Work through a 100-unit job
Suppose the included job costs total 100 currency units. Add a 30% markup and the selling price becomes 130. The difference between price and included costs is 30. Divide that 30 by the price of 130 and the margin is approximately 23.08%.
To target a 30% margin on those same included costs, divide 100 by 0.70. The unrounded price is approximately 142.86. At that price, approximately 42.86 remains after the included costs, which is 30% of the selling price. Neither result is a local market recommendation.
Use a formula that matches the question
Contribution = selling price minus included costs. Margin = contribution divided by selling price. Markup = contribution divided by included costs. Target price = included costs divided by one minus the target margin expressed as a fraction.
Margin is undefined at a zero selling price; markup is undefined at zero cost. The margin calculator displays those cases as not defined instead of inventing a percentage. A target margin of 100% cannot be used with the target-price formula.
Check what your cost figure leaves out
The calculator's contribution is only the amount left after the costs you enter. If your input includes wages and supplies but leaves out insurance, administration, vehicle costs or payment fees, those omitted expenses still have to be paid. The result is not a verified net profit figure.
For comparisons across jobs, use consistent categories. Changing from wage-only cost on one quote to fully allocated cost on the next makes the percentages difficult to interpret, even if both calculations are arithmetically correct.
Check discounts and rounding after setting a price
A discount reduces revenue while many job costs stay the same. For the 100-unit example, discounting a 142.86 quote by 10% produces approximately 128.57 in revenue. That leaves approximately 28.57 before omitted costs, or a margin near 22.22%.
The quote tool can round a target price upward to a chosen increment. Rounding upward can make the resulting margin slightly higher than the target. Check the actual displayed percentage and agree a clear final price with the customer. Whether that price is competitive still requires your own market and customer judgment.
How this guide was prepared
Written with AI assistance and checked against the published calculation method and worked examples. StayReady does not claim field research or local cleaning-rate expertise. Read our method and limitations.