Markup and margin calculator for blinds dealers.
Price a blind or shade from your cost or from list price × your factor, with a markup or the margin you want to keep. Then add up a whole job, with install labor and the trip charge.
The live calculator needs JavaScript. The formulas, the markup-to-margin table and the worked examples below work without it.
Line price–
Margin vs markup: what each one measures
Markup is your gross profit as a share of your cost. Margin is the same profit as a share of the selling price. Same dollars, different denominator, so the two percentages are never equal: a 50% markup is only a 33.3% margin.
It matters because the two get mixed up when prices are set. If your books say you need a 50% margin and you add 50% to cost, every quote comes in about 17 points short.
The formulas
- Your cost from list price
- Cost = List price × Factor
- Gross profit
- Profit = Selling price − Cost
- Markup
- Markup % = Profit ÷ Cost × 100
- Margin
- Margin % = Profit ÷ Selling price × 100
- Price from a markup
- Selling price = Cost × (1 + Markup)
- Price from a target margin
- Selling price = Cost ÷ (1 − Margin)
- Markup to margin
- Margin = Markup ÷ (1 + Markup)
- Margin to markup
- Markup = Margin ÷ (1 − Margin)
Use the percentages as decimals inside the brackets: 80% is 0.8.
Markup to margin table
| Markup | Margin | Multiplier on cost | $100 cost sells for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 20% | ×1.25 | $125.00 |
| 33.3% | 25% | ×1.33 | $133.33 |
| 42.9% | 30% | ×1.43 | $142.86 |
| 50% | 33.3% | ×1.50 | $150.00 |
| 66.7% | 40% | ×1.67 | $166.67 |
| 100% | 50% | ×2.00 | $200.00 |
| 150% | 60% | ×2.50 | $250.00 |
| 200% | 66.7% | ×3.00 | $300.00 |
Worked examples
Example numbers, not real prices from any manufacturer.
Example 1 List price × factor, then a markup
A faux wood blind lists at $400 and your factor is 0.45, so your cost is $400 × 0.45 = $180. With an 80% markup the selling price is $180 × 1.8 = $324. Gross profit is $144, a margin of $144 ÷ $324 = 44.4%.
Example 2 Start from the margin you want
A cellular shade costs you $260 and you want a 45% margin. The selling price is $260 ÷ (1 − 0.45) = $472.73. Gross profit is $212.73, which is an 81.8% markup.
Example 3 The common mix-up
You want a 50% margin on a $200 shade and add 50% to cost: $300. That is only a 33.3% margin. A 50% margin needs $200 ÷ 0.5 = $400, a 100% markup.
Example 4 A whole job
Four faux wood blinds at $120 cost and two cellular shades at $260, all at an 80% markup, sell for $1,800 (cost $1,000). Add $200 of install labor you pay an installer $120 for, and a $75 trip charge. The job total is $2,075 on $1,120 of cost: $955 gross profit, a blended margin of 46%.
Questions dealers ask
What is the difference between markup and margin?
Both compare your gross profit to a price, but to different prices. Markup is the profit divided by your cost. Margin is the profit divided by the selling price. A blind that costs you $200 and sells for $300 has a 50% markup and a 33.3% margin. On the same sale, margin is always the smaller number.
How do I convert markup to margin?
Divide the markup by 1 plus the markup: an 80% markup is 0.8 ÷ 1.8 = 44.4% margin. To go the other way, divide the margin by 1 minus the margin: a 40% margin is 0.4 ÷ 0.6 = 66.7% markup.
What is a dealer factor?
It is the number your manufacturer multiplies its list price by to get your cost; some price books call it a multiplier or discount. With a factor of 0.45, a blind that lists at $400 costs you $180. Pick List price × factor in the calculator and it works out your cost for you.
Should install labor and trip charges count in my margin?
Yes, if you want the margin the job really earns. Count what you charge for labor and the trip as sales, and what you pay your installer as cost. The Whole job tab does this and shows the job's blended margin.
Why can't a margin be 100%?
Margin is the share of the selling price you keep. At 100% the product would have cost you nothing, so no price gets there; the calculator takes margins up to 99.9%. Markup has no such ceiling: a 150% markup is a 60% margin.
What markup should a blinds dealer use?
There is no single right number, and we don't quote industry averages we can't source. Start from the gross margin your business needs to pay for commissions, installs, trips and overhead and still make a profit, then use the calculator to turn that margin into the markup you set in your price book.
More for window covering dealers on the HeadRail blog.
HeadRail prices every quote from your real price books.
List price, your factor with each manufacturer and your markup, applied the same way on every window. Reps see the selling price; only you see cost and margin.
- 20 minutes
- No credit card
- Your own products and prices in the demo