Free Calculator · Updated 18 May 2026
Estimate labour, parts markup, sublet, EPA / disposal, and GST for a workshop job. Built for mechanical, smash, detail, auto-electrical, and tyre operators. Use the breakdown as the base of your customer quote.
Pre-loads defaults for hourly rate and EPA fee.
10% handling markup applied.
Per-job fee for oil, refrigerant, tyres.
How to Use This Calculator
Each type pre-loads a default hourly rate based on AU market averages. Mechanical workshops typically charge $95–130/hr, smash repair $80–110/hr (insurer-controlled), detail $60–120/hr, auto-electrical $130–160/hr, tyre $60–90/hr. Tune the default to match your local market.
Labour hours come from your job estimate or quoted time. Parts cost is the wholesale / trade cost from your supplier (Repco, Burson, OEM dealer) before markup. Markup is applied automatically.
Sublet covers work you outsource (wheel alignment, paint matching, transmission rebuild). EPA / disposal fee covers oil, refrigerant, and tyres. GST adds 10% to the final figure — toggle off if invoicing a GST-exempt customer.
The output shows labour subtotal, parts (with markup), sublet, EPA, subtotal ex-GST, GST, and grand total. Use the breakdown directly in your customer quote — line-itemised quotes convert ~40% better than lump-sum estimates.
Wage × (1 + on-cost %) ÷ annual chargeable hours = your real hourly cost. A $35/hr tradesperson with 28% on-costs (super, annual leave, workers comp, training) costs $44.80/hr. With 75% chargeability (1,440 chargeable hours of 1,920 paid), cost per chargeable hour climbs to $60/hr. Mark up 2× to a $120/hr retail rate.
Oil, filters, brake fluid, washer fluid — small per-unit margin but high cumulative volume. A 25% markup vs 35% across 100 services per month compounds to thousands per year. Use a tiered markup table: bulk oils 20%, parts 25–30%, specialty 30–35%.
Quote times that consistently run over are a margin leak. Most workshops over-quote on simple jobs and under-quote on complex ones. Time-track every job for 90 days to recalibrate your job-time templates — accuracy directly drives margin.
Labour, parts (with itemised list), sublet, EPA fee, GST. Itemised invoices reduce disputes, defend warranty claims, and increase rebooking. Customers who see a $400 service broken down into labour + 8 parts + EPA + GST are far less likely to push back than ones who see “Service: $400”.
Reference
Vehicle Repair Award (MA000089)
Classifications, allowances, loadings — the wage cost base for your labour rate.
Founder Guide
Start an Auto Business
8-step guide covering niche, licensing, premises, kit, and pricing.
Operator Guide
Workshop Insurance Guide
PL, Workers Comp, CCC, tools, premises — what each costs per year.
It's a directional pricing tool for Australian workshops, not an authoritative benchmark. Default hourly rates are sourced from current AU market averages across mechanical, smash, detail, auto-electrical, and tyre sub-verticals. Your local market may run 10–25% above or below depending on metro vs regional, premium positioning, and competition. Tune the default rate to match your circumstances.
Calculate your hourly cost first: tradesperson wage + on-costs (super, leave, workers comp) ÷ chargeable hours per year. A $35/hr R3 tradesperson loaded comes to roughly $48–55/hr. Mark up 2–3× to land at retail — $95–130/hr is the standard mechanical range, premium specialty workshops charge $150–200/hr. Don't compete on hourly rate alone; compete on capability and outcomes.
Standard markup on parts cost is 25% in most Australian workshops. Premium / specialty parts (OEM dealer parts, performance, hard-to-source) can be marked up 30–35%. Common consumables (filters, oil, batteries) are usually held closer to 20% because customers price-check on Repco and AutoBarn. The calculator uses 25% as the default — adjust to match your typical mix.
Sublet is work you outsource — wheel alignment ($80–150 per job), paint matching ($50–200), transmission rebuilds ($1,500–3,500), specialty welding, dyno tuning. Most workshops mark up sublet by 10–15% to cover handling. Track sublet separately so you can see profit on outsourced work vs your own labour.
Australian workshops generate regulated waste streams (used oil, coolant, tyres, batteries, refrigerant) that require licensed-contractor disposal. The disposal contract is a real operating cost. Most workshops itemise a $5–15 per-job EPA fee on customer invoices — transparent, customary, and protects margin against rising disposal costs.
If you're GST-registered (turnover ≥ $75k), yes — invoices must show GST. The calculator toggle lets you build a quote either way depending on whether the customer is GST-exempt (rare in workshop work). Quote the price including GST as the headline figure for retail customers; quote the ex-GST figure for B2B / fleet customers who reclaim GST.
OneBookPlus is the all-in-one platform for Australian workshops — bookings, job cards, parts, labour rates, GST-ready invoicing, photo evidence. Free to start, AUD billing.
Last reviewed and updated: by Bishal Shrestha
About the author
Founder & CEO, OneBookPlus
Bishal has over a decade of experience in digital marketing, web development, and small business consulting across Australia. He has helped Australian workshop owners model labour pricing, parts markup, and sublet recovery — translating finance theory into quote-ready numbers for mechanical, smash, and detail shops.
More in this guide
8-step founder guide — ABN, GST, MTA registration, workshop fit-out, insurance, pricing, finding fleet clients.
Read →ReferenceVIC LMCT, NSW MD/MR, QLD MD licence, SA, WA — state-by-state thresholds and regulators.
Read →Operator GuidePlain-English MA000089 — Stream A/B/C classifications, tool allowance, fares, RDOs.
Read →From the blog
Practical guides and explainers from the OneBookPlus blog, grouped by topic.
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How Australian tyre shops and mechanics turn tyre rotation from a forgettable add-on into a predictable rebooking pipeline — rotation intervals, tread-depth thresholds, wear-pattern diagnosis, and the SMS upsell flow.
How Australian mobile mechanics, mobile auto electricians, and mobile detailers run a profitable van-based operation — pricing, routing, on-site invoicing, payments and the customer-comms cadence that builds repeat work.
A practical guide to the vehicle inspection schemes operating in every Australian state and territory — RWC, pink-slip eSafety, Safety Certificate, RVI and others — and how to set your workshop up to issue them efficiently.