Guide to Calculate Margin vs Markup

There always seems to be some confusion around the difference between Margin vs Markup. A Markup Percentage and Margin Percentage are both a type of Margin. A Margin is used to describe the difference between a buy and a sell rate.

Margin is calculated by finding the percentage of markup divided by the sell rate.

Formula:

  • Buy Rate / (1 - Margin Percentage) = Sell Rate
  • Margin Percentage = (Sell Rate - Buy Rate) / Sell Rate

If you would like to add a 25% margin to a shipment that costs $100.00 you would end up with a sell rate of $133.33 and a profit margin of $33.33.

$100 / (1 - .25) = x

$100 / 0.75 = $133.33

Markup is calculated by adding a percentage to a buy rate to calculate a sell rate.

Formula:

  • Buy Rate x (1 + Markup Percentage) = Sell Rate
  • Markup Percentage = (Sell Rate - Buy Rate) / Buy Rate

If you would like to add a 25% markup to a shipment that costs $100.00 you would end up with a sell rate of $125 and a profit margin of $25

$100 x 1 + 0.25 = x

$100 x 1.25 = $125

How are Margins and Markups used in the TMS?

  1. When a customer creates a margin for a customer, they are adding in a Markup Percentage and not a TRUE margin.
  2. When pricing is displayed in the Cost Calculations section of the site, it is using the margin calculation and NOT the markup calculation.

In this example a line-haul of $204.93 was given a 25% markup which nets a 20% margin.

Markup

$247.56 * 1.25 = $309.44 (25% markup, $61.89)

Margin

$61.89 / $309.44 * 100 = 20%

          Or

$247.56 / 0.80 = $309.4