A 30% markup is not 30% profit. Enter your cost and see exactly what markup gives you which margin—and stop leaving money on the table by confusing the two.
A 30% markup on a $1,000 job gives you a $1,300 sale price and $300 profit. But that $300 is only 23% of $1,300—that's your gross margin. If you're telling yourself "I make 30% on every job," you're actually making 23%. If your overhead is 20%, you're netting 3%—barely above breakeven. The math isn't pedantic. It determines whether you grow or grind.
If you want 30% gross margin, you need a 42.9% markup. If you want 40% gross margin, you need a 66.7% markup. The formula: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). Most tradesmen price at 20–30% markup while thinking they have 20–30% margin. They have 17–23%. That 3–7 point gap at scale is the difference between building a business and staying a one-man band.
Gross margin is price minus direct job costs. Net margin is what's left after overhead—insurance, truck, tools, software, phone, advertising. If your gross margin is 30% and overhead is 22% of revenue, your net margin is 8%. A solo tradesman at $200k revenue is keeping $16,000 in net profit at that rate. Know both numbers or the gross margin feels better than it is.
The Tradesman's Business Starter Kit includes a pricing formula guide, markup-to-margin cheat sheet, and the core business forms every solo trade needs to run profitably. Guide from $19 — Complete Kit with all 19 templates, $49.
Get the Business Kit — $19Markup and margin are not the same thing, and confusing them costs contractors thousands every year. Enter your cost and target margin, and this calculator shows you the correct markup percentage to use — and why applying a 30% markup doesn't give you a 30% margin. Understanding this one number fixes a systemic pricing error most tradespeople don't know they're making.