Profit = the price you charge − materials − any labour you pay for − your share of overheads − the value of your own time.
Price each job with a materials markup and a labour rate that already covers your costs, then check the job afterwards. Markup is not margin: a 20% markup on materials only gives you a 16.7% margin on them.
Being busy isn't the same as making money. A job can fill your week and still leave you worse off once fuel, the extra bag of adhesive, the trip back for silicone and the day you didn't charge for are counted. Here's how to see what a job actually makes.
What goes into the cost of a job
| Cost | Examples |
|---|---|
| Materials | Tiles (if you supply them), adhesive, grout, primer, levelling compound, tanking, trims, silicone |
| Paid labour | A labourer or second tiler, subcontractors |
| Job-specific costs | Skip or waste disposal, tool hire, parking, congestion charges, extra travel |
| Overheads (your share) | Van, insurance, phone, software, tool wear: spread over every day you bill |
| Your own time | Every day on site, plus the time quoting and collecting materials |
The last two are the ones that get forgotten. If your day rate already includes overheads (see working out your day rate), you don't need to add them again. You just need to bill enough days at that rate.
Markup vs margin
Markup is what you add to your cost. Margin is the share of the selling price that's profit. They're not the same number:
| Markup on cost | Margin on price |
|---|---|
| 10% | 9.1% |
| 15% | 13.0% |
| 20% | 16.7% |
| 25% | 20.0% |
| 33% | 24.8% |
Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). If you want a 20% margin on materials, you need a 25% markup.
Worked example
A kitchen floor quoted at £1,600 (no VAT). These are example figures; use your own.
| Line | Price to customer | Your cost |
|---|---|---|
| Labour, 3 days at £300 | £900 | — |
| Tiles, adhesive, grout, levelling (cost £560, 25% markup) | £700 | £560 |
| Skip bag and disposal | — | £60 |
| Total | £1,600 | £620 |
£1,600 − £620 = £980 left for your 3 days, or about £327 a day. That's slightly above the £300 day rate you priced at, because the £140 materials markup more than covered the £60 skip.
Now say the job overruns by a day because the floor needed more levelling than expected, and you didn't charge for it. You've still got £980, but it's spread over 4 days, so it drops to £245 a day. If your day rate is set to cover overheads, that day cost you money. This is why:
- exclusions on the quote matter: "levelling beyond X mm charged at £Y per m²";
- you should record how many days each job actually took.
Where tiling profit usually leaks
- Unpriced prep: levelling, removing old adhesive, priming, boarding.
- Extra trips: a second run to the merchant costs fuel and an hour or two of your day.
- Over-ordering materials you can't return or use on the next job.
- Small jobs with no minimum charge. See labour rates.
- Extras agreed verbally on site and never invoiced.
- Late payment: money you're owed is money you're lending.
Check the job afterwards
After each job, compare what you quoted with what it actually took: days on site, materials used, extra trips. After a few jobs you'll see which kinds of work pay well and which don't, and you can adjust your rates. Our labour cost calculator shows what a job earns per day before you send the quote.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Simplified expenses if you're self-employed · allowable vehicle costs and flat rates
- GOV.UK: VAT registration thresholds · £90,000 registration threshold
Prices change. Figures were checked on 20 October 2026; always check current costs and your own figures before quoting.