my markup need to cover labour on-costs?
If labour is part of your cost price, yes. A wage is not the full cost of an employee: you also pay 11.5% superannuation, leave loading, workers compensation and possibly payroll tax. Load these into your cost price before applying markup, or your margin will look healthy on paper while the job actually loses money. Review on-costs each 1 July when super and award rates typically change.
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Markup measures profit against cost; margin measures the same profit against the selling price. Because the selling price is higher, the margin is always the smaller number. A 50% markup equals only a 33% margin. Set prices using markup because it applies cleanly to a known cost, but judge whether a price is healthy using margin, because margin shows how much of each revenue dollar you keep.