For hardware and tools stores
Price thousands of small items without guessing
Screws and tools sell in huge ranges with small margins. Set your costs once, then check the whole catalogue for items priced below cost.
Quick answer: how should hardware and tools stores price a product?
Add every cost, then the fees that take a share of the price, then choose your margin. For cordless drill that works out at $71.24, leaving $19.95 profit. Skip a cost and the profit shrinks without you noticing.
Check your best seller in two minutes
Take the product you sell most. If its price was set by adding a mark-up to the wholesale price and you have never counted shrinkage and damage allowance or trade-account discount allowance, card fees and monthly costs, it may earn less than you think. Some items may even lose money. You will not see it in your till, only in the end-of-month result.
The mark-up trap, worked through
Marking up only the wholesale price by 28% gives a price of $58.88. After the other costs and the fees taken from that price, the sale leaves $8.19, not the $19.95 you planned. The same costs priced properly give $71.24.
Illustration with the example costs below. Your numbers will differ.
Where hardware and tools stores usually lose money
Huge ranges
Upload a CSV in Catalog check and find the items that lose money.
Supplier price rises
Change a cost and see the new shelf price straight away.
Trade customers
Use the bulk table to price trade quantities.
Example: Cordless drill
These costs go in. The price comes out of the same engine the app uses.
- Wholesale price$46.00
- Inbound freight$1.80
- Card terminal fee2.9% of price
- Shrinkage and damage allowance2% of price
- Profit you want28% margin
Sell it for
$71.24
Profit per sale $19.95 on a total cost of $51.29.
What hardware and tools stores see in the app
Real screens. Your own costs and products go in, the same kind of answers come out.
A ready cost list
Pick hardware and tools stores and the usual cost lines appear. You fill in the amounts.
The exact price
Fees that depend on the price are solved exactly, so the profit you ask for is the profit you get.
Products that lose money
Check a whole price list at once and see which items run thin or below cost.
Already set up for hardware and tools stores
Choose this business type in the calculator and these cost lines appear. You only fill in the amounts.
- Wholesale price
- Inbound freight
- Packaging or bagging
- Cutting, mixing or tinting labour
- Shelf labels
- Card terminal fee
- Shrinkage and damage allowance
- Trade-account discount allowance
- Bad-debt allowance
- Rent (monthly)
- Staff wages (monthly)
- Insurance (monthly)
- Delivery van (monthly)
- Racking and shelving (monthly)
- Lifting equipment (monthly)
What hardware and tools stores get with CostCal Pro
The pricing maths is free. Paid plans add bulk tools and store connections.
Exact selling price
FreeEnter the wholesale price, other costs and fees, choose a margin, and get the price that keeps it.
Catalog check
FreeUpload a product export and see which products lose money or run on a thin margin.
Discount simulator
FreeSee the largest discount that still leaves a profit before you run a sale.
Break-even
FreeAdd monthly costs and see how many sales cover them.
Branded PDF report
FreeSend a clear cost and price breakdown to a customer or partner.
CSV import and typical costs
StarterBring in many products at once and start from ready cost templates.
Store connection
StarterLink calculations to products in your online store by SKU.
Weekly below-cost email
PremiumGet an email when a store product is selling below cost.
Apply prices to your store
PremiumPush approved prices to a connected WooCommerce store.
See plans and prices, all features or a sample report.
Questions hardware and tools stores ask about pricing
How do I price cordless drill?
Add every cost (wholesale price, inbound freight, card terminal fee, shrinkage and damage allowance), then choose the profit margin you want. With these example costs and a 28% margin, cordless drill should sell for $71.24, which leaves $19.95 profit on a total cost of $51.29. Your own costs will differ, so enter yours in the calculator.
What is the formula for a selling price that keeps your margin?
Price = fixed costs divided by (1 minus the percentage fees minus your margin). Here the fixed costs are $47.80, the percentage fees are 4.9% of the price and the margin is 28%. Percentage fees must be taken from the selling price, not from the cost, which is why a simple mark-up on cost usually leaves less profit than planned.
What costs do hardware and tools stores often forget?
The easiest to miss are shrinkage and damage allowance, trade-account discount allowance, bad-debt allowance, your own time, and monthly costs such as rent, staff wages, insurance. Each one is a row in the Hardware / tools / DIY store preset, so you only fill in the amounts.
How do I know if a product is losing money?
Compare the selling price with the total cost, including the share of the price taken by fees. If the price is lower than that total, the product loses money. Catalog check does this for a whole product export and marks every item that loses money or has a thin margin.
Can I price trade discounts?
The bulk table shows revenue, cost and profit at any quantity.
Can I round to clean prices?
Yes. Choose a rounding rule in Settings. It only rounds up.
Is the CostCal Pro calculator free for hardware and tools stores?
Yes. The Free plan never expires and needs no card. It includes the exact price calculation, 5 saved calculations, 5 PDF reports and a catalog check of up to 50 products. Paid plans start at $49 a year and add more saved calculations, CSV import, store connection and API keys.
Last reviewed 2026-11-11. Example figures are illustrations, not advice.
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