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How the price of a bouquet is calculated
For a florist, the calculation has a step the other trades don't: waste. You first mark up the purchase cost for the flowers that will never be sold, and only then apply the multiplier.
Purchase costfor each line, the sum of the quantity × the unit purchase price excl. VAT
Cost marked up for wastepurchase cost × (1 + waste rate ÷ 100)
Selling price excl. VATmarked-up cost × multiplier
Recommended price incl. VATselling price excl. VAT × (1 + VAT rate ÷ 100)
Margin earned (excl. VAT)selling price excl. VAT − marked-up cost
What each term means
- Purchase cost
- The price paid to the wholesaler or grower, excl. VAT: stems, greenery and foliage, but also ribbon, paper, foam, vase or container. Forgotten supplies are so much margin given away.
- Waste (or breakage)
- The share of purchases that will never be sold: end-of-week unsold stock, damaged stems, flowers that opened too fast. For cut flowers, it often accounts for 10 to 20% of purchases. You mark it onto the purchase cost before the multiplier — otherwise the margin shown is wrong.
- Multiplier
- The multiplier applied to the marked-up cost. In shops it's commonly ×2 to ×2,5 on cut flowers, and up to ×3 on supplies. There's nothing lavish about it: it pays for refrigeration, water, cleaning the stems and your arranging time.
- VAT
- In France, cut flowers and ornamental plants fall under the reduced rate of 10%; objects and containers sold on their own (vases, candles, decorations) stay at 20%. So a mixed arrangement can combine two rates.
A worked example: a round bouquet of ten roses
Ten roses, a little greenery, careful wrapping. These are the calculator's pre-filled values.
- Roses: 10 stems at 1,00 € excl. VAT10 × 1,00 = 10,00 €
- Greenery & foliage= 2,00 €
- Ribbon & paper= 1,00 €
- Purchase cost10,00 + 2,00 + 1,00 = 13,00 €
- Waste 20%13,00 × 1,20 = 15,60 €
- Multiplier 2,515,60 × 2,5 = 39,00 € excl. VAT
- Margin earned39,00 − 15,60 = 23,40 €
- VAT 10%39,00 × 1,10 = 42,90 € incl. VAT
42,90 € incl. VAT in the window, for 23,40 € of gross margin on the creation.
These 23,40 € aren't profit: they pay for your 15 to 20 minutes of arranging, the refrigeration, the water, the cleaning of the stems, the shop rent. Brought back to the time spent, that's about 70 € an hour of workshop time before overheads — a decent wage once the premises and charges are paid, not a fortune. It's the multiplier that makes this bouquet viable, not the price of the roses: at a multiplier of 2, the same bouquet drops to 31,20 € excl. VAT and the margin to 15,60 €. The bouquet pricing app runs this calculation on every creation and shows the multiplier actually achieved.
FAQ
Bouquet price: frequently asked questions
Multiplier, waste, arranging time: the shop's benchmarks.
How do you calculate the selling price of a bouquet?
Add up the purchase cost excl. VAT of the stems, greenery and supplies, mark it up by your waste rate, then multiply by your multiplier and add VAT. Example: 13 € of purchases, marked up by 20% waste, make 15,60 €; at a multiplier of 2,5, that gives 39 € excl. VAT, i.e. 42,90 € incl. VAT at 10% VAT. Then check that the resulting margin really covers your arranging time.
What markup multiplier should a florist apply?
The usual multiplier runs from 2 to 2,5 on the purchase price excl. VAT of cut flowers, and can go up to 3 on supplies and small items. It isn't a comfort margin: it has to absorb waste, the cold room, water, cleaning and stripping the stems, the arranging and the time spent advising. Below 2, a shop with rent and an employee can't meet its overheads.
How do you build waste and breakage into your prices?
Mark up the purchase cost by the waste rate before applying the multiplier: a rose bought for 1 € with 15% waste is calculated on 1,15 €. For cut flowers, waste often accounts for 10 to 20% of purchases — more after a slow week or a badly judged order. Tracking your stock to bring that rate from 20 down to 12% is margin straight to the bottom line, without touching a single selling price.
How do you bill for arranging time?
Arranging time goes into the cost price just like the flowers: minutes spent × your all-in hourly rate. It's what sets a florist's bouquet apart from a supermarket bunch, and it has to show in the price. For events — weddings, funerals, décor — add the upfront preparation, transport, on-site setup and takedown to the quote, which often weigh more than the flowers themselves.
🌸 Take it up a gear
The app does this automatically by scanning your invoices
Scan the wholesaler's invoice: stems at real cost, recommended price and margin recalculated continuously. Free on iPhone & iPad.
Download on the App Store Discover the Florist →📄 Leave with your calculation
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.
Opens your browser's print preview: choose “Save as PDF”. Nothing is sent — the calculation never leaves your device.
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