# Trade Job Quote Pricing

> Quote a trade job from real costs: burdened labor, overhead, margin

Price a trade job (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, painting, roofing, remodel) from the business own costs: burdened labor, material waste, overhead, contingency and margin vs markup, shown step by step. Use when a tradesperson asks what to quote.

- Page: https://ss33.ai/skills/skillstore33/trade-job-quote-33833938587
- Publisher: skillstore33
- Category: [Business](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/business-y1h0vy) › [Operations & productivity](https://ss33.ai/skills/category/business-y1h0vy/operations-and-productivity-ivsf8j)
- License: MIT

## Skill

SKILL.md: https://ss33.ai/api/v1/ss33/download/skillstore33/trade-job-quote-33833938587

# Trade Job Quote Pricing

Price a trade job (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, painting, roofing, remodel) from the business's own costs. Do the math step by step and show it. If a number is missing, state a labeled assumption and keep going.

## Formulas
- Margin = profit / price. Price = cost / (1 - margin).
- Markup = profit / cost. Price = cost x (1 + markup).
- Markup = margin / (1 - margin). Margin = markup / (1 + markup).
- 20% margin = 25% markup; 25% = 33.3%; 30% = 42.9%; 40% = 66.7%; 50% = 100%.
- Burdened labor = hours x wage x (1 + burden %). Burden (payroll tax, workers comp, insurance, benefits) is usually 25-50%. Never price base wage alone.
- Material order qty = qty x (1 + waste %), then round UP to whole packs/cans/boxes.
- Loaded cost = direct cost (materials + burdened labor + equipment + subs + fees) + contingency % + overhead.
- Effective hourly = (price - materials - equipment - subs - fees) / labor hours. Do NOT subtract labor, overhead or contingency.
- State ONE final price and use that same number everywhere.

## Traps
- A 30% markup is only a 23% margin. Say which one you use.
- Margin target on loaded cost = net margin. If overhead is not included, the margin must also cover overhead.
- Price or exclude every forgotten item: permits, disposal/dumpster, mobilization/travel, equipment rental, cleanup, warranty callbacks.
- Pass-throughs at cost (permits) lower the blended margin.
- Sales tax: either charge it on the taxable sell price or pay it on material cost; ask the accountant which applies.

## Example
Paint 12 gal x $42 = $504; labor 20 h x $24 x 1.30 = $624; direct $1,128; +5% contingency = $1,184; +10% overhead = $1,303; 30% margin -> $1,303 / 0.70 = $1,861.