How to price custom furniture (worked example)

The short version

Most furniture makers price from the timber and a gut feeling. The timber is the biggest cost, but not the only one. Fittings, finishing, workshop days and delivery add up fast.

Add every cost to get the true cost. Then add your margin on top. Here is the method, with a worked example.

What goes into the price of custom furniture?

Five kinds of cost: the main material, the parts and fittings, the finish, your workshop time, and delivery. Miss any one and you are working for less than you think.

Let's go through them using one example: a custom dining table.

1. Cost the main material

List the timber for each part at the price you actually paid, not last year's price.

For a table, that means the top, the apron rails and the legs. Cost them separately. A thick top in a hardwood can cost more than everything else put together.

If you buy timber in big boards and cut many pieces from one, divide the board price by how many pieces you usually get from it. Then add a little for the offcuts and mis-cuts. You paid for those too.

2. Add the fittings

Screws, brackets, dowels, hinges, handles. These are small, but they are real money. Count what goes into one piece and price it.

If you buy a box of 200 screws, work out the cost of the 30 or so you use per table.

3. Add the finish

Sanding sheets, filler, stain, varnish, lacquer or oil. A good finish takes several coats, and every coat uses product. Price what one piece uses.

4. Add your workshop time

This is the cost most makers leave out, or guess too low.

Count the days the piece takes from cutting to final coat. Then multiply by what a workshop day costs you. That day rate should include:

• Your own pay, or what you want to earn
• Wages for any carpenters or apprentices
• A share of rent, power, fuel for the generator and tool wear

Spread your monthly running costs over the working days in a month to get a fair daily share.

5. Add delivery

A dining table needs a van, a driver and often two people to carry it. Price the trip. If you set up on site, add that time too.

A worked example: a custom dining table

Here is the full cost of one example table.

These are example figures. Your prices, sizes and days will differ.

What happens if I charge ₦240,000?

You lose ₦8,500 on the table. ₦240,000 sounds like a good price for a dining table, and it covers the timber easily. But once the workshop days and the van are counted, it is ₦8,500 short of what the table cost you to make and deliver.

This is how busy workshops end up with no money. Every order feels like a sale, but some of them are quietly losing.

What price should I charge?

Add your margin on top of the true cost. With a 15% rule:

₦248,500 × 1.15 = ₦285,775

Round up to the nearest ₦500 and the price is ₦286,000. That leaves about ₦37,500 after every cost on this table.

A note on maths. Adding 15% on top of cost is a markup. The share of the final price you keep is a little lower, about 13%. If you want to keep a full 15% of the price, divide instead: ₦248,500 ÷ 0.85 = ₦292,353, which rounds up to ₦292,500. Either way is fine. Just know which one you are using. Our glossary explains margin and markup in plain words.

What if the customer says it is too expensive?

Don't cut your own pay first. Look at the costs instead:

• Could a different timber for the rails or legs bring the cost down?
• Could a simpler finish save a day in the workshop?
• Could the customer collect, so you drop the ₦18,000 van trip?

Show the customer the choices. Most people would rather pick a cheaper option than get a table you lost money on.

How do I take a deposit on custom furniture?

Ask for enough up front to cover the materials before you buy timber. For this table, the materials alone come to ₦176,500. Many makers ask for at least that much, then bill the balance before delivery. Read our guide on how to take deposits for custom orders.

How do I keep my furniture prices up to date?

Re-cost a piece every time you buy at a new price. Timber, varnish and fuel all change. A table that paid well in January can lose money by June.

You can do this in a notebook or a spreadsheet. It takes time, and it is easy to forget.

Sentralbee does the maths for every product. Add your timber, fittings and finishes once, with cost and supplier, then build each product from a list of materials plus labour and extra cost lines like workshop days and delivery. The cost uses the average price you paid for each material, and it updates as you buy. If a product now sells below cost, the Bee, our built-in AI partner, tells you and suggests a price from your margin rule. You can set that rule as a percentage, like the 15% here, or a fixed amount. Costing is on Pro (₦7,500 a month) and above. See pricing.

A production board then tracks each piece through your own stages, such as cutting, assembly, finishing and delivery.

Try your own numbers in the free true cost calculator, see Sentralbee for furniture workshops, or book a free Clarity Review and we'll cost one piece with you in 30 minutes.