Section markup lets you apply individual on-cost percentages to each section in your project -- for example, Ground Floor Lighting, First Floor Small Power -- rather than using a single set of percentages for the entire job. This is useful when different parts of a project need different margins or when you want to price specific sections to a known budget.
Opening the section markup screen
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Navigate to the Summary Table (stage 5) of your project.
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Click the Section Markup button in the top-right area of the screen.
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The section markup view displays every section from your takeoff as a separate row. Each section shows its accumulated cost and a final sell-out figure.
Applying markup by section
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To copy your current totals table markup into every section, click Update Sections and confirm by pressing Yes. This populates each section with the same inflation and on-cost percentages you set on the main summary table, giving you a consistent starting point.
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To adjust a specific section, click the plus icon next to the section name to expand it. This reveals a mini summary table showing only the material groups and labour types used in that section. For example, a containment section might show only cable management, cable, and site labour -- nothing for lighting, small power, or other categories that do not appear in that section.
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Enter different Inflation % and On Cost % values for any category within the expanded section. For instance, you might mark up lighting materials at 40% in one section while keeping all other sections at 20%.
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Press Continue or Exit to collapse the section and return to the section list.
The expanded mini summary table is helpful for reviewing exactly what materials and labour rates a section contains before deciding on markup. Use it to confirm costs before adjusting percentages.
Setting a target sell-out for a section
If you know exactly how much you want a particular section to sell for, you can enter a target figure and let the software calculate the required markup automatically.
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Expand the section you want to adjust by clicking the plus icon.
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Click the small button next to the section's Gross Contract Cost -- the total sell-out value for that section.
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Enter your target figure (e.g. 12,000) and press Continue.
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The software calculates the required profit percentage and distributes it proportionally across all material and labour categories in that section. You will see the profit values update in the expanded view.
This is a quick way to price sections to a known budget. The software handles the arithmetic and spreads the adjustment backwards across every item in the section, so you do not need to work out individual percentages yourself. You can do this for as many sections as you like, setting a different target for each one.
You can also set a target sell-out for the entire project using the gross profit indicator and targets feature on the main summary table.
Reports for section markup
When you use section markup, the results are reflected in your internal reports. Useful reports for reviewing section-level pricing include:
- Tender Profit Summary -- shows each section with a breakdown of material cost, material markup, labour cost, labour markup, and any spread prelims or builders discount. This report shows exactly how much profit has been allocated to each section of the job.
- Section Summary -- similar to the tender profit summary but with a different layout, including columns for shop time, site time, overhead, and profit.
- Estimate Summary -- a labour-material split at cost value.
These reports are accessed from the Select Reports button on the summary table.
When prelims are spread across the job, the Tender Profit Summary still shows you the exact amount of prelims allocated to each section, so you retain full visibility of how costs are distributed.
Next steps
- Accumulate sections mode -- link the totals table and section markup together so they always show the same figure.
- Material on-cost percentages -- apply on-cost percentages to individual material categories.
- Overhead and profit -- apply general overhead and profit percentages.
- Cost code markup -- group and mark up materials by your own cost code categories.