What Is an All-in Rate in Construction Estimating?
An all-in rate is a unit rate that has every cost of completing one unit of work folded into a single figure — labour including on-costs like superannuation and workers compensation, materials including a wastage allowance, plant or equipment, and usually a share of overheads and margin as well. Instead of pricing labour, materials and plant as separate lines and hoping nothing was forgotten, the estimator prices one all-in dollar figure per unit that already accounts for everything. It is the opposite of a bare rate, which only covers the raw cost of labour and material with nothing added. All-in rates are what most tradies and companies actually quote to clients, because a bare rate on its own is not a safe number to build a tender total from.
Key takeaways
- An all-in rate combines every cost of one unit of work — labour with on-costs, materials with wastage, plant, and usually overhead and margin — into a single figure.
- It differs from a bare rate, which covers only raw labour and material cost with nothing added for overheads or profit.
- Using all-in rates for client-facing quotes helps prevent under-pricing, because no cost component is left to be remembered separately.
- On-costs (superannuation, workers compensation, leave loading) and wastage allowances are the components most often left out by mistake.
- All-in rates still need regular review — bundling costs together does not mean they stay accurate forever.
What goes into an all-in rate
An all-in rate is built up component by component, then totalled into one figure per unit so it can be applied quickly across a whole bill of quantities.
- Labour cost per unit, including on-costs such as superannuation, workers compensation and leave loading — not just the base hourly wage
- Material cost per unit, with an allowance added for wastage, offcuts and breakage
- Plant and equipment cost apportioned to that unit of work
- Subcontractor cost, where relevant, built in the same way
- A share of business overheads and a margin for profit, so the rate reflects what the job actually needs to earn
All-in rate vs bare rate
A bare rate is the raw cost of labour and material only — useful internally for cost tracking, but risky to quote to a client because it leaves overheads and profit unaccounted for. An all-in rate takes that bare cost and adds everything else needed to run the business and deliver the job.
| Rate type | Includes | Risk if used for a quote |
|---|---|---|
| Bare rate | Labour and material cost only | No margin, no overhead cover — under-prices the job |
| All-in rate | Labour, material, plant, overhead and margin | Reflects the true cost of delivering the work |
Why all-in rates prevent under-pricing
Under-pricing usually happens one small omission at a time — a wastage allowance skipped, an on-cost forgotten, plant hire absorbed instead of charged. Each omission looks minor on its own, but across a whole tender they compound into a job that quietly runs at a loss. Building an all-in rate forces every cost component to be accounted for once, at the rate build-up stage, rather than trusted to memory on every job.
Building an all-in rate — a worked example
The logic is additive: start from the bare labour and material cost, then layer on-costs, wastage, plant, overhead and margin on top until you reach one all-in figure per unit.
| Cost component | Amount per m2 |
|---|---|
| Labour (base rate) | $28.00 |
| Labour on-costs (super, workers comp, leave loading) | $7.50 |
| Materials, including wastage allowance | $14.00 |
| Plant (mixer, scaffold share) | $4.50 |
| Overhead and margin | $10.00 |
| All-in rate per m2 | $64.00 |
Keeping all-in rates current
An all-in rate is only reliable if the components inside it are kept current — a labour on-cost percentage from last year, or a material price from before a supplier increase, will quietly under-price the next quote. My Trade Hub stores all-in rates in an editable rates library, applied automatically to quantities measured from uploaded plans, so labour, material and margin components stay visible and adjustable rather than buried in a one-off spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is an all-in rate in a quote?
It is a single price per unit of work that already includes labour with on-costs, materials with wastage, plant, and usually overhead and margin, so nothing needs to be added on separately.
What is the difference between an all-in rate and a bare rate?
A bare rate covers only raw labour and material cost. An all-in rate adds on-costs, plant, overheads and margin on top, making it the safer figure to quote to a client.
What on-costs should be included in an all-in labour rate?
Typical on-costs are superannuation, workers compensation insurance, leave loading and any other statutory employment cost on top of the base hourly wage.
Why use all-in rates instead of pricing labour and materials separately?
Pricing components separately relies on remembering to add overheads and margin every time. An all-in rate bundles them once, reducing the risk of under-pricing a job.
Does an all-in rate include margin?
Usually, yes — most all-in rates used for client quotes include a margin for profit on top of labour, material, plant and overhead costs.
How often should all-in rates be updated?
Regularly. Material prices, wage on-costs and overhead allocations all move over time, so all-in rates should be reviewed at least each time major input costs change.
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