Free job profit & margin calculator for Australian tradies
Is your next quote actually profitable? Enter your price, materials, labour, subcontractors, travel and overheads. Instantly see estimated profit, cost markup, profit margin and the quote needed to reach your target. No sign-up or uploads; your job numbers stay in this browser tab.
Your job numbers
Use GST-exclusive amounts consistently, including for other cost categories where GST applies. Include your own labour and a realistic share of overhead. Margin = profit ÷ revenue; markup = profit ÷ cost.
Estimated result
How to calculate profit margin on a trade job
Use the quote price excluding GST and add up all estimated job costs: supplier materials, wages and your own labour, subcontractors, delivery or travel, consumables, and an appropriate share of overheads.
Job profit = quote (ex GST) − total job costs. Profit margin (%) = job profit ÷ quote (ex GST) × 100.
Worked Australian renovation example: a quote of A$4,000 before GST with A$1,200 in materials, A$800 in labour, A$150 in delivery and A$200 in extras has total costs of A$2,350. Estimated job profit is A$1,650, profit margin is 41.25% and markup on costs is 70.21%. Change the figures in the calculator above to model your own job.
These are estimates before income tax, not a business-wide net profit forecast. Include the real cost of your own time and relevant overheads rather than assuming your time is free.
Markup vs margin: why 30% markup is not 30% margin
Markup compares profit with cost; margin compares profit with the selling price. If a job costs A$1,000 and you add 30% markup, you quote A$1,300 and the actual profit margin is about 23.1%.
To target a 30% margin on A$1,000 of costs, divide A$1,000 by (1 − 0.30), giving a quote of about A$1,428.57 before GST.
Target-margin quote (ex GST) = total job costs ÷ (1 − target margin as a decimal).
For jobs where purchase prices or labour hours change, compare the estimate with actuals before trusting the original margin. See how renovation job costing connects those numbers once work begins.
Should GST be included when calculating job profit?
For a like-for-like estimate, use your ex-GST quote and consistently enter ex-GST costs where GST is creditable. GST collected from a customer is not automatically your income, and the 10% GST-inclusive quote shown above is illustrative only where that GST treatment applies. If you are not GST registered or an item has different treatment, check your actual figures.
For help moving from an estimate to a customer document, read the Australian tradie quoting and invoicing guide.
Job profit calculator: common questions
Is this Australian job profit calculator free?
Yes. It works in your browser without a Jaggery account, signup or uploading customer financial records.
What costs should a tradie include?
Include labour (including your own time), materials, subcontractors, vehicle and delivery costs, consumables, equipment costs and a fair allocation of business overheads. Leaving costs out can overstate the margin.
How much profit margin should a tradie target?
There is no single responsible target for every trade. Required margin depends on labour costs, overheads, risk, competition and the work involved. Use the target-margin field above to test a realistic price for your situation.
What if the calculated job profit is negative?
It means the estimated costs exceed the quote. Review the scope, missing labour, supplier pricing and other expenses before deciding whether the work is commercially viable.
Does Jaggery save the numbers entered in the calculator?
No. The calculator runs locally in this browser tab and does not send the figures to Jaggery's servers. You can copy or print your estimate yourself.
When a quote isn't the end of the job
For material-heavy projects, a profitable estimate can change once supplier bills, extra labour and deliveries arrive. Learn how Jaggery connects job costing with the project, or ask whether Jaggery fits your business.
Educational estimate only, not accounting or tax advice. Results exclude income tax and may not capture every business cost. The GST-inclusive amount is illustrative and applies only where 10% GST is due. No form details are uploaded or stored by this calculator.