Most sign shops that feel stuck aren't short of work. They're short of margin. Adding more jobs on top of a quoting model that doesn't recover your costs just adds hours. This guide covers the numbers every sign shop needs, and how outsourcing print to a trade printer changes the maths: known input costs, faster quotes, and more of your time spent on the parts of the job clients actually pay a premium for.
Two kinds of cost in every quote
Every sign job has two cost components, and they're priced differently:
- The product: the printed Corflute®, banner, pull-up or label. If you outsource it, this is a known trade price plus freight.
- Your time: the brief, design, proofing, project management, site visits and install. This is priced from your shop rate.
Shops that underquote usually get the second one wrong. They cost the product carefully, then guess at the hours.
Pricing outsourced print
When a trade printer produces the job, your input cost is fixed before you quote. Build your price from:
- Landed cost: the trade price plus freight to you or your client.
- Markup on the product: a deliberate percentage by product type, not a gut feel. Commodity items like standard Corflute® carry less; specialised or small-run jobs carry more.
- Your time, at your shop rate (see below).
- Contingency scaled to the job's risk.
Because the product cost is known, repeat products can be templated. Once you've priced a 600 × 900mm Corflute® run or a 3m mesh banner with eyelets, the next quote should take seconds, not half an hour. Our portal shows live trade pricing and real production dates, so you can quote the cost and the delivery date with confidence.
Working out your shop rate
1. Load the wage properly
An employee on $30 an hour doesn't cost $30 an hour. Add superannuation, workers compensation, payroll tax where it applies, and leave entitlements, and the on-cost is typically 25–40% above the base wage, depending on the role and your state. Build from your own figures rather than a borrowed multiplier, and check them with your accountant once a year.
2. Split fixed and variable costs
- Fixed costs stay roughly the same every month: rent, insurance, software, vehicle and equipment finance, salaried admin.
- Variable costs move with the work: materials, outsourced print, freight, fuel, contract installers.
A slow January doesn't pause your fixed costs, so your rate has to recover them across the busy months too.
3. Divide by the hours you really bill
Nobody bills 40 hours a week. Once quoting, admin, supplier calls and downtime come out, most people bill somewhere around 28–32. Work out your monthly overheads plus loaded wages, divide by realistic billable hours, and you have your break-even hourly cost. Anything below it loses money; your shop rate is that number plus margin.
If design, install and project management carry different wage costs, calculate a separate rate for each rather than one blended figure.
Know your break-even point
Your break-even point is the amount you must bill each month before any profit appears: total monthly fixed costs recovered at your shop rate. Most owners can't state theirs within a few thousand dollars. Once you know it, you can set realistic monthly targets, tell whether a quiet month actually lost money, and decide whether a thin-margin job is worth taking.
Build in contingency
Every quote needs an allowance for things going wrong, scaled to risk rather than a flat percentage:
- Simple repeat work: little or none.
- Standard custom job: a modest allowance.
- New client, unfamiliar site, tight deadline or complex install: a larger one.
It isn't padding. It covers the second site visit when access wasn't as described, or the reprint when the client's supplied file was wrong. Outsourcing standard print removes some of this risk, because production issues sit with the printer, but install and artwork risk stay with you.
Don't discount the price. Change the scope.
When a client says the quote is too high, cutting the price tells them your first number was inflated. Offer a scope change instead: a smaller size, a different board or banner stock, a simpler finish, fewer units. Trade printing makes this easy, because you can reprice an alternative spec in minutes.
The rare exception is a thin-margin job taken deliberately: you've already cleared break-even for the month, you have genuine spare capacity, and the job won't push full-margin work out. Make that a decision, not a habit.
Sell the solution, not the square metre
If you compete on the price of a printed sign, you're competing with every online printer. What clients pay a premium for is everything around the print: understanding the brief, choosing the right product, getting the artwork right, delivering on time and installing it properly. Ask about budget early, design to it, and show what one step up looks like. Quote the outcome, not just the material.
Frequently asked questions
How do I price outsourced print?
Start from the landed cost (trade price plus freight), add a deliberate product markup, then add your time at your shop rate and a contingency for the job's risk.
What does an employee really cost?
Typically 25–40% more than the base wage once super, workers compensation, payroll tax and leave are included. Work it out from your own on-costs.
How many billable hours should I use?
Around 28–32 a week per person, not 40. Admin, quoting and downtime eat the rest.
How do I work out my break-even point?
Total your monthly fixed costs and loaded wages, and work out how much you need to bill at your shop rate to cover them.
Should I ever discount?
Adjust the scope rather than the price. A thin-margin job is only worth taking deliberately, once break-even is covered and capacity is genuinely spare.
Does outsourcing print make pricing easier?
Yes. The product cost is fixed and known before you quote, so repeat products can be templated and quotes go out faster and more consistently.
Key takeaways
- Price the product and your time separately.
- Outsourced print gives you a fixed landed cost, so template the repeat products.
- Load wages properly, split fixed from variable costs, and divide by the hours you really bill.
- Know your break-even point.
- Scale contingency to risk.
- Change scope, not price.
Quote from live trade pricing
Mediapoint is a trade-only printer for sign shops, resellers and designers across Australia. Our portal shows live trade pricing and real production dates for Corflute®, banners, pull-ups, labels and more, and everything ships blind under your brand. Register for a trade account. Starting out? See how to start a sign shop without buying a printer.
