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How a quote price is calculated
A fair quote always starts from the cost price, never from the next guy's price. First you add up everything the job costs, then you add the margin — in that order.
Materials costfor each line, the sum of the quantity × the unit price excl. VAT
Labourplanned hours × all-in hourly rate
Cost pricematerials + labour + miscellaneous costs
Selling price excl. VATcost price × (1 + target margin ÷ 100)
Price incl. VATselling price excl. VAT × (1 + VAT rate ÷ 100)
What each term means
- Materials
- The quantities actually installed, offcuts included. For straight-laid tiling, count 5 to 10% for breakage and cutting; up to 15% for diagonal laying or an awkwardly shaped room.
- All-in hourly rate
- What an hour of labour truly costs you: gross wage + employer's contributions + vehicle, tooling, insurance and fixed costs brought back to the billable hour. It's neither the net wage nor the rate you charge.
- Miscellaneous costs
- Everything that's neither material nor hour: equipment hire, skip and waste removal, consumables, fuel, site parking.
- Target margin
- The percentage added to the cost price. Mind the trap: a 30% margin on the cost price is not 30% of the selling price, but 23%.
- VAT
- In France, renovating a home completed more than two years ago usually falls under 10%, energy-improvement work under 5,5%, and new build under 20%. The reduced rate requires a declaration signed by the client — check your case with your accountant.
A worked example: 10 m² of tiling
A bathroom to tile, supply and fit. These are the calculator's pre-filled values.
- Tiles: 10 m² at 15 €/m²10 × 15 = 150 €
- Adhesive, spacers, grout= 150 €
- Total materials150 + 150 = 300 €
- Labour: 8 h at 35 €/h all-in8 × 35 = 280 €
- Miscellaneous costs (cutting, waste removal)= 20 €
- Job cost price300 + 280 + 20 = 600 €
- Target margin 30%600 × 1,30 = 780 € excl. VAT, of which 180 € margin
- VAT 10% (renovation)780 × 1,10 = 858 € incl. VAT
780 € excl. VAT, i.e. 78 € per m² supplied and fitted — 858 € incl. VAT for the client.
The real test comes after the job: if the tiling took 10 h instead of 8, the cost price rises to 670 € and the margin falls from 180 € to 110 €, i.e. 16% instead of 30% — without a single price moving. Timing your jobs is worth more than haggling with your merchant. The job cost price and margin app compares planned versus actual for you, service by service.
FAQ
Building quote: frequently asked questions
Quotes, hourly rate, margin, VAT: the questions that keep coming up on site.
How do you price a building quote?
Add up the materials (offcuts included), the planned hours multiplied by your all-in hourly rate and the site costs: that gives you the cost price. Then multiply it by (1 + your margin). Example: 300 € of materials + 280 € of labour + 20 € of costs = 600 € of cost, i.e. 780 € excl. VAT with a 30% margin. Never start from a per-m² price picked up from a fellow tradesman: his overheads aren't yours.
How do you calculate your hourly rate as a sole trader?
Divide your total annual overheads by your genuinely billable hours. Count 1 300 to 1 500 billable hours a year, not 1 800: quotes, measuring up, travel, callbacks and admin aren't billed. Example: 48 000 € of annual overheads (loaded pay, vehicle, ten-year structural and public-liability insurance, tooling, premises, accountant) ÷ 1 400 h ≈ 34 €/h. That's your floor, before margin and before profit.
What margin should you apply on a works quote?
In practice, many tradespeople aim for a 20 to 35% margin on the cost price, with an extra 10 to 30% mark-up on the materials they supply. The right figure depends on your trade, your order book and the risk of the job: a technical package in a major refurbishment justifies more than a simple fit in new build. The key is to decide it deliberately, then check the margin actually earned at the end.
What VAT rate applies to a renovation quote?
In France, three rates coexist in the building trade: 20% for new build and out-of-scope work, 10% for maintenance and renovation of a home completed more than two years ago, and 5,5% for energy-efficiency improvement work and associated works. The reduced rates apply on presentation of a declaration signed by the client, and don't cover major equipment or supply-only. When in doubt, your accountant decides.
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A clean sheet: your line items, the result, the key figures and the calculation method. To file, attach to a quote or show your accountant.
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