A WhatsApp comes in: “How much for the tiles and fitting?” You price labour from your true hourly rate. Then you paste the merchant screenshot as the materials line. That is how you donate Saturday morning at Wickes.
Markup is not a con. It is the cost of handling the stuff. Labour recovers your time on the tools. Materials markup recovers everything around the stuff.
When yes, when no
| Situation | Markup? |
|---|---|
| You buy, collect, store, and warrant it | Yes |
| You order and have it delivered to site | Yes — smaller is fine |
| Customer buys; you fit only | No materials line |
| You pass the merchant invoice with zero handling | Usually no |
Typical UK range on merchant net (what you actually pay, after trade discount): 10–25%. Repeat, boring jobs sit at the low end. Awkward, fragile, or one-off kit sits higher.
How to apply it
Quoted materials = merchant net × (1 + markup %)
Worked bathroom: you pay £400 net at the merchant. At 20% the materials line on the quote is £480. That £80 is not profit in the “holiday” sense. It is the run, the offcut, the cracked tile in the box, and the week your card was down before the customer paid.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Merchant net (tiles, adhesive, trim) | £400 |
| Markup 20% | £80 |
| Materials on the quote | £480 |
Show it as “materials” or as a lump with labour. You do not have to print “20% markup”. You do have to know it is in the number.
If you are under CIS, the deduction is on the labour element the contractor pays you — not a reason to skip markup on goods you actually supply. Keep materials and labour distinct in your own workings even if the customer sees one total.
What people miss
Double-counting the van. If the hourly rate already includes fuel and insurance, do not also slap 40% on a pack of screws “because of the van”.
Ignoring wastage. Markup is handling. Wastage is extra quantity. Tile a 10% waste factor first, then markup the net you will actually buy.
Quoting yesterday’s ticket. Merchant prices move. A quote that is valid for 30 days needs either a short validity or a materials-rise line.
Customer-supplied “bargains”. If they buy the boiler off Facebook and it is wrong, that is their delay. Do not eat it in your labour.
Related guides
FAQ
- Is 20% greedy?
- Not if you actually handle the materials. Ten percent is thin once you count a merchant run and a damaged pack. Twenty percent is ordinary for many UK trades.
- Should I show markup as its own line?
- You can. Most customers only need a materials total. The % is for you.
- What if they want to buy it themselves to save money?
- Let them. Quote labour only, and write that delays, shortages, and wrong spec are theirs. Do not then fetch it “as a favour”.
- Does this replace my hourly rate?
- No. Hourly rate pays time. Markup pays handling the goods. You need both.
