material markup for tradesmen
Quoting for Materials: How to Apply Markups Fairly
Yes, you should mark up materials - trades typically apply 10-25% on trade price - and no, it isn't dishonest. The markup pays for a real service: choosing the right kit, collecting it, handling it, sending back the duds and standing behind the warranty of everything you fit. The trades that feel guilty about it are usually the ones going bust politely.
The discomfort comes from framing it as 'charging more than I paid'. Reframe it as what it actually is - a handling, warranty and collection fee - and it gets much easier to defend, to customers and to yourself.
What the markup actually pays for
- Sourcing and spec - knowing which of the forty options on the shelf is right for this job
- Collection - your time and fuel to the merchant, often more than once
- Handling and storage - moving it, protecting it, keeping it dry until it's needed
- Returns - dealing with the faulty shower valve so the customer never has to
- Warranty - if something you supplied fails, you sort the replacement and refit it
That last one is the big one. When you supply the materials, you stand behind them. When the customer supplies their own bargain from the internet, every fault, missing part and three-week return becomes their problem - and your paid revisit.
How much is fair
Somewhere in the 10-25% range covers most trades. Many run it on a sliding scale - a heavier percentage on small consumables that cost disproportionate time to source, a lighter one on big-ticket items where 25% would look silly. Whatever you choose, be consistent, and make sure the percentage genuinely covers the collection trips and returns admin it's supposed to fund.
What to say when a customer questions it
Sooner or later someone finds the same tap online for less and asks why yours costs more. Don't get defensive - this is a fair question with a good answer.
Good question - the price covers more than the box. I spec the right part for the job, collect it, and I deal with returns if anything turns up faulty. Because I supply it, I also stand behind it: if it fails, I sort the replacement and the labour to refit it, at no cost to you. You're welcome to supply your own materials instead - but any faults, returns or delays with those would be yours to sort, and revisits would be chargeable.
Supply-and-fit pricing kills the receipt argument
The cleanest fix is not showing the workings at all: quote a fixed supply-and-fit price per item or per room. The customer gets one clear number for the finished, warranted result; you never have to produce a merchant receipt or defend a percentage line by line. Open-book pricing invites auditing - supply-and-fit invites a yes or a no.
From the tools: My brother, a spark in Leeds, learned this on a consumer unit swap. He'd quoted the board at cost - about £140 - trying to be the honest guy. The unit turned up with a faulty RCBO, and he spent most of a morning at the wholesaler swapping it, then came back after hours to finish. Total extra time: half a day, earned: nothing. The customer never knew any of it happened, which is exactly the point - that invisible half-day is what the markup is for. He now runs roughly 15-20% on materials, quotes supply-and-fit, and hasn't had a single receipt argument since. Same honest bloke; the pricing just finally matches the service he was already providing.
If you quote itemised jobs, keeping materials lines tidy is half the battle - Quotato drafts the itemised labour-and-materials breakdown for you from a voice note, so the supply-and-fit lines come out clean and consistent every time.
Stop under-charging for materials - send tidy supply-and-fit quotes in seconds.
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