How to price a job as a tradesperson without losing work

Start by knowing your real day rate

You can't price a job until you know what a day of your time actually costs. Don't guess. Work out what you need to earn in a year, divide it by the days you can realistically bill (most full-time tradespeople bill around 200–220 days a year once you take off weekends, holidays, sick days and quoting time), and you have a starting day rate.

Be honest about the days you lose. If you assume you'll bill 250 days and you only manage 200, every job you quoted is underpriced by a quarter. That gap is where a lot of tradespeople quietly lose money without realising it.

The simple pricing formula

Almost every job comes down to four things added together:

• Materials — what you'll spend on parts, fittings and consumables, including a bit of waste.
• Labour — your day rate multiplied by the number of days the job will take (and any second pair of hands).
• Overheads — van, fuel, tools, insurance, phone, accounting. Spread these across your jobs so a slice lands on each quote.
• Profit — a margin on top. This is not the same as your wage; it's what keeps the business healthy and gives you something for the risk you carry.

Add a sensible margin on materials too. If you're sourcing, ordering, collecting and guaranteeing the parts, marking them up 10–20% is normal and fair — you're carrying the cost and the responsibility if something fails.

Quote the job, not the hour

Wherever you can, give one fixed price for the whole job rather than an hourly rate. Customers compare the bottom-line number, and a fixed price feels safer to them than an open-ended clock. It also rewards you for being good — if you finish faster than you expected, that efficiency is yours, not a discount.

Keep day rates and hourly charges for genuinely open-ended work like emergency call-outs or "see what we find" repairs, and say clearly when that's what's happening.

Always add for the unknowns

The job you quote is rarely the job you do. Old pipework, hidden damp, a wall that isn't square, a customer who adds "while you're here" jobs — they all eat time. Build a contingency into bigger or older-property jobs (often 10–15%) so a surprise doesn't wipe out your profit.

If you genuinely can't see what's behind a wall or under a floor, say so in the quote: price the known work and note that anything hidden will be agreed before you proceed. Honest beats cheap every time.

Put it in writing — clearly

A scribbled number on the back of a hand loses jobs. A clear written quote wins them. Break it into what's included, what's not, roughly when you can start, and how long it'll take. The customer can see exactly what they're paying for, and you've protected yourself if the scope changes.

A tidy quote is part of looking professional — and so is having somewhere for the customer to check you out before they reply. A simple website you own does that job around the clock. See what makes a good trade website and whether tradespeople really need a website.

Don't compete on being the cheapest

It's tempting to drop your price to win a job, especially when work is quiet. But the cheapest quote attracts the most difficult, most demanding customers and the lowest margins — and it teaches people to haggle you down next time. Most homeowners don't pick the lowest number anyway; they pick the tradesperson who turns up, explains things clearly, and feels reliable.

If you keep losing on price to firms you know are cutting corners, the fix usually isn't a lower price — it's showing more clearly why you're worth it. That's also the real choice behind your own website versus lead-gen sites like Checkatrade and MyBuilder: own your reputation rather than renting it.

If you're losing jobs, it's usually not the price

Tradespeople assume they lose quotes because they're too expensive. Far more often it's one of these:

• You replied too slowly. Most enquiries go to whoever answers first and seems dependable.
• The quote was vague. A confusing or verbal quote makes a customer nervous, so they go with the clearer one.
• There was nothing to check. No website, no reviews, nothing that says you're real and good at your job.

Fix those three and you'll win more jobs at the same price. A fast reply, a clear written quote and a few genuine reviews do more for your win rate than shaving £50 off. We dig into the whole picture in how to get more local work as a tradesperson and how to get more 5-star reviews.

Review your prices regularly

Materials and fuel move, and your skills are worth more with every year of experience. Check your day rate at least once a year and don't be shy about raising it for new quotes. Existing happy customers rarely walk over a fair, modest increase — and the ones who only ever cared about price were never your best customers anyway.

The short version

Know your real day rate, add up materials, labour, overheads and profit, quote one clear total, and build in a little for the unknowns. Don't chase being cheapest — be the clearest, fastest and most trustworthy quote instead. Whether you're a plumber, a builder or any other trade, that's how you price work that pays and still win the jobs you want.

Frequently asked questions

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