How to Price Your Work as a Tradesperson.

Your price has to cover far more than your time on site. Charging £40 an hour doesn't mean you take home £40. That money also pays for travel, quoting, paperwork, tools, insurance, holidays, quiet weeks and mistakes.

1. Add up what the business needs to bring in over a year: all your costs, plus what you need to live on and some profit.
2. Work out how many hours you can realistically charge for in a year.
3. Divide the first by the second. That's what each charged hour needs to bring in, before materials.
4. Check it against real jobs, and adjust.

• Day rate: what you charge for a full day's work.
• Chargeable hour: time a customer actually pays for.
• Overheads: the costs of running the business that aren't tied to one job, like your van, insurance and phone.
• Margin: the part of the price left over as profit.
• Quote: a fixed price for the work described. Once accepted, it's what they pay unless the work changes.
• Estimate: your best guess at the price. It can change.
• VAT: tax added to your prices once you're VAT registered.

Job costs, and the cost of running the business:

• Materials and subcontractors
• Time actually on the job
• Travel, parking and waste
• Van, fuel, tools and kit
• Insurance, software and accountant
• Quoting, paperwork and unpaid time
• Holidays, sick days and your pension
• A bit for when things go wrong, and profit

This is just an example, not advice on your prices or tax. If the business needs £60,000 a year before VAT, and you can realistically charge for 1,000 hours, each charged hour needs to bring in £60, before materials. Change either number and the answer changes.

Say what they'll pay, and what could change it.

For homeowners, the price you show must be the total, including any charges they can't avoid and VAT if you're registered. Since April 2025, breaking these pricing rules can mean a fine of up to 10% of turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater.

If no price was agreed before the work, the law says the customer pays a reasonable price. Every job must also be done with reasonable care and skill.

After a few typical jobs, note what you estimated and what it actually took: labour, materials, subcontractors, travel, waste and callbacks. Look for patterns, not one bad day.

• Labour went over: did I miss access, finding the fault or finishing time?
• Materials went over: did prices go up, quantities fall short, or waste go up?
• Not winning quotes: am I explaining the job and the value badly?
• Busy but skint: are deposits, stages, VAT and payment times realistic?

Change your numbers on purpose. Don't drop a fair price because a competitor's quoted less without explaining it.