Resources
Guides for running a profitable trade business
Plain-English guides on quoting, job costing and profit - written for Aussie tradies and trade businesses. No fluff.
Job profit margin calculator
Punch in a quote and your costs to see the real profit, margin and markup on any job. GST-aware, works in seconds.
Open the calculatorHow to quote a carpentry job (so you actually make money)
Cover your costs, pay yourself properly, and still win the work - a step-by-step way to price a job instead of guessing a number.
Read the guide· 9 min readWhy your jobs aren't as profitable as you think
Flat out all year but the bank balance never shows it? Here is where margin quietly leaks - and how to catch it before the job's done.
Read the guide· 8 min readWhat is a good profit margin for a tradie in Australia?
Gross vs net, markup vs margin, and what the ATO's benchmarks say a trade business actually keeps - plus where margin leaks on real jobs.
Read the guide· 8 min readJob costing for tradies: a plain-English guide
What it is, why it matters, and the simplest way to do it - with a worked deck-build example. No accounting degree required.
Read the guide· 8 min readQuote vs estimate: what Aussie tradies need to know
They are not the same thing, and mixing them up costs you money or lands you in a dispute. The difference, and when to use each.
Read the guide· 8 min readDo I need to put GST on a quote?
Registered for GST? Show it on every quote and give homeowners the inc-GST total. Not registered? Leave it off. The ATO threshold, the tax invoice rules and a layout that gets it right.
Read the guide· 7 min readProgress claims and payment stages: how to get paid faster
Stop bankrolling big jobs out of your own pocket. How to structure deposits and progress payments so cash comes in as the work goes out.
Read the guide· 8 min readVariations in construction: how to price them and get them approved
Scope change or your own mistake? How to price a variation properly, get a written yes before you start, and make sure it lands on the invoice.
Read the guide· 8 min readThe best tradie apps in Australia, checked October 2026
The apps an Australian trade business runs on, checked October 2026: six job apps (ours included), the accounting apps they sync with, and how each one gets you paid.
Read the guide· 10 min readProgress claim template for Australian tradies (free download)
A free progress claim template in Excel and printable form: stages, variations, previous claims and GST worked out for you, plus what NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA say.
Read the guide· 7 min readHow to quote a job as a tradie, step by step
Scope, take-off, labour at your true hourly cost, overhead, contingency and a real margin, then GST and the paperwork. Any trade, with a worked example and a free template.
Read the guide· 9 min readFree quote template for tradies (Excel and printable)
A free Excel and printable quote template with scope, itemised price, GST, payment stages and an acceptance block, plus a pricing worksheet for your costs and margin.
Read the guide· 6 min readJob costing spreadsheet template for tradies (free Excel download)
A free Excel job costing template: a timesheet and a cost log per job, budget against actual for every cost line, expected profit at finish and a warning before the job goes bad.
Read the guide· 6 min readHow to price a landscaping job (step by step, with a worked example)
Measure the site, turn it into square and cubic metres, cost the crew and the machines, allow for weather and disposal, then add a real margin. With a worked backyard example.
Read the guide· 8 min readHow to price a painting job (step by step, with a worked example)
Measure surfaces, not rooms. Turn them into hours with your own production rates, work out the paint from the spread rate, add prep, access and a real margin. With a worked four-bedroom example.
Read the guide· 8 min readHow to price a concreting job (step by step, with a worked example)
Work out the cubic metres, price everything around the concrete (dig, base, forms, steel, pump, finish, cuts and sealing), cost the crew, add a margin, then check the rate per square metre.
Read the guide· 7 min readHow to price a job as a tradie: the method behind every quote
The three numbers behind every price, five ways to price a job and when each fits, one job priced three ways, and when to change your prices. With links to the trade-by-trade guides.
Read the guide· 8 min readPayment claims in NSW: a tradie's guide to the Security of Payment Act
Who the NSW Security of Payment Act covers, what a payment claim must say, the 10-business-day payment schedule, when you should be paid, and what to do if you are not. General information, from the NSW Government pages.
Read the guide· 11 min readKnow your profit on every job
TrackYaTradie shows you costs vs profit on every job, live - so you can fix problems before they eat your margin.
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