Transport Quote Calculator

Rates & Settings Set up your fuel price, vehicle hire rates, and driver pay. These numbers feed into every quote. Click "Work it out" next to any vehicle to build up the true daily running cost from hire, insurance, tax, R&M, etc.

Base Location

Depot Postcode Where do your vehicles start from? Enter your depot postcode, partial postcode (e.g. TF1), or town name (e.g. Telford). This gets saved so you don't have to type it every time.

Company Details Your company name and phone as they appear on email quotes. Saved for next time.

Company Name

Phone Number

Fuel Price

Diesel (£/litre) INC. VAT

Check AA ↗ RAC Fuel Watch ↗

Enter the pump price (inc. VAT). We use this as a worst-case cost. VAT-registered operators reclaim the fuel VAT, so your real profit will be slightly higher than shown.

Vehicle Running Costs

Driver Pay Rates

Other Rates

Night Out Rate (£) Flat subsistence allowance per night the driver sleeps in the cab. Typically £25-£40. Tax-free up to HMRC limit.

Running a haulage business? North Bear Media builds websites that win work.

Professional transport & logistics websites · SEO · Branding · northbearmedia.co.uk

Find out more →

Employment On-Costs

These are the hidden costs of employing a driver that most operators forget to include. They apply to salaried and employed hourly drivers only. Agency rates already include these costs in their charge rate.

Employer's NI (%) Employer's National Insurance contribution. From April 2025 this is 15% on earnings above £175/week. This is what YOU pay to HMRC on top of the driver's wage — it does not come out of their pay. It's a real cost that must be factored into every job.

Holiday Pay Uplift UK law: 28 days (5.6 weeks) paid holiday per year. You pay for 52 weeks but only get ~46.4 productive working weeks. This means the true cost of each working day is 12.07% higher than the daily rate because you're also covering holiday pay. Toggle this on to include it (recommended).

Pension Contribution (%) Auto-enrolment: employers must contribute at least 3% of qualifying earnings to a workplace pension. This is paid ON TOP of wages. Some employers contribute more. Set to 0 if your drivers are exempt or opted out.

Example: A driver on £212.50/day + 15% NI + 12.07% holiday + 3% pension = true cost of £276.88/day. That's 30% more than the headline rate.

Fuel cost per mile uses the ex-VAT fuel price (pump price / 1.2). Salaried = Daily Rate / Contracted Hours x paid hours. Employment on-costs (NI, holiday, pension) are added to salaried and employed hourly drivers only — agency rates are fully loaded. All settings auto-save.

Preset:

Route Build your route by adding stops. You can enter full postcodes (TF1 1QN), partial postcodes (TF1, B1), or town names (Telford, Birmingham). Use the checkboxes to include your base depot at start/end. Or just type miles manually.

Customer / Ref Optional. Add a customer name or job reference so you can identify this quote later. Appears on the quote output.

📍 Route Builder

Start from base Return to base

Total Miles Total driving distance for the entire job. Use the route builder above to calculate automatically, or type it in manually.

Vehicle Pick the vehicle type. Driver licence class auto-updates to match. The info panel shows payload, pallets, fuel cost per mile, and daily cost.

Vehicle Type

🚚 18t Lorry Typical UK-spec · check actual plating

Payload 9,500 kg

UK Pallets 14

Fuel / Mile —

Vehicle / Day —

Vehicle Charge Full = full daily vehicle cost. Half = split across two jobs. None = don't charge (e.g. you own it outright).

Working Week 5 days = Mon-Fri. Weekly hire / 5. 6 days = Mon-Sat. Weekly / 6. 7 days = 24/7. Weekly / 7.

Load Weight (kg) Optional. Enter cargo weight in kg. If heavier than the vehicle can legally carry, you'll get a warning.

Driver

Licence Class Car/Van = up to 3.5t. C1 = 3.5t-7.5t. Cat C / Class 2 = rigid 18t/26t. Cat C+E / Class 1 = artic 44t.

Pay Type Salaried = daily rate / 12 hours. Employed Hourly = your driver, paid by the hour. Agency = temp driver from agency, hourly.

Second Man Does this job need a second person? Their cost is added based on paid hours.

Timing

Diesel (£/litre) PUMP PRICE INC. VAT

AA ↗

Standard MPH Average speed. 40 mph is good for lorries on mixed roads. Used to estimate job duration.

Loading Time (hrs) How long to load at collection. 1 hour typical.

Unloading Time (hrs) How long to unload at delivery.

Waiting Time (hrs) Extra waiting on site beyond loading/unloading. Queuing, paperwork, customs.

Break (mins) HGV drivers must take 45 mins after 4.5 hours driving (by law). Auto-set when driving exceeds 4.5hrs.

Pay breaks? No = break deducted from paid hours. Most common. Yes = break time is paid. Check driver contracts.

Estimated Hours

7.0

Paid Hours

6.3

Tolls & Extras Click any that apply. If "Return to base" is ticked, toll costs are doubled. You can also type a custom amount.

Dartford Crossing (£2.50) M6 Toll (£7.90) Humber Bridge (£1.50) London Congestion (£12.50) ULEZ (£12.50) Bristol CAZ (£8.00) Birmingham CAZ (£50.00)

Other Extras (£) Any other one-off costs: ferry, parking, PPE, tail-lift hire, etc.

Cost Breakdown ALL FIGURES + VAT

TOTAL COST +VAT £0.00

Cost / Mile £0.00

Your Profit Markup % = add on top of cost. 25% on £400 = £500. Margin % = profit as % of sell price. 25% on £400 = £533. Fixed £ = exact profit amount.

Profit Mode

Markup % How much to add on top of your cost. 25% is standard. Cost x 1.25 = Sell Price.

Your Profit £0.00

QUOTE PRICE +VAT £0.00

Markup: 0% Margin: 0%

VAT: All costs and quote prices are exclusive of VAT. VAT (currently 20%) should be added to customer invoices. Fuel cost is calculated using the ex-VAT fuel price (pump price ÷ 1.2) so there is no double-counting. You enter the pump price (inc. VAT) for convenience — the tool strips the VAT automatically.

Driver Costs: Salaried driver cost = daily rate ÷ contracted hours × paid hours. Employed hourly = hourly rate × paid hours. Employment on-costs (Employer's NI, holiday pay uplift, pension) are added automatically for salaried and employed hourly drivers. Agency rates are treated as fully loaded (inc. NI, holiday, pension in the agency charge) — no on-costs added. Adjust on-cost percentages in Settings. Whether breaks are paid depends on the driver's contract — this tool lets you choose.

General: This tool provides estimates only. Vehicle payloads, pallet counts, and running costs are based on typical UK-specification vehicles (sources: RHA Cost Tables, DVLA/DVSA rates, manufacturer specs). Always verify against your own costs before quoting. This tool does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice.

Tramper / Weekly Cost Planner For drivers who go out all week. Works out total weekly cost including fuel, driver, vehicle, and night outs, then shows revenue targets. A "tramper" is a driver who lives in the cab Monday to Friday, typically doing trunking or multi-day work.

Weekly Inputs

Vehicle Type

Weekly Miles How many miles per week? A UK tramper artic might do 1,500-2,500.

Weekly Hours Total working hours. Legal max 56 hours driving. Typical 45-50.

Nights Out Standard Mon-Fri tramper = 4 nights (Mon-Thu).

Licence Class

Pay Type

Working Days

Weekly Cost Breakdown +VAT

Fuel (weekly)£0.00

Driver Pay (weekly)£0.00

Vehicle (weekly)£0.00

Night Outs£0.00

TOTAL WEEKLY COST +VAT £0.00

Cost / Mile £0.00

Cost / Day £0.00

Revenue Target

Profit Markup %

Revenue / week£0.00

Revenue / day£0.00

Min rate / mile£0.00

Tramper costs assume the driver leaves base on day 1 and returns on the last working day. Driver pay is based on your rates in Settings. Vehicle cost is the full weekly hire/running cost. Night out rate from Settings.

Transport Quote Calculator

Rates & Settings ?Set up your fuel price, vehicle hire rates, and driver pay. These numbers feed into every quote. Click "Work it out" next to any vehicle to build up the true daily running cost from hire, insurance, tax, R&M, etc.

Work Out Your Daily Vehicle Cost

Rates & Settings Set up your fuel price, vehicle hire rates, and driver pay. These numbers feed into every quote. Click "Work it out" next to any vehicle to build up the true daily running cost from hire, insurance, tax, R&M, etc.