Create a professional invoice or tax invoice with VAT, then download it as a PDF or print it.
Pricing Calculator
Price a product from materials, labour, overheads and sales fees to hit a target margin, with or without VAT.
Runs in your browser — nothing you enter is sent to our servers
How it works
- Unit cost = materials + packaging/delivery + (labour hours × rate) + overhead per unit.
- The price excluding VAT (P) is solved so that after fees you keep your target margin: P = (unit cost + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − fee% × (1 + VAT rate) − margin%). Percentage fees are applied to the amount the customer actually pays, which includes VAT.
- If rounding is selected, the price is rounded up — so your margin can only go up, never down.
- VAT-inclusive price = P × (1 + VAT rate). Margin is measured on the VAT-exclusive price.
Example
A handmade candle costs R85 in materials, R15 in packaging, 30 minutes of labour at R120/hour (R60) and R20 of overheads: R180 unit cost. With 3% card fees (charged on the VAT-inclusive amount) and a 40% target margin: 180 ÷ (1 − 0.03 × 1.15 − 0.40) = R318.30 excl. VAT, or R366.05 incl. 15% VAT. Rounded up to R369.99, your margin rises slightly.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a markup or margin calculator?
It builds your full unit cost from parts (materials, labour, overheads, packaging) and accounts for fees that are charged as a percentage of the selling price — card, marketplace or payment gateway fees. A simple markup on cost ignores those, so you can end up earning less margin than you planned.
Why do percentage fees need special treatment?
Because they grow with the price. If a marketplace takes 10% of the price, raising your price also raises the fee. The calculator solves for the price where, after all fees, you keep exactly your target margin.
Should the VAT-inclusive price be my shelf price?
If you are a VAT vendor selling to consumers in South Africa, prices shown to consumers generally need to include VAT. The calculator shows both so you can see what you actually keep.
Related tools
Calculate gross margin, the price needed for a target margin, or the maximum cost you can afford.
Find the selling price from cost and markup, or the markup from cost and price.
How many units you must sell to cover fixed costs — and to hit a profit target.
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