📈 Markup Calculator (Local Staffing)
Markup is the most common pricing method in staffing: start with what you pay the worker, add a percentage on top, and that becomes your bill rate. This tab from Dee's How To Charge workbook does that math honestly, subtracting your real employer burden from the spread so you see actual gross profit per hour, then projects it weekly, monthly, and annually per worker.
Section 2 · Enter your numbers
The formula: Pay Rate x (1 + Markup %) = Bill Rate. Start with what you pay the worker, add your markup, and see your bill rate and real profit.
What you pay the worker per hour.
Standard staffing markup is 40% to 65%.
Your real employer cost %. Build it with the Burden Builder calculator (it has the state dropdown), then bring it here.
Standard is 40. Adjust for part-time or overtime scenarios.
Estimates for planning, not financial or legal advice. The numbers are illustrations built from your inputs; your market, your state, and your carrier decide the real ones.
Does this resonate?
The markup math works. Now win the contract.
The platform's staffing agency roadmap covers the sales motion: who to call, what to send, and how to quote this exact bill rate with confidence.
Build my launch plan free →Good questions about this math
What is a standard staffing markup?
40% to 65% over the pay rate is the common range; light industrial often runs lower, healthcare and IT higher. The workbook's default of 65% on a $23 pay rate bills $37.95.
Why subtract burden from the spread?
Because the spread is not profit. If your burden is 25% and your markup is 30%, you are only making 5% real profit. Most agencies fail because they price off markup without knowing their burden; the workbook says to run the Burden Builder first, and so does this calculator.
How is markup different from gross margin?
Markup is the spread as a percent of PAY; margin is the spread as a percent of BILL. A 65% markup is roughly a 39% gross margin. Clients and VMS platforms usually speak margin; this suite has a Gross Margin calculator and cheat sheet for that language.
What do the projections assume?
The sheet multiplies gross profit per hour by your hours per week, then by 4 for a conservative monthly figure and by 52 for annual. One worker at the defaults generates about $19,160 of gross profit a year; multiply by headcount.
Do I get the Excel version?
Yes. The $27 one-time unlock includes the standalone Markup (Local Staffing) workbook with every formula live plus the START HERE guide tab.
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