How to Price a Job as a Tradesperson in 2026
One of the biggest mistakes tradespeople make isn’t bad workmanship – it’s bad pricing. Undercharging is one of the most common reasons trade businesses struggle, and it usually comes down to one thing: not having a clear system for working out what a job actually costs.
Why Tradespeople Undercharge
Most tradespeople who undercharge aren’t bad at business – they’re pricing from the gut. They think about what the materials cost, add a rough daily rate, and hope it covers everything else. It usually doesn’t.
What gets forgotten
- Travel time and fuel
- Time spent quoting, chasing payments, and doing admin
- Tool wear and replacement
- Insurance, certifications, and professional memberships
- Slow periods when there’s no work coming in
- Tax and National Insurance
6 Steps to Pricing a Job Properly
Know your minimum hourly rate
Before you can price any job, you need to know what it costs just to keep your business running. Add up your annual business costs and divide by your billable hours per year.
Example – annual costs
| Van (finance, fuel, insurance, tax) | £6,000–£10,000 |
| Tools and equipment | £1,000–£3,000 |
| Insurance (liability, tools, van) | £1,500–£3,000 |
| Phone, software, marketing | £500–£1,500 |
| Training and certifications | £500–£1,000 |
Most tradespeople work around 200 days a year and bill roughly 6 hours per day. If your total annual costs are £15,000, your break-even rate is £12.50/hour. Add your desired profit on top and your minimum charge rate becomes clear.
Price materials at cost plus markup
Always price materials at cost plus a markup – not at cost price alone. You’re sourcing, collecting, transporting, and managing materials. A standard markup is 15–25% on top of what you paid.
Example
| Materials cost | £200 |
| 20% markup | £40 |
| Charged to customer | £240 |
Estimate the time accurately
- Add a contingency buffer of 10–20% – especially on older properties
- Include prep and clean-up time – these aren’t free
- Factor in travel if the job is more than 15–20 minutes away
- Look at past similar jobs in your job management software
Choose your pricing model
Hourly rate
Best for: small jobs and call-outs
Simple and fair – but some customers feel uneasy not knowing the final cost
Day rate
Best for: longer jobs, unclear scope
Typical UK rates in 2026: £200–£450/day depending on trade and region
Fixed price
Best for: surveyed jobs with clear scope
Gives customers certainty – rewards efficiency but the risk is yours if it overruns
Build your quote properly
- A clear description of the work being done
- Materials listed with quantities
- Labour costs – you don’t need to show your hourly rate, just the total
- VAT if you’re registered
- Payment terms and how long the quote is valid for
Don’t race to the bottom
- Explain your value – your experience, guarantees, and reliability have a real cost
- Offer a reduced scope – can you do part of the job now and phase the rest?
- Hold firm – customers who only want the cheapest price are often the hardest to work with
A Simple Pricing Formula
Starting point for any job
Job Price = (Hourly Rate × Hours) + (Materials × 1.2) + Contingency Buffer
Example at £40/hour
| Labour: £40 × 6 hours | £240 |
| Materials cost | £150 |
| 20% materials markup | £30 |
| 15% contingency on labour | £36 |
| Total quote | £456 + VAT |
Jobber lets you save your labour rates and common materials as line items, so building a quote takes minutes not half an hour.
Try Jobber Free for 14 Days →The Bottom Line
Pricing properly isn’t about charging more than the job is worth – it’s about charging what it’s actually worth. Know your costs, add a fair profit, price your materials correctly, and don’t let customers pressure you into undercutting yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Calculate five components: your labour cost at your day or hourly rate, materials at cost plus a 15–25% markup, any subcontractor or plant hire costs, a contribution to your business overheads, and your profit margin. Build these into a written quote with a clear scope of works, payment terms, and a 30-day validity period. Never price from memory or gut feel alone.
Calculate your break-even hourly rate first: add your total annual business costs (van, insurance, tools, tax, etc.) to your target personal income, then divide by your billable hours per year (typically around 1,200 for a sole trader). Add 20–30% profit margin on top. Most UK tradespeople charge between £25 and £60 per hour depending on trade and location.
A standard materials markup for UK tradespeople is 15–25% on top of your trade cost. This covers your time sourcing, ordering, collecting, transporting, and managing materials on the job. Never pass materials through at cost, you are providing a procurement service, not acting as a merchant. If a customer questions the markup, explain what it covers.
Add your target annual personal income to your total annual business costs. Divide by your realistic billable days per year (typically 190–210 for a sole trader after holidays, training days, and non-billable admin). Then add your profit margin on top. Most UK tradespeople work to a day rate of £200–£450 depending on trade, specialism, and location.
The most commonly forgotten costs are travel time and fuel, time spent quoting and chasing invoices, tool wear and replacement, slow periods with no incoming work, insurance and professional memberships, and tax and National Insurance. Once you account for all of these, your real hourly cost is usually significantly higher than the simple labour + materials calculation suggests.
Don’t immediately drop your price. First, explain the value you bring, your experience, guarantees, reliability, and the quality of materials. Second, offer a reduced scope: can you phase the work so they spend less upfront? Third, hold firm if needed, customers who only want the cheapest option are often the most difficult to work with and the slowest to pay.
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