Pricing & profit

What is this job really making you?

Punch in what the blank and the decoration cost you and what you charge, and see your true gross profit and margin on the merchandise. Then flip it: name the margin you want and it hands you the price to charge. Margin and markup are not the same number — and the promo industry aims for about 40%.

0%Industry margin benchmark

0sTo price the whole job

CFDFpromo

Free tool Pricing & Profit Calculator Your real margin, before you send the quote

What this order costs you

This is your raw gross margin on the merchandise itself — the garment plus the decoration. It leaves out your machines, rent, and overhead on purpose, because most promo distributors buy the blank, buy the print, and ship it out. Fold shipping and setup into your decoration price so every dollar below is real.

Garment / blank cost What you pay your supplier for the blank product itself — the t-shirt, hoodie, mug, pen, bag. Before any decoration. Use your real landed cost, not the list price.

Decoration / print cost What it costs you to decorate the goods. If you outsource, it's the invoice from your printer or embroiderer — screen print, embroidery, DTG, DTF, sublimation — including screens and setup fees. If you print in-house, use your ink/thread/film cost. Do not add your machine, rent, or wages here.

Shipping & setup Freight in to you, freight out to the client, plus any handling or one-time setup. Tip: most shops just build this into the decoration price. If you already did, leave this at 0 so you don't double-count.

Total cost of the goods: $585

Now, price it two ways

What you charge the client

Healthy margin.

Gross profit on the goods$390

Margin (on price)40.0%

Markup (on cost)66.7%

40% industry benchmark

Cost

Profit

The same order, priced to hit each margin

Notice the vice-versa: your price sets your margin, and the margin you want sets your price. They're the same lever pulled from two ends. The promo industry aims for about 40%.

Markup is not margin (this is where money leaks)

Markup is measured on what the goods cost you. Margin is measured on what you charged. Same profit, two different numbers — and shops that price on "cost plus 50%" think they're keeping half, when they're really keeping a third.

If your markup is……your margin is really

25%20%

50%33%

67%40%

100%50%

233%70%

Formula, if you like the math: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup). To actually keep the industry's 40% margin, you need about a 67% markup on your cost — not 40%.

Now imagine every quote priced this way, in seconds.

Doing this by hand for every job is where margins slip and quotes go out low. On our platform, the mockup tool prices each item to the margin you set — consistently, instantly, no mental math — and turns the quote into an order the client places themselves.

A few points of margin given away on every job is a raise you never took. Let's look at what pricing on autopilot would do for your shop.

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Just so we're clear: this is a free tool that gives rough estimates and general information to help you explore your options. It is not financial, legal, tax, or professional advice. Programs, prices, numbers and eligibility change, so always do your own research and confirm the details before you act on anything here. CFDFpromo is not responsible for decisions made based on this tool. Canada & USA.