Does your quote make money?
Plenty of quotes look fine until the hours run over and the materials are paid for. What is left has to cover your whole rate, the van included. Enter your next quote and see what you really earn per hour.
2026/27 tax year
Your body is your most important tool, and you can't buy a new one
Being a tradesperson is hard physical work. Knees, back and shoulders do not last 50 years on ladders and scaffolding, and nobody pays you when they say stop. Your rate has to pay for that while you still can.
- 68Born after 5 April 1978? Under today's law your State Pension age is 68, and for those born in the year before it lies between 67 and 68, phased in from 2044. For people born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977 it is 67. The next review could move it again.
- 41,000construction workers in Great Britain suffer from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder: 53% of all work-related ill health in the sector, and 2.0% of its workers against 1.2% across all industries (HSE, average 2022/23 to 2024/25).
- £0Statutory Sick Pay (£123.25 a week from the first day off in 2026/27) is for employees only. Off sick as a sole trader, your income stops the same day unless you pay for income protection yourself.
- 0%No employer pays into your pension. An employee is auto-enrolled with at least 8% of qualifying earnings, 3% of it from the employer. You only get what you build into your own rate.
Do the maths: to stop at 63 instead of 68 you have to fund 5 years without pay. At £2,000 a month that is £120,000 before tax and inflation, and the State Pension, at most £241.30 a week, does not start until 68. That money only comes from one place: your rate in the years your body can still do the work.
Underpricing is not the way to a good life. Every hour you sell too cheaply, you pay for later with your body, your pension and your time off.
Where do the numbers come from?
Every number in the check is either an official UK rate or an estimate that we label as one. Open a field to see why, with an example from real life.
Quote price excl. VAT
The total price in the quote without VAT. If you are VAT-registered, the VAT is not yours: you only collect it for HMRC. The typical jobs per trade are Bidmio's estimates.
Real life: A quote of £3,840 incl. VAT is only £3,200 for a VAT-registered decorator. Always work without VAT.
Hours in the quote
The hours you priced in to do the job at the customer's.
Real life: Count the pricing visit, collecting materials and the handover too. Otherwise you are working on the job for free.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Extra hours
Unexpected work, waiting and return visits almost always come. 10% is Bidmio's estimate. If you do not know your own figure, compare your last five quotes with the hours you actually spent.
Real life: A job priced at 64 hours that takes 70 is six hours you are not paid for, and on a fixed quote nobody else will pay them.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Materials
What you pay the merchant for the materials, without VAT. If materials are at cost in the quote, only your hours make money.
Real life: Trips to the merchant, offcuts and returns cost time too. Put them either in the hours or as a markup on the materials.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Subcontractors and hire
Scaffolding, skips, plant and tool hire and other trades you pay on.
Real life: If the scaffold stays up an extra week because of the weather, you pay the hire.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
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Van in your rate
The rate calculator counts the van in your running costs: its monthly cost from the van check, spread over your billable hours. So once the quote covers your rate, the van is paid for, and it is not taken off a second time. The figure only shows how much of your rate goes on the van, excl. VAT.
Real life: A decorator who needs £44 an hour spends about £6.78 of every hour on the van. On a 70-hour job that is about £480 the quote has to cover through your rate. If you add travel as its own line on the quote, lower your rate by the same amount, or the customer pays for the van twice.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Your hourly rate
The hourly rate excl. VAT you need for your pay after tax, your pension and your costs. Filled in from the rate calculator.
Real life: If you need £44 an hour and the quote earns £32, you are £12 short on every single hour.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
All sources
2026/27 tax year
Rates change every tax year on 6 April, and some at the Budget. We update the figures once the new rates are published, but always check your own numbers with your accountant.
What does "the quote earns per hour" mean?
It is the quote price minus materials, subcontractors and hire, divided by the hours the job really takes. That figure has to cover your whole rate: pay, tax, pension and running costs, the van included. If it is below your rate, you are working for less than you need.
Why don't you take the van off?
Because it is already in your rate. The rate calculator counts the van in your running costs, along with insurance, tools and accounts. Taking it off the quote as well would count it twice and make the quote look worse than it is. The result shows the van's share of your rate on its own line, so you can see what it costs on the job.
Why do you add extra hours?
Almost every job takes a bit longer than priced: waiting for materials, return visits and the unexpected. Change the percentage to what you see on your own jobs.
Quote or estimate?
A quote is a fixed price the customer can hold you to; an estimate is a best guess that can change. If you give a fixed quote, the overrun is yours, which is why the extra hours matter so much.
Should I put a markup on materials?
You can, and then it is part of the quote price. In the check you enter materials at cost, so the markup counts as part of what you earn.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. The share link only contains the price, hours, materials and your rate.
Disclaimer
All calculations are a guide only and may contain errors. Bidmio gives no guarantee for the result, and the calculation is not tax, accounting or legal advice. The figures show what it takes to run a healthy, profitable business on the assumptions you entered and typical UK rates for 2026/27. Your own situation may differ, so always check the figures with your accountant before making decisions.