# 14.2, How to price your first job without underselling yourself
Your first few jobs set the tone for your whole business. If you start too cheap, it's hard to climb back up. You want a price that covers your costs, pays you properly, and still feels fair to the customer.
Quick rule of thumb: build your rate from your costs, then check it against local market rates – don't guess and don't copy blindly.
What to think about on your first job
Before you name a number, check:
- Your speed: As a new starter you'll be slower, but your rate still has to be solid. You allow more time, not a bargain\u2011basement day rate.
- Type of job: One\u2011off domestic work with a clear scope = fixed quote. Messy unknowns (fault\u2011finding, damage) = day rate plus materials, with a clear explanation.
- Travel and access: Long drives, traffic, parking, top\u2011floor flats, awkward access – all eat time and must be built into your price.
- Risk level: Old buildings, unknown services, DIY disasters, weather\u2011exposed work – higher risk jobs need more contingency.
- Local going rates: In 2026, many trades outside London sit roughly between \u00a3200 and \u00a3350 per day; London and the South East are often 30–40% higher. That's the ballpark you're swimming in.
Tip for new starters When you feel awkward about your price, the instinct is to knock money off. That "fear discounting" is how you end up busy but broke. If the number is fair, stand by it.
How to calculate a proper day rate
You're going to build this from the ground up, not from hearsay.
Step 1 – Decide what you need to earn
Pick a realistic target income for yourself before tax as a new starter – say \u00a330,000–\u00a340,000 per year. Then add your annual business costs. Typical ranges for a one\u2011person trade business:
- Van (finance, fuel, insurance, tax, maintenance): \u00a36,000–\u00a310,000
- Tools and equipment (replacement and new): \u00a31,000–\u00a33,000
- Insurance (public liability, maybe PI): \u00a3500–\u00a31,300
- Accountant, software, phone, broadband, bits and bobs: \u00a32,000–\u00a34,000
That often gives total overheads of around \u00a310,000–\u00a320,000 per year for a typical sole trader.
Example:
- Target income: \u00a335,000
- Overheads: \u00a313,000
- Total you need from jobs: \u00a348,000
Step 2 – Work out your billable days
You will not bill 5 days a week for 52 weeks. A realistic pattern:
- Weekdays in a year: 260
- Bank holidays: \u20118
- Holiday (yes, you still need it): \u201120
- Sick / random life days: \u20115
- Unbilled time (quotes, errands, slow periods): \u201125
- Billable days: about 200 days
Step 3 – Do the day\u2011rate maths
Use this formula:
(Target income + overheads) \u00f7 billable days = minimum day rate
Using the example:
\u00a348,000 \u00f7 200 = \u00a3240/day
That \u00a3240/day is your minimum survival rate, not your "nice to have". To give yourself room for quiet weeks and growth, add at least 15–25%:
\u00a3240 \u00d7 1.2 \u2248 \u00a3290/day
That lands right in the range current guides show for many trades in 2026 (roughly \u00a3200–\u00a3350/day outside London). Call it \u00a3280–\u00a3300/day as a sensible starting base for a new but competent tradesperson in many areas.
Quick check: if your calculated day rate is miles lower than local averages, you've probably missed some costs.
Turning your day rate into a quote
Once you've got your base day rate:
Estimate the time honestly
Walk the job, list the tasks, and ask: "How many days if things go reasonably to plan?" Be honest about being new – you will be slower at first.
Add time contingency
For your first year, add 20–30% to your honest time estimate.
Think 3 days? Price it at 3.5–4 days.
This covers you being slower and small surprises.
Add materials and a realistic markup
- Price materials at what they'll actually cost you.
- Add 10–20% markup to cover your time sourcing, collecting, and handling any returns or failures.
- Be straight if asked: "There's a small margin on materials to cover my time and to handle any issues with faulty gear."
Add overhead and profit on top
For small domestic jobs, a combined overhead and profit margin of 10–20% on top of labour + materials is common and reasonable. That's what lets you improve your kit, ride out slow spells and grow.
For a very simple job, you might just roll all of this into a single fixed price in your head. For anything bigger, it's worth doing the sums on paper at least once.
How to present your first quotes
At minimum, don't just text a number and hope for the best.
Put your quote in an email or simple PDF, even for small jobs.
Include:
- Scope in plain English (what you're actually doing)
- Total price (and a simple breakdown if it's a bigger job)
- What's not included (e.g. decorating, building control fees, skip)
- A "valid until" date (e.g. 30 days) so you can re\u2011price if materials jump.
For examples and wording, see Guide S16 – Writing your first quote.
Common pricing mistakes on first jobs
Learn these early and you skip years of pain:
Guessing or copying rates "The bloke down the road is \u00a3200/day so I'll do \u00a3180." You don't know his costs, if he's any good, or if he's losing money. Build your own rate.
Only counting time on the tools New starters forget travel, loading, merchants runs, tip runs, and paperwork. All of that has to be covered by your day rate, or you're effectively working for free.
Not charging properly for small jobs You do a 45\u2011minute job for \u00a340, but spent 40 minutes travelling, 10 minutes finding parking, and used materials. An hour and a half of your life for \u00a340 is not a business.
No deposit or payment stages You start a \u00a31,500 job with no deposit and no written stages. The customer delays paying and you're stuck funding their project from your overdraft.
Fear discounting You feel awkward about the number and knock \u00a3100 off "to be safe". All that teaches people is that you don't believe your own price. If the price is fair, say it calmly and stop talking.
Costs new trades usually forget
When you're pricing, make sure you've allowed for:
- Travel time and fuel – not just petrol, but the hours in the van.
- Parking, congestion charges, tolls – especially in cities.
- Waste and cleanup – rubble sacks, skips, tip fees, and your time to load and dump.
- Tool wear and consumables – blades, bits, abrasives, batteries, sealants, fixings.
- Insurance and registrations – liability cover, Gas Safe/NICEIC/other memberships spread over the year.
- Admin and quote time – visiting to quote, measuring, writing the quote, invoicing, chasing late payers.
If it costs you time or money, it has to show up in your pricing somewhere.
How much contingency to add?
You need a buffer in both time and money, especially on early jobs.
Time contingency:
- First year on your own: 20–30% extra on your honest time estimate.
- Once you've got a year of real timings written down, you can usually drop that to 10–15% on typical jobs.
Price contingency:
- On fixed\u2011price domestic jobs, it's sensible to have around 10–15% in mind as contingency within your total price, to cover minor unknowns and small material rises on longer jobs.
- You don't usually label this "contingency" on the quote – it's baked into your labour and margin. Bigger surprises (hidden rot, dangerous wiring) are a separate variation you price and agree as extra.
What to do next
If you're about to price your first few jobs, here's how to put this guide to work:
- Read: 14.1 – Day rate vs price work vs quoted (to pick the right pricing model for each job)
- Read: S16 – Writing your first quote (so your price looks as professional as the work you do)
- Download: Payment schedule and deposit terms template (to stop you funding jobs from your overdraft)
- Download: First job pricing worksheet (once it's live in Doc Hub – use it to run the numbers step\u2011by\u2011step)
- Use: Late Payment Calculator (if you're already chasing slow payers on those early jobs)
Sources (UK)
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) – earnings data for construction and building trades.
- InvoiceAdept – "How to price a job as a tradesperson UK | 2026 rate guide" – current day\u2011rate ranges and pricing advice for UK trades.
- Mendorend – "UK Tradesperson Costs 2026: What Every Trade Charges Per Hour" – typical hourly/day rate ranges by trade and region.
- HMRC guidance on allowable business expenses for the self\u2011employed – what you can claim as overheads.
- Checkatrade – "How to price a job with a pricing template" – example approaches to structuring quotes.
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