How “Grows With Job Size” Works — Scaling Your Costs Automatically
Set a cost once per unit and let Tradewin scale materials and labour to any job size — what “grows with job size” means, with a worked downlight example including fractional quantities like 0.1 of a cable roll.
Every cost line in a recipe is either fixed for the whole job or grows with job size. Get this right and you can price a job for 1 unit, then quote 2, 10, or 50 of them with zero re-typing — Tradewin multiplies everything for you.
The two modes
- •Fixed (No): a one-off amount regardless of job size — e.g. 1 site visit fee, 1 skip bin, 1 permit.
- •Grows with job size (Yes): the amount needed for each unit of the job — Tradewin multiplies it by the quantity you enter on the quote.
Worked example: one downlight install
Build a recipe for a single downlight, with every line set to grow with job size:
- •LED downlight — $32 each, qty per each: 1
- •Ceiling socket — $8.50 each, qty per each: 1
- •Twin & earth cable 50m roll — $62 / roll, qty per each: 0.1 (you use about 5m per light, so each light consumes a tenth of a roll = $6.20)
- •Junction box — $3.80 each, qty per each: 1
- •Labour — 0.75 hrs per light at $110/hr = $82.50
Cost for 1 light: $32 + $8.50 + $6.20 + $3.80 + $82.50 = $133.00.
A quote for 2 lights comes in
Apply the same recipe and enter a job size of 2 — every line doubles automatically: 2 downlights ($64), 2 sockets ($17), 0.2 of a cable roll ($12.40), 2 junction boxes ($7.60), and 1.5 hrs labour ($165). Total cost: $266.00. Nothing re-typed.
Fractional quantities (0.1, 0.2, 0.5…)
Use decimals when an item is bought in a bigger pack than one job uses — cable rolls, paint tins, silicone tubes, concrete bags. Ask: “how much of one purchase unit does each job unit consume?”
- •5m of a 50m cable roll per light = 0.1 per each.
- •Half a tin of paint per room = 0.5 per each.
- •Add a wastage % on top to allow for offcuts and breakage.
When NOT to grow a line
Truck or crane hire, permits, callout fees, and delivery charges should be set to No — they stay flat whether the job is 1 light or 40.