How do you calculate quote margin?

Subtract estimated cost from quoted price for gross profit, then divide by the price basis. A $125 quote against a $100 estimated cost gives $25 profit and a 25% quote margin.

What quote margin should I bid on a microgrid?

Many integrators set a floor in the 18-25% range to leave room for estimate error and warranty; the 25% in the example sits at the healthy end for a competitive bid.

Quote margin vs project margin?

Quote margin uses your estimate at bid time; project margin uses actual delivered cost. The difference is the execution variance you want to keep small.

Is quote margin the same as markup?

No. This is margin-on-price (profit divided by price). Markup divides profit by cost and produces a larger percentage from the same dollars.

How do I protect quote margin on a long DER project?

Use current equipment quotes with validity dates, add a contingency to estimated cost, and tie the bid to escalation clauses so commodity swings on batteries and copper do not erode the spread.

Why set a separate price basis?

If part of the quote is pass-through equipment the customer specifies, you may want margin measured only against your value-add scope rather than the full quoted price.

Microgrid & Distributed Energy Equipment calculator

Quote Margin Calculator

Quote Margin is the gross margin baked into a microgrid or DER bid before any work is done. Estimators and sales engineers use it at the proposal stage to confirm a quote clears the company's minimum margin before it goes out the door. It compares the price you intend to quote against your estimated delivered cost, inverters, batteries, switchgear, EPC labor and commissioning, and expresses the spread as a percentage. Get this wrong and you either lose the bid on price or win a job that loses money on execution.

What this calculator does

Estimate the gross margin on a microgrid or distributed energy quote by comparing quoted price against estimated cost, so estimating teams can confirm the bid clears the target margin before it goes out.
Use it when a microgrid or distributed energy quote needs a clean margin check before it is sent to the customer.
It computes bid gross profit (quoted price minus estimated cost) and divides by the price basis to return the quoted gross margin percent.

Formula used

Quote gross profit = quoted price - estimated cost
Quote margin = gross profit ÷ price basis for margin

Inputs explained

Quoted price to customer:
Estimated delivered cost:
Margin price basis (usually quoted price):

How to use the result

Use it while building or reviewing a proposal, before the quote is released to the customer.
It relies on an estimate; the realized margin will differ if equipment costs, labor hours, or commissioning effort run over, which is why you reconcile against project margin later.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Industrial electricity averages 8.71 cents per kWh across the U.S. (EIA, May 2026), up 5.1% from a year earlier. Energy-intensive steps carry this directly into unit cost.
Steel mill PPI stands at 374.203 (BLS, Jul 2026), up 22.5% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 7.4% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate quote margin? Subtract estimated cost from quoted price for gross profit, then divide by the price basis. A $125 quote against a $100 estimated cost gives $25 profit and a 25% quote margin.
What quote margin should I bid on a microgrid? Many integrators set a floor in the 18-25% range to leave room for estimate error and warranty; the 25% in the example sits at the healthy end for a competitive bid.
Quote margin vs project margin? Quote margin uses your estimate at bid time; project margin uses actual delivered cost. The difference is the execution variance you want to keep small.
Is quote margin the same as markup? No. This is margin-on-price (profit divided by price). Markup divides profit by cost and produces a larger percentage from the same dollars.
How do I protect quote margin on a long DER project? Use current equipment quotes with validity dates, add a contingency to estimated cost, and tie the bid to escalation clauses so commodity swings on batteries and copper do not erode the spread.

Last reviewed 2026-07-13.