---
title: "Interior Designer Markup on Furniture: How to Calculate It"
date: 2026-10-22
lang: en
url: https://archiboard.ru/blog/interior-designer-markup-on-furniture
---

# Interior Designer Markup on Furniture: How to Calculate It

To calculate interior designer markup on furniture, take the landed cost of each item (the price after your trade discount, plus delivery and any other costs you pay), add a percentage that covers your time, risk and profit, and then check the result as margin, not only as markup. Decide the rule before you send the first estimate and apply it consistently by category.

## Markup and margin are different numbers

Most pricing mistakes start here. **Markup** is profit divided by cost. **Margin** is profit divided by the client price. A 30% markup does not give you 30% of the revenue; it gives you about 23%.

- Client price = cost × (1 + markup)
- Markup = (client price − cost) ÷ cost
- Margin = (client price − cost) ÷ client price
- Markup needed for a target margin = margin ÷ (1 − margin)

The table shows how the two relate. Use it when you plan studio income in terms of margin but price items in terms of markup.

| Markup on cost | Resulting margin | Profit on 1,000 EUR cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 20% | 16.7% | 200 EUR |
| 25% | 20.0% | 250 EUR |
| 30% | 23.1% | 300 EUR |
| 40% | 28.6% | 400 EUR |
| 50% | 33.3% | 500 EUR |
| 100% | 50.0% | 1,000 EUR |

If you want a 30% margin, you need a markup of 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 42.9%, not 30%.

## Step by step: build the markup for one item

1. **Fix the real cost.** Start with the supplier list price, subtract your trade discount, then add everything you pay to get the item to the client (see the list below).
2. **Add a risk reserve.** Furniture gets damaged, returned or reordered after a wrong measurement. Some studios add a small percentage to the cost of fragile or made-to-order items; others cover this inside the markup. Choose one way and stay with it.
3. **Estimate your time.** Sourcing, quotes, order follow-up, delivery control and claims take hours. Divide the cost of those hours by the total purchases of the project to see the minimum markup that pays for them.
4. **Choose a pricing model** from the comparison in the next section.
5. **Check the market ceiling.** If the client can find the same sofa at the public retail price, your price must be explainable against that number.
6. **Convert to margin** and compare it with your target for the project.
7. **Round the client price** to a clean figure and record the final markup that results.

### Costs that are often forgotten

- Delivery from the supplier to your studio, warehouse or site
- Packaging, pallets and extra handling for large pieces
- Import charges, if you are the one who pays them
- Assembly, installation and lifting to the floor
- Bank and currency conversion fees on supplier payments
- Storage while the site is not ready
- Spare parts, extra fabric or an extra tile reserve

### Example of a time check

Example: a project has 20,000 EUR of furniture purchases and you expect 60 hours of procurement work at 50 EUR per hour. That is 3,000 EUR, so you need at least a 15% markup just to pay for the time, before overhead, risk and profit. A flat 15% would leave nothing for the studio.

## Choosing a markup model

There is no universal percentage. What matters is that the model matches how you work with the client and the supplier.

| Model | How it works | Works well when | Watch out for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Flat percentage | One markup on every item | Small studio, simple projects | Too high on expensive pieces, too low on cheap ones |
| Tiered by price | Higher percentage on cheap items, lower on expensive ones | Mixed projects with accessories and large furniture | Needs a clear table that you actually follow |
| By category | Different markup for upholstery, lighting, custom joinery, decor | Categories differ in effort and risk | More rules to maintain |
| Share of supplier discount | Client pays a price near retail; you keep an agreed part of the discount | Suppliers give large trade discounts | Needs honest disclosure in the contract |
| Supplier commission | Client pays the supplier directly; the supplier pays you a commission | Studio does not handle money for goods | Commission is paid late; track it separately |
| Fixed or hourly fee | You charge for time; goods are passed at cost | Clients who want full transparency | Does not reward you for risk on orders |

Example of tiering (illustrative numbers): 40% on items with a cost under 500 EUR, 30% from 500 to 3,000 EUR, 20% above 3,000 EUR. The effort of ordering a 200 EUR side table is close to that of a 2,000 EUR one, so a flat rate under-pays small items.

For projects where you move money between client and supplier, keep your income model in the same place as your payments. Platforms with a [project finance](/features/project-finance) view do this by tracking client payments, supplier payments and commission per project.

## Worked example: three items, one estimate

All figures are an illustration in EUR and exclude tax.

| Item | Landed cost | Markup | Profit | Client price | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sofa (list 4,000, 25% trade discount, 150 delivery) | 3,150 | 30% | 945 | 4,095 | 23.1% |
| Dining table (delivery included) | 1,800 | 35% | 630 | 2,430 | 25.9% |
| Armchair (delivery included) | 600 | 40% | 240 | 840 | 28.6% |
| **Total** | **5,550** | **32.7%** | **1,815** | **7,365** | **24.6%** |

Notice the sofa. Its client price of 4,095 EUR is above the 4,000 EUR list price. If the client can see that list price online, you have a conversation to win. Two ways out:

- Cap the price at list and keep the discount. Selling the sofa at 4,000 EUR leaves 850 EUR above the landed cost of 3,150 EUR, which is a 27% markup and 21.3% margin.
- Keep the price and explain the value: sourcing, a quote you negotiated, delivery control, claim handling.

Both are valid. The mistake is to discover the conflict after the client has found the link.

## Protecting your markup during the project

A correct markup on paper can disappear in execution. Most losses come from changes after the estimate is approved.

- Write a validity period on every estimate. A supplier price from three months ago is not a price.
- Recalculate when quantity changes. Packaged goods, such as tiles or wallpaper, are bought in whole packs, so the real cost is higher than the net quantity.
- Approve items before ordering. A client price you have not confirmed is a gift.
- Update cost, not only price, when a supplier quote arrives with a different total.
- Keep delivery and installation as separate lines if they vary a lot between items.
- Record every price change with a date, so a dispute can be resolved from the record.
- Do not discount the client price to win approval without checking the resulting margin.

## How to do it in ArchiBoard

The estimate keeps cost, markup and client price in one row, so you do not recalculate in a separate sheet. You can check percentages beforehand with the [markup calculator](/tools/markup-calculator); full details are in the [estimates help chapter](/help/estimates).

1. Open the project and go to **Estimates**. Switch "Estimate view mode" to **Economics**.
2. Click **Add item**, paste the product link and click **Auto-fill**. Check the fields and click **Save item**.
3. In the row, follow the chain MSRP → supplier discount → procurement → markup → profit → client price. Under each percentage you see the amount. Change the amount and the percentage recalculates, or the other way round.
4. For tiles, flooring and other packaged goods, set the net quantity, the reserve in percent and the pieces or m² per package in the item card. The Qty column then shows the whole packages to purchase.
5. If a supplier sends a quote, attach it in **Vendor & payment** → **Supplier quote**. The quote total becomes the purchase price and the client price does not change, so check your markup afterwards.
6. Switch the view to **Specification** and click **Export to PDF** for the client. Purchase price, markup and profit are not included in the client PDF.
7. Open **Project Finances** and set how you earn (commission, markup or share of supplier discount) and who pays whom, to see the real profit against the estimate.

## FAQ

### What is a normal interior designer markup on furniture?

There is no universal figure. It depends on how much work you do per item, whether you handle money for goods, how large the trade discount is and how big the project is. Build it from your landed cost, your time and your target margin, then test it against the retail price the client can see.

### Should I apply markup to retail price or to my cost?

Apply it to your landed cost, because that is the number your profit depends on. Compare the result with the retail price as a ceiling. If your price is above retail, decide in advance whether you will cap it at retail or justify the difference with services you provide.

### Do I have to tell the client about the markup?

Disclose the model in your contract or proposal: for example, a percentage, a share of the supplier discount or a commission. The client does not need to see each purchase price, but they should know how you earn. Clear terms prevent disputes when they compare prices later.

### How should I treat a large supplier discount?

Decide before the project starts. You can keep the full discount as part of your markup, share it with the client, or sell at retail price and keep the difference. Whichever you choose, write it down and use the same rule for all suppliers on the project, so the estimate stays consistent.

### What if the supplier raises the price after the client approved the estimate?

Your estimate should state how long prices are valid. If a price changes after that period, update the cost, recalculate the client price and get a new approval before ordering. If the change happens inside the validity period, check your contract on who bears the difference, since otherwise your markup absorbs it.