How to price a job as a contractor

Pricing is three decisions: what your hour actually costs, what you mark materials up, and what margin you need to still be in business next year.

Your labor rate is not your wage

A billable hour has to carry payroll taxes, insurance, vehicle, tools, phone, software, unbillable drive time, and the hours you spend writing estimates. Contractors who bill their hourly wage are running a job, not a business.

Material markup

Markup covers procurement: sourcing, pickup, delivery, returns, warranty handling and the money you float before you get paid. Whatever number you use, apply it consistently and state it the same way on every estimate.

Margin versus markup

They are not the same arithmetic, and confusing them quietly erodes profit. Marking up cost by 20% does not produce a 20% margin. Decide which one you are managing to, and check a finished job against it.

Price the access, not just the work

The same fixture in an open basement and in a second-floor closet are not the same job. Attic heat, crawlspace, stairs, parking and protecting finished floors are real hours — put them in the estimate rather than absorbing them.

Let your own history set the number

The most accurate pricing input you have is what you actually charged on comparable jobs. That is the whole idea behind BidWand's price book: every rate you correct on an estimate is applied to the next one.

Generate this estimate now

Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.

What you get — see the format first

A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:

Description	Qty	Unit	Unit price	Total
Labor — itemized by task	hrs	hour	your rate	—
Materials — with your markup applied	qty	ea / sq ft	cost + markup	—
Permits, disposal, access	—	—	—	—

Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.

Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.

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