Guide · Pricing
How to price flooring installation: building a rate per square metre
A flooring rate that feels right is not the same as one that pays. This guide builds a supply and install rate per square metre from the costs underneath it, shows the difference between margin and markup, and covers the extras that belong on their own lines.
Two ways to charge
- Supply and install, one rate per m². Common for builder work: the builder compares one figure per finish, and the rate already carries material, labour and overheads.
- Supply and install priced separately. Common in retail and renovation work, and when the client buys the material elsewhere. The install rate then has to carry the overheads on its own.
Either way, the rate is applied to the area you buy (whole packs, or lineal metres off the roll), not the net area of the rooms, so waste and part packs are paid for. The hybrid flooring calculator shows that step.
The parts of a rate
Material
Your buying price per m² for the range, from the supplier's current price list, including delivery if you pay it. Use the price you will pay when the job is ordered, which on builder work can be months after the quote.
Labour
Work out what a crew costs per day, all in: wages or subcontract rates, super, workers compensation, and paid time that is not laying floor. Divide by the area that crew realistically lays in a day on this kind of job. Open plan homes go faster than apartments full of small rooms and doorways, so many contractors keep more than one labour figure.
Consumables
Spacers, tape, blades, silicone and the small items used on every job. Underlay, adhesive, beading and trims are usually priced as their own lines, because they change with the product.
Overheads
Vehicles, fuel, insurance, tools, software, phone and office time. Add up a normal month and divide by the area you lay in a normal month to get a figure per m².
Profit
What the business keeps after all of the above. It pays for slow months, call backs, growth and your own time running the business.
A worked example
Example only
Every figure here is made up to show the arithmetic. They are not suggested prices; use your own costs.
| Part | Working | Per m² |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Hybrid range, supplier price | $38.00 |
| Labour | Crew of two costs $760 a day and lays 40 m² | $19.00 |
| Consumables | Spacers, tape, blades, sundries | $1.50 |
| Overheads | $2,600 a month over 900 m² a month | $2.89 |
| Cost | $61.39 |
To make a 20% margin, divide the cost by 0.8: $61.39 ÷ 0.8 = $76.74 per m². On a job where you buy 75 m², that is $5,755.50 of revenue against $4,604.25 of cost, leaving $1,151.25, which is 20% of the price.
Margin is not markup
Margin is profit as a share of the price. Markup is profit as a share of the cost. They are easy to mix up, and the mistake always costs money:
| Method | Price per m² | Profit per m² | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20% markup on $61.39 | $73.67 | $12.28 | 16.7% |
| 20% margin on $61.39 | $76.74 | $15.35 | 20.0% |
A 25% markup is a 20% margin; a 50% markup is a 33% margin. If your target is a margin, divide by (1 minus the margin) rather than multiplying by (1 plus it).
Extras that belong on their own lines
- Trims and transitions, per item or per metre. See trims and transitions.
- Stairs, per step or by stair product with its own allowance. See measuring stairs.
- Floor preparation: grinding, levelling and moisture treatment, at a rate per m² or as a provisional sum.
- Removal and disposal of existing floors, per m².
- Furniture and appliance moving, if you do it.
- Travel for jobs outside your normal area, and access allowances for high rise or difficult sites.
Separate lines keep the main rate comparable from job to job, and let the builder see what each extra costs.
Small jobs need a minimum
A laundry or a single bedroom costs nearly as much in travel, setup and admin as a much larger job. Many contractors set a minimum charge, or a minimum labour figure per visit, so small jobs do not run at a loss. Write it into your rules so it is applied every time, not remembered sometimes.
Keep the rate current
Supplier prices, wages and fuel move through the year. Review the build-up whenever a supplier price list changes and at least every few months. On builder work, also check how long your quotes stay valid: a quote accepted next year on this year's material price is margin you will not get back.
The best check is your own jobs. Compare the area each crew actually laid and the hours it took against the figures in your rate. If the real numbers drift, change the rate, not your hopes.
Per square foot
In the US and Canada, flooring is usually priced per square foot. Divide a rate per m² by 10.764 to convert: the $76.74 per m² example is about $7.13 per sq ft. The build-up works the same way in either unit.
How Squaro uses your rates
In Squaro you keep your own price lists: supplier costs and your rates per product, imported from a spreadsheet or a supplier PDF. A quote picks the product for each finish and applies your rate to the area bought, with trims, stairs and standing extras on their own lines. A quote keeps the rates it was written with, so a later price change never reprices work already sent. See flooring quoting software.
Related reading
- Flooring waste percentage, and when to round up to packsChoosing a waste figure, applying it in the right order, and rounding to whole packs.
- Flooring quote template: what to put on a builder quoteThe details, scope lines, exclusions and terms a quote needs, with an example.
- Flooring estimating software: what it does and how to chooseThe main kinds of software, what each is good at, and how to test one on your own plans.
Quote your next plan set with Squaro
Squaro is open to a small group of flooring contractors first. Tell us how you quote and we will set up your rules with you and run your first plan.
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