Use the denominator that matches your question
Margin asks what share of the selling price remains after the costs being measured. Markup asks how large the amount added is relative to those costs. Intuit’s explanation distinguishes these two denominators.
Markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost
With $120 cost and $150 price, $30 remains. That is a 20% margin ($30 ÷ $150) and a 25% markup ($30 ÷ $120). A percentage needs a name to be meaningful.
To find a price from a target margin, use cost ÷ (1 − margin). Enter 20% as 0.20 in the formula. JanitorMath does that conversion for you.
Convert targets instead of adding the same percentage
This table uses a hypothetical $120 cost throughout. Percentages are mathematical examples, not recommended cleaning-business targets.
| Target margin | Equivalent markup | Price | Amount after costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | 11.11% | $133.33 | $13.33 |
| 20% | 25% | $150.00 | $30.00 |
| 25% | 33.33% | $160.00 | $40.00 |
| 30% | 42.86% | $171.43 | $51.43 |
Markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin). Conversely, margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). Use decimal fractions before converting back to percentages. Prices and displayed percentages are rounded, so the realized fraction can differ slightly.
Test a discount before agreeing to it
Keep the $120 cost and $150 original price. A 10% discount cuts the price by $15 to $135. The remainder falls from $30 to $15: half the original amount. The new margin is $15 ÷ $135 = 11.11%.
If you want at least a 15% modeled margin on those costs, the unrounded price is $120 ÷ 0.85 = $141.176… . Use $141.18 as the cent-rounded price in this example. That permits about a $8.82 reduction from $150.
Reducing scope can change cost; a discount alone does not. Recalculate labor and other expenses if the customer removes work instead of assuming the price reduction is free.
Translate the margin into a labor allowance
Suppose a visit sells for $200, has $50 of non-labor costs and uses $25 per cleaner-hour. At break-even, it can cover ($200 − $50) ÷ $25 = 6 cleaner-hours. For a 25% target margin, the total cost allowance is $200 × 0.75 = $150, leaving $100 for labor: 4 cleaner-hours.
At five hours, costs are $175 and the margin is 12.5%. At seven hours, costs are $225 and the visit loses $25. These limits hold only while the selling price, loaded labor rate and other costs remain fixed.
The visit review tool calculates both allowances from your inputs. Total cleaner-hours add everyone’s time; two cleaners on site for three hours consume six cleaner-hours.
Name the result honestly
Gross margin, contribution margin and accounting net margin can include different expenses. JanitorMath reports a margin after entered costs: labor, supplies, travel and the overhead you allocate. It is not a full set of business accounts.
If you omit owner labor, travel time, supplies or recurring costs, the displayed remainder can look healthier than the job really is. Keep the cost definition consistent when comparing visits. A target margin below 100% produces a calculation; it does not prove a sustainable price or guarantee demand.
For a complete estimate-to-actual comparison, follow the worked visit review.
Sources & assumptions
Revised September 18, 2026. Linked ISSA, BLS and Intuit sources were checked on that date where used. The calculations, comparison worksheets and job scenarios are JanitorMath teaching material using invented inputs. They are not market surveys, production benchmarks or claims of cleaning-business operating experience.