FieldHive calculator
Job Variation Pricing Calculator
Price extra or changed work properly. Add up the variation costs, recover your overheads and add a margin — so a change on site does not quietly cost you money.
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No email address required · Not financial or tax advice
The extra work
Enter what the variation costs you — the same way you would cost any part of a job. Leave anything that does not apply at 0.
Overhead and profit
The extra work still uses your business overheads, and it should make a margin like the rest of the job.
A practical guide, not tax or accounting advice. Figures exclude VAT.
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Variations
Extra work is not free work
When a job changes on site — more tasks, better materials, a customer request — that extra work has a cost. Priced properly, it protects your profit; absorbed quietly, it eats it.
It is tempting to “just do” a small change to keep the customer happy. But a few unpriced variations across a job can turn a good margin into a break-even.
This calculator prices a variation the same way you would price any work: add up the costs, recover your overheads, and add a fair margin.
What you see
A price you can put in writing
Enter the variation costs and the calculator shows the full build-up.
Variation cost
Overhead recovery
Cost plus overhead
Profit allowance
Variation selling price
Equivalent markup on cost
Worked example
How a variation is priced
A change adding 120 of labour and 80 of materials, with 15% overhead recovery and a 20% margin.
Variation cost (120 + 80)
200
Overhead recovery (15%)
30
Cost plus overhead
230
Add a 20% margin
230 divided by 0.80
Variation selling price
287.50
Profit allowance
57.50
Approve first
Agree it before you do it
The cleanest way to avoid a dispute is to price the variation and get it approved — in writing — before the extra work starts.
Give the customer the figure up front, note that it is a change to the original quote, and only proceed once they have said yes. It keeps the relationship clear and makes invoicing simple.
Cost vs price
The cost is not the price
The cost of a variation is what it takes you. The price is what it should sell for — after overheads and profit.
Overhead recovery covers the share of your admin, van and running costs the extra work uses. The margin is what you make for taking it on. A variation priced at bare cost quietly gives your profit away.
Stay connected
Keep the variation attached to the job
This calculator prices the change. FieldHive keeps it on the same job record, so the quote, the variation and the final invoice all add up.
That makes it easier to see what the job really made once the changes are included — one connected record from first enquiry to final payment.
Quote
Variation
Job
Invoice
Payment
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Who it is for
Who is this calculator for?
Trades pricing changes on a live job
Subcontractors invoicing extra work
Solo trades avoiding scope creep
Small teams standardising variation pricing
It is a practical pricing guide, not tax, accounting or financial advice, and it excludes VAT.
Related tools
Price the job and every change
Use these alongside your variation pricing.
FAQ
Job variation pricing questions
Common questions about pricing extra and changed work.
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Never give away extra work again
Price every variation with overheads and profit, get it approved, and keep it attached to the job with FieldHive.
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