Most trades inherit their day rate from whatever the going rate was when they started — then wonder why a busy year still feels tight. A rate you can defend starts with knowing what a working day actually costs you.
Count your real days
A year has 260 weekdays. Take off holidays, bank holidays, rained-off days, quoting time, sick days and admin, and most subcontractors sell 180–220 days. Every cost you have must be carried by those days — not by 260.
Know your overheads
Van, fuel, insurance, tools, phone, software, training, accountancy, PPE — list them for a year and divide by your sellable days. That's your daily overhead before you've earned anything. If it's £60 a day, a £200 day rate is really £140 before tax. Your own records are the best source for this — which is one more reason to keep them all.
Build the rate from the ground up
- Target take-home pay, divided by realistic sellable days
- + daily overhead share
- + an allowance for tax and NI (your records give you the real percentage)
- + margin for risk, warranty visits and the quiet weeks
Pricing fixed jobs
Estimate days honestly (then add the contingency you always regret skipping), price materials with a handling margin — collecting, carrying and warranting materials is work — and put exclusions in writing. Under CIS, remember deductions come off labour only: a quote that splits labour and materials protects your cash flow as well as your paperwork.
Review with real numbers
Job-level records tell you which work actually pays. If your books show what each job cost in materials, labour and days, your next quote is evidence-based — and putting your rate up stops being a guess.
This article is general information for UK sole traders and subcontractors, not tax, accounting or financial advice. Rules change — check current HMRC guidance or speak to an accountant about your own position.