Landscaping
Landscaping Material Markup Calculator
Price bulk material so delivery, handling and waste are recovered.
Result
Markup is measured against your cost, margin against the price you charge. A 50% markup is a 33.3% margin, not a 50% one. Pricing off the wrong one is the most common way a job that looked profitable turns out not to have been.
Get a Free Business AuditWhat moves the number
- Delivery cost, which on bulk material is substantial and is per load rather than per yard.
- Handling, since material tipped at the kerb has to be moved.
- Waste and over-ordering, which you buy and the customer does not see.
Where this one goes wrong
Marking up the material and absorbing the delivery. A part load of bulk material carries almost the same delivery cost as a full one, and on small jobs the delivery can exceed the material value.
Questions
About this calculator
How should delivery be handled?
Recovered explicitly, because it is per load rather than per unit. Small deliveries carry a disproportionate cost that a percentage markup on the material does not cover.
Should waste be in the markup or the quantity?
In the quantity where it is predictable, so it is visible. Hidden in markup you cannot tell whether your allowance is right.
Is it worth stockpiling bulk material?
It reduces delivery cost per job and requires space, handling and the risk of material degrading. It suits a business with a yard and a steady volume.
The formula
price = cost x (1 + markup%); margin = profit / price
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How to use this calculator
- Your cost ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $190.
- Markup on cost (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 45%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to price, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Your cost | $190 |
| Markup on cost | 45% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Price main result | $275.50 |
| Gross profit | $85.50 |
| Margin that gives you | 31.0% |
A 45% markup on $190 prices the job at $275.50, which is 31.0% margin, not 45%.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only your cost, this is what happens to price. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Your cost ($) | Price |
|---|---|
| $95 | $137.75 |
| $143 | $207.35 |
| $190 example above | $275.50 |
| $285 | $413.25 |
| $380 | $551 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Your cost ($)
- A money amount, starting at $190.
- Markup on cost (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 500, starting at 45%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Price | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Gross profit | A money figure. |
| Margin that gives you | A percentage. |
Seasonality is not in this
Coverage and material figures assume the area you enter. Slope, access for machinery, existing growth and the time of year all affect both quantity and labour, and none of them appear in a calculation like this.
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.