Free Quote Software & Calculator for Australian Businesses
For tradies, agencies and service businesses who need to price jobs fast: get an accurate, GST-inclusive quote total in seconds.
Last updated 31 May 2026
Quote software should make pricing a job simple, not a spreadsheet headache. This free quote calculator takes your labour hours, hourly rate, materials cost and the margin you want on top, then returns a clean breakdown: your true cost, the ex-GST subtotal, the 10% GST line, and the final quote total you put in front of the customer. It is built for Australian businesses, so GST is handled the way the ATO expects and the numbers reconcile against what you will actually invoice. Whether you run a trades crew, a marketing agency, a cleaning business or a consultancy, you can test different margins and rates before you commit a price. No sign-up, no per-quote fee, no lock-in. Enter your figures, read the result, and email it to yourself so the quote is ready when the client says yes.
How to use this tool
- 1
Enter your labour and rate
Add the estimated labour hours for the job and your charge-out hourly rate. If a team works the job, total the hours across everyone or run the calculator once per person and add the results.
- 2
Add materials and your margin
Enter your materials or supplier cost for the job, then the margin percentage you want on top. The margin is your profit buffer above direct cost, not the same as markup, so set it to the return you actually need.
- 3
Read the breakdown and email it
Review your cost, the ex-GST subtotal, the 10% GST line and the GST-inclusive quote total. Adjust any input to test scenarios, then email the result to yourself so it is ready to drop into a formal quote.
How to price a quote correctly in Australia
A defensible quote starts with your true cost, not a number you hope the client will accept. Begin with direct costs: labour hours multiplied by your charge-out rate, plus materials at supplier cost. Your charge-out rate is not your take-home pay. It has to cover wages, superannuation (currently 11.5%, rising to 12% from 1 July 2026), payroll tax where you exceed your state threshold, tools, insurance, vehicle, software and the hours you do not bill. A common mistake is quoting at the rate you pay a worker, which leaves nothing for overhead or profit. Once direct cost is set, apply a margin on top. Margin is the slice of the sell price that is profit; a 30% margin on a $1,000 cost means a $1,428.57 sell price, not $1,300 (that would be markup). The two are easy to confuse and the gap compounds on bigger jobs. Finally, GST. If your business turns over $75,000 or more you must register for and charge GST, so add 10% to the subtotal to get the price the customer pays. Quote the GST-inclusive figure to consumers, and show the GST line clearly so a registered business client can claim the input tax credit. Getting these three layers right, cost then margin then GST, is the difference between a quote that wins work and one that quietly loses you money on every job.
GST, ABN and tax invoices: what your quote must get right
Quoting and invoicing are different documents, but the GST treatment must be consistent across both. If you are GST-registered, your quote should make the 10% component visible so the client knows the final number includes GST and is not a nasty surprise on the invoice. When the job is won and you issue the invoice, it must meet ATO tax invoice rules: your business name, your ABN, the date, a description of what was supplied, the GST-inclusive total and the GST amount. For any sale of $1,000 or more you also need the buyer's identity or ABN. Quote the GST-inclusive total to homeowners and consumers, since that is the all-up price they will pay. For business clients who are registered, the ex-GST subtotal matters because they reclaim the GST, so present both lines. If a supplier or subcontractor cannot quote an ABN, you may have to withhold 47% under the no-ABN withholding rules, which changes your real materials or labour cost, so confirm ABNs before you lock a price. Keep every quote and the matching invoice for five years, as the ATO requires. Reconciling your quote breakdown against the eventual invoice each month also catches scope creep early, before unbilled hours erode the margin you carefully built in.
Margin vs markup, and protecting your profit
The single most expensive pricing error Australian service businesses make is treating markup and margin as the same thing. Markup is added to your cost; margin is taken out of your sell price. A 50% markup on $1,000 of cost gives a $1,500 sell price and a 33% margin. A 50% margin on that same $1,000 cost requires a $2,000 sell price. Decide which number you are actually targeting and stay consistent across every quote, because a business that thinks it is making 50% on a markup basis is really keeping 33%. Build a realistic margin that covers the risk of the job: variations, weather delays for trades, rework, late payers and the cost of carrying materials before you are paid. For quoted jobs, factor a contingency into either your hours or your margin rather than absorbing surprises later. Review your charge-out rate at least once each Australian financial year, ideally before 1 July, because superannuation increases, wage rises under Fair Work awards and supplier price changes all eat into margin if your rate stays still. Track your won-quote conversion rate too. If you win almost everything, your price may be too low; if you rarely win, your rate or scope may need a closer look. The goal is a price that is competitive and still leaves real profit after every cost is paid.
From manual quoting to an automated quote system
A calculator is the right tool for pricing a single job quickly, and you should use it that way. The problem appears at volume. Once you are sending dozens of quotes a week, re-keying labour, materials and margin for each one, copying numbers into a separate quote document, then chasing which quotes were accepted and turning the winners into invoices, you are spending hours on admin that does not earn anything. That repetitive flow is exactly where errors creep in: a transposed rate, a forgotten GST line, a margin applied as markup. At Clever Ops we build quote-to-invoice systems for Australian mid-market businesses that pull labour rates and materials from your price list, apply your standard margin automatically, generate the branded quote, then sync accepted quotes straight into Xero or MyOB as a tax invoice with GST already calculated. The same system can follow up unaccepted quotes, flag jobs running over budget against the quoted hours, and report your real margin by job type. The calculator above is the manual version of one small step in that process. If pricing and quoting are eating into your week, that is a strong signal the workflow is ready to be automated end to end.
Worked example
A plumber quotes a hot water system replacement for a Melbourne homeowner.
- Labour hours
- 8 hours
- Hourly rate
- $120 per hour
- Materials cost
- $1,350
- Margin on top
- 25%
Your cost is $2,310 (8 x $120 labour = $960, plus $1,350 materials). Applying a 25% margin gives an ex-GST subtotal of $3,080. Adding 10% GST of $308 produces a GST-inclusive quote total of $3,388.
The homeowner sees $3,388 as the all-up price. The $308 GST line is shown separately so it carries straight onto the tax invoice when the job is won, and the $2,310 cost figure makes it clear the 25% margin is real profit above direct cost, not markup.
Who uses this tool
Trades and construction
An electrician prices a switchboard upgrade: 6 labour hours at $110, $480 in materials, 25% margin. The calculator returns the GST-inclusive total to quote the homeowner and the GST line for the eventual tax invoice.
Marketing and creative agencies
An agency scopes a website project at 40 hours, models a few different charge-out rates and margins, and lands on a price that protects profit before sending the client a fixed quote.
Cleaning and facilities services
A commercial cleaning operator quotes a recurring contract by entering crew hours, consumables cost and a target margin, then checks the ex-GST subtotal a business client will reclaim.
Frequently asked questions
Is this quote software actually free to use?
Yes. The quote calculator is completely free with no sign-up required, no per-quote charge and no lock-in. Enter your labour hours, rate, materials and margin as many times as you like, and email any result to yourself. We offer it as a practical tool for Australian businesses; there is no trial that expires and no upsell to use the calculation itself.
Does the calculator include GST in the quote total?
Yes. It shows your cost, the ex-GST subtotal, the 10% GST line, and the GST-inclusive quote total separately. That lets you give consumers the all-up price they pay and give registered business clients the ex-GST figure they reclaim. If your turnover is $75,000 or more you must be GST-registered, so the inclusive total is the price you should quote.
What is the difference between margin and markup here?
Margin is the share of your sell price that is profit; markup is the amount you add on top of cost. This calculator applies the percentage you enter as a margin on top of your direct cost. A 30% margin on $1,000 of cost gives roughly $1,428, not $1,300. If you usually think in markup terms, convert it first so the price reflects the profit you actually want to keep.
How should I set my hourly rate?
Your charge-out rate must cover more than wages. Build in superannuation (11.5%, rising to 12% from July 2026), payroll tax if you exceed your state threshold, insurance, tools, vehicle, software and unbilled time, then add the profit you need. Quoting at the rate you pay a worker leaves nothing for overhead. Review your rate each Australian financial year, before 1 July, as costs rise.
Can I use the result as my official quote or invoice?
Use the result as your pricing working, then transfer the figures into a formal quote or a compliant tax invoice. An ATO tax invoice needs your business name, ABN, date, a description of the work, the GST-inclusive total and the GST amount, plus the buyer's details for sales of $1,000 or more. The calculator gives you accurate numbers; your quote or invoice document presents them properly.
What if a supplier or subcontractor has no ABN?
If a supplier cannot quote an ABN for a taxable supply, you may be required to withhold 47% under the no-ABN withholding rules, which raises your real cost for that line. Confirm ABNs before you finalise materials or subcontractor figures, then enter the true cost into the calculator so your margin and quote total reflect what you will actually pay.