Shop supplies (rags, cleaner, fasteners) are usually billed as a percent of labor, but states and customers expect a cap. Charge a percent of labor, but never above your maximum.
8% of $400 labor is $32, under a $50 cap, so the fee is $32. A big job snaps to the $50 ceiling.
The example
Three tickets with labor, a supplies percent, and the fee cap.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ticket | Labor | Supply % | Cap | Supplies fee |
| 2 | Brake job | $400 | 8% | $50 | $32.00 |
| 3 | Engine work | $1,200 | 8% | $50 | $50.00 |
| 4 | Oil & filter | $60 | 8% | $50 | $4.80 |
The formula
MIN enforces the ceiling:
How it works
The fee is a percent of labor with a hard limit:
B2*C2is the supplies fee as a percent of labor.D2is the maximum you will charge for shop supplies.MIN(…)returns the smaller of the two, so the fee scales with small jobs but never exceeds the cap.
Many states regulate supplies fees — set the cap to your legal or disclosed maximum and keep it on the estimate.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the labor total, supplies percent, and the cap.
Variations
Add a floor too
Set a minimum supplies fee as well as a cap.
Pitfalls & errors
Enter the percent as 8% or 0.08, not 8, or the fee is 100x too high before the cap clips it.
Disclose the supplies fee and its cap on every estimate — many states require it in writing.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why MIN and not MAX?
Is a supplies fee legal?
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