How to calculate the real price of what you sell (without being an accountant)
There's a question almost no one answers with numbers: how much does what you sell really cost you? Most people set the price by looking at the competitor, adding "something" to the material cost, or simply out of habit. And that's how it's easy to sell more and earn less.
The good news: calculating the real price doesn't require an accounting course. It requires organizing four things.
1. The direct cost (the obvious one)
It's what goes directly into producing or delivering what you sell:
- Raw materials or inputs.
- Direct labor (the hours that go into that product or service).
- Sales commissions, packaging, shipping.
Add it up per unit. If you sell services, figure out how many real hours it takes to deliver and how much that hour costs.
2. The hidden cost (the one that eats your margin)
Here's the trap. Your business has fixed costs that exist even if you sell nothing: rent, administrative payroll, software, services, accountant. That cost also has to be spread across what you sell.
A simple way: take your monthly fixed costs and divide them by the units (or projects) you usually sell in a month. That value is what each sale must "carry" for the operation to sustain itself.
Illustrative example: if your fixed costs are 10 million a month and you sell 500 units, each unit carries 20,000 in structure alone, before your profit.
3. The margin you want (not the one that's left over)
Margin isn't what's left at the end by accident: it's a decision. Define how much you want to earn on the total cost (direct + hidden). That percentage must cover surprises, reinvestment and your profit.
Price = (direct cost + assigned fixed cost) ÷ (1 − desired margin).
If you try to set the margin "on cost" instead of "on price", you'll fall short. Watch out for that difference.
4. The market comparison (at the end, not the beginning)
Only now do you look at the competitor. Not to copy their price, but to place yours: if your number comes out well above, review costs or communicate your value better; if it comes out well below, you're probably giving money away.
The most common mistake
Setting prices once and never looking again. Costs rise on their own —inputs, salaries, services— and prices stay frozen for years. The result: margins that thin out without anyone noticing, until cash flow gets tight.
Reviewing prices and margins should be a monthly habit, not an annual event.
Do it once and automate it
Doing this calculation by hand, product by product, is tedious —and that's why almost no one keeps it up to date. In Miscostosfijos you have your portfolio with the real cost, calculated margin and a living price list: when a cost changes, you immediately see which products are still profitable and which are costing you money.
Stop pricing by eye. Try it for 7 days and see, with your numbers, what earns you a profit and what doesn't.