A profit margin calculator helps you estimate - but estimates don't catch the costs that silently eat away at your profits. A missed supplier invoice here, an untracked material run there, and suddenly your 30% margin is closer to 10%.
Fergus connects directly to your suppliers and reads PDF invoices automatically using the power of AI, so every cost is captured against the right job without manual data entry. You get live margin tracking from quote to completion - not a best-guess spreadsheet after the fact.
A profit margin calculator is a free tool that helps tradespeople work out the percentage of profit on a job after factoring in labour costs, material costs, overheads, and your service price. It's a quick way to check whether a job is worth doing - but it only works if you input accurate numbers. Fergus automates this by tracking real costs in real time.
Most trade businesses aim for a gross profit margin between 25% and 50%, depending on the trade, job size, and region. The bigger issue for most tradies isn't the target - it's not knowing their actual margin because costs aren't tracked properly. That's where Fergus helps.
Subtract your total costs (labour + materials + overheads) from your service price, then divide by the service price and multiply by 100. For example: if a job costs $650 and you charge $1,000, your profit margin is 35%. Use the free calculator above to run your own numbers instantly.
Usually because hidden costs weren't tracked - extra material runs, unlogged hours, supplier invoices that weren't matched to the job. A profit margin calculator can't catch these after the fact. Fergus tracks costs as they happen, so you see your real margin before it's too late.
Fergus uses PDF invoice reading to extract costs from your supplier invoices and match them to the correct job. Instead of manually entering every invoice from Reece, Tradelink, or your local supplier, Fergus captures the data and allocates it - saving hours of admin every week.
Yes. Beyond labour and materials, Fergus lets you factor in overhead costs like vehicle expenses, insurance, tool depreciation, and admin time. This gives you a true net profit margin - not just a rough estimate based on materials and hours.
A calculator is a great starting point for individual job estimates. But as your business grows - more jobs, more staff, more suppliers - you need automated cost tracking to keep margins accurate. Fergus replaces the guesswork with real data across every job.
Spreadsheets rely on you entering data manually, which means costs get missed or entered late. Fergus captures costs at the source - from timesheets, supplier invoices, and purchase orders - and matches them to jobs automatically. You get a live view of profitability, not a stale spreadsheet you update on weekends.
The free profit margin calculator above gives you a solid starting point. But if you're running multiple jobs, managing a team, and dealing with supplier invoices every week - you need more than a calculator.
With Fergus, every cost is captured automatically. Supplier invoices are read and matched to jobs. Labour hours are tracked in real time. And you can see your actual profit margin on any job, any time - without touching a spreadsheet.
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