Margin
Margin shows gross profit as a percentage of the amount you charge your client.
Gross profitCharge rate× 100
Free calculator
Margin and markup
Margin and markup
calculator for recruiters.
Enter your daily charge and pay rates to see your gross profit, margin and markup instantly.
Your rates
Calculate your return
Gross profit per day
£50.00
Markup is undefined when the pay rate is £0.
Enter a charge rate above £0 and a pay rate of £0 or more. Target margin must be 100% or less; target markup must be greater than −100%.
Change any figure and the others update automatically. Editing margin or markup keeps the charge rate fixed and changes the pay rate.
The result is your charge less worker pay, before employer costs, funding fees and overheads. Enter daily rates excluding VAT.
Plan the payroll
What could this mean at scale?
Running 10 contractors at this pay rate for 4 weeks would require £30,000 in worker pay.
Based on five working days per week. Worker pay only; excludes additional employer costs and fees.
Talk to Sonovate
Know the difference
Two percentages.
Two percentages.
Two different views.
Margin and markup both describe the difference between what you charge and what you pay. The difference is the figure each one starts from.
Markup
Markup shows gross profit as a percentage of the amount you pay the worker.
Gross profitPay rate× 100
A quick example
£200 charged.
£200 charged.
£150 paid.
Charge rate£200
Pay rate£150
Gross profit£50
That £50 is a 25% margin on the client charge and a 33.33% markup on the worker pay rate, before other costs.
Understand your result
From percentages
From percentages
to placement costs.
Use the same daily rates and cost basis when comparing figures. A margin on worker pay alone does not show what your agency keeps after all its costs.
20% markup is not 20% margin
With £100 daily pay, a 20% markup gives a £120 charge rate. The £20 difference is 16.67% of the charge. To achieve a 20% margin on the same pay rate, you would charge £125: a 25% markup.
Convert margin and markup
Margin (%) = markup ÷ (100 + markup) × 100. Markup (%) = margin ÷ (100 − margin) × 100. For example, a 25% margin equals a 33.33% markup. Use a margin below 100% when converting to markup. See more margin and markup worked examples.
Allow for employer costs
This calculator subtracts worker pay only. It does not add employer National Insurance, holiday pay or pension contributions. For PAYE placements, use our PAYE charge rate calculator to estimate these costs and a charge rate, subject to its assumptions and exclusions.
Separate margin from net profit
The amount left after worker pay is not your agency’s net profit. Employer costs, funding fees, recruitment costs, operating overheads and tax can reduce what you keep. Net profit margin measures profit after all expenses as a percentage of revenue; this calculator does not work it out.