How to price building work without guessing your profit.
A quote is not a vibe. It is a margin decision.
A practical structure for UK builders pricing residential work: scope, labour, materials, subcontractors, preliminaries, overhead, margin, and variations.
Building work pricing worksheet
A compact worksheet for checking scope, labour, materials, overhead, and margin.
Template preview
Scope
Write clearly
Included and excluded works
1
Labour
Price separately
Trade days and crew size
1
Materials
Check current prices
Supplier allowances and waste
1
Margin
Do before sending
Overhead, profit, and contingency
1
| Section | Item | Qty | Allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope | Included and excluded works | 1 | Write clearly |
| Labour | Trade days and crew size | 1 | Price separately |
| Materials | Supplier allowances and waste | 1 | Check current prices |
| Margin | Overhead, profit, and contingency | 1 | Do before sending |
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Scope wording
This quote is based on the scope and assumptions listed. Any work outside this scope will be priced and agreed before proceeding.
Payment wording
Payment stages are due at the milestones shown. Materials, variations, and additional work may require separate agreement.
Start with scope, not the final number
Write down what is included, what is excluded, and where the client could change their mind. The cleaner the scope, the safer the price.
Price labour and materials separately
Day rates, subcontractors, supplier prices, waste, deliveries, skips, access, and hire costs should be visible before markup.
Add overhead and profit deliberately
The quote has to cover admin, site visits, tools, vehicles, delays, and the profit you need for the job to be worth taking.
What to do before you send the price.
Step 1
Break the project into job sections.
Step 2
Price labour, materials, subcontractors, plant, waste, and access.
Step 3
Add overhead, markup, payment stages, exclusions, and variation terms.
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Quick answers.
What margin should builders aim for?
It depends on the work, risk, and business overhead. The important part is calculating margin deliberately instead of hoping it is still there at the end.
What is the biggest pricing mistake?
Forgetting the boring costs: site setup, waste, collections, access, snagging, delays, admin, and unpaid variations.