10/07/2026
Most small business owners use markup and margin as if they mean the same thing.
They don't, and that single confusion is quietly costing you money every month.
Margin is what you keep, as a percentage of your selling price.
Markup is what you add to your cost to arrive at your selling price.
They sound similar. The maths is very different.
Here's a real example.
Your cost is R100. You want to make 50% profit.
Calculate using margin: you need to charge R200, keeping R100, which is 50% of R200.
Calculate using markup: you add 50% to R100 and charge R150. But R50 is only 33% of R150.
Same intention. Very different outcome.
If you've been calculating your markup the way most people do, you've been undercharging on every sale. Multiply that across every client, every month, every year, and you start to understand how a business with great turnover can leave its owner with almost nothing at the end of the month.
This is one of the first things I check with every new client. It's not complicated. It's almost always wrong.
I have a simple markup template that shows you, in black and white, exactly what you should be charging and why.
Comment MARKUP and I'll send it to you.
📞 Deborah Bullivant
[email protected]
| 083 628 5985
https://www.bullivant.co.za/post/the-woman-working-for-a-monthly-net-profit-of-r2-000
