Uniform Budget Per Employee: How to Plan 2027 Apparel
A uniform budget per employee is four numbers multiplied out: pieces per person, the garment price, the decoration price per piece, and a one time setup for each logo. Add a new hire line and a reorder line, and finance has a number it can sign. Below is the worksheet, with a 40 person example worked to the cent.
Count pieces by role, quote the garment on its own line, price total pieces at their embroidery tier, and add $35 once per new logo. For 40 people with 3 polos each ordered together, decoration and setup come to $665.00, about $16.63 per person before garments. Order the same polos in three batches and it is $905.00.
The four lines in a uniform budget per employee
Every company apparel budget that holds up through the year is built from the same four lines, and only one of them is a guess.
Pieces per person comes first, and it is the line most budgets get wrong. Count by role, not by company. For a starting point, here is how many uniform shirts each person needs.
The garment is the second line, and it is quoted separately. We never fold it into a blended figure. If polos anchor the program, read what the polo itself costs, over at PILLAR.
Decoration per piece is the third line, and it is the one you control. Our published embroidery prices are tiered by quantity, per piece, for standard embroidery up to 6,000 stitches. Shirts run from $10.75 each at 1 to 8 pieces down to $5.25 each at 72 and up. Hats run $13.25 down to $6.25. The tier is set by how many pieces go in one order.
Setup is the fourth line: $35 one time for each new logo or design. Once a file is set up it stays on record, and reorders never pay it again.
Inside a tier, only stitch count moves line three. Past 6,000 stitches it is $1.00 per 1,000, so an 8,000 stitch logo adds $2.00 a piece. Here is why stitch count moves the price.
The worksheet
| Line | How to count it | Example (40 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Pieces per person | Headcount by role, times pieces each role gets | 40 people × 3 polos = 120 polos |
| Garment | Quoted separately, per style and size run | Quoted separately |
| Decoration per piece | Total pieces in one order, priced at that tier | 120 × $5.25 = $630.00 |
| Setup per logo | $35 once for each new logo or design | $35.00 |
| Decoration subtotal | Decoration plus setup, divided by headcount | $665.00, about $16.63 per person |
| Cap line (optional) | Caps per person, priced at the hats tier | 40 × $8.50 = $340.00 |
| New hire and reorder line | Expected hires times pieces, at the tier of each reorder | 4 polos × $10.75 = $43.00 |
Worked example: 40 people, one order versus three
Ordering the year's volume together is worth $240.00 on 120 polos, and nothing else in the budget changes.
Take 40 employees, 3 polos each. That is 120 polos. Ordered together, 120 lands in the 72 and up tier at $5.25 a shirt: 120 × $5.25 = $630.00 in decoration, plus $35 setup, for $665.00.
Now split the same 120 polos into three orders of 40 through the year. Each order of 40 prices at the 24 to 47 tier, $7.25 a shirt: 40 × $7.25 = $290.00, three times, for $870.00. Setup is still $35 once, because the file stays on record. Total $905.00. Same shirts, $240.00 more.
| Plan | Pieces per order | Tier | Decoration | Setup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One order | 120 | 72 and up, $5.25 | $630.00 | $35.00 | $665.00 |
| Three orders | 40 each | 24 to 47, $7.25 | $290.00 × 3 = $870.00 | $35.00 | $905.00 |
| Difference | $240.00 | $0.00 | $240.00 |
Add a cap per person: 40 caps at the 24 to 47 hats tier, $8.50 each, is $340.00. Whether the cap needs its own setup depends on the logo, and the quote confirms it. Here is what each embroidered cap costs.
In the together case, $665.00 across 40 people is about $16.63 per person in decoration before garments. That is how we price company apparel programs: line by line, so finance sees which number moved.
New hires, replacements and the reorder line
Budget a reorder line for the people you have not hired yet, because they will need shirts the week they start.
We have no minimums, so a reorder of 4 is a normal order. At the 1 to 8 tier that is $10.75 a shirt: 4 × $10.75 = $43.00 in decoration, with no new setup because the logo is already on record. It costs more per piece than January. It costs less than a closet of sizes nobody fits.
Size it from last year's hires. Six new people at 3 polos each, batched into one reorder of 18, price at the 9 to 23 tier: 18 × $8.50 = $153.00. One hire at a time, it is 6 × 3 × $10.75 = $193.50.
Replacements are the other half. Field crews wear through shirts faster than office staff, so give them their own count, and start from a polo spec built for a field crew.
Then decide how reorders happen. One bulk order with spares, or employees ordering their own sizes? We wrote up when to run a company store or one bulk order. The question is whether small orders at a higher tier cost less than spares on a shelf.
The cheapest polo in the budget is the one you ordered with forty others. The most expensive is the one you ordered alone in May.
When to order for a January start
For a program that starts the first week of January, approve proofs by early to mid December.
Logo embroidery on stock garments runs 7 to 10 business days from proof approval. The clock starts at approval, not at the quote. Every order gets a proof showing placement, size and thread colors before production.
Approve on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, and 7 to 10 business days puts the finish about Friday, December 11 to Wednesday, December 16. Approve on Monday, December 7, and the finish is about Wednesday, December 16 to Monday, December 21. Shipping comes after that, so treat those as finish windows, not delivery dates.
Sizes by person usually hold an order up, not the logo. Here is how an order runs from quote to proof.
Fully custom program pieces run on a different clock: about 45 days door to door, with the timeline confirmed on the first call. Count back 45 days from a Monday, January 4 hand out and you land on Friday, November 20. If it cannot start by then, launch January on stock garments and budget the custom piece for a later drop.
What to do, and what to avoid
The budgets that hold are the ones that keep the lines separate and the volume together.
- Count pieces by role, not one number for the whole company.
- Order the year's core volume in one batch to reach a lower tier.
- Keep garment and decoration on separate lines.
- Hold a reorder line for hires and replacements.
- One per employee figure with garments baked in.
- Splitting one program into small orders to spread the spend.
- Changing the logo mid year, which adds a new $35 setup.
- Assuming the clock starts when the quote arrives.
Questions buyers ask about uniform budgets
How much should I budget per employee for uniforms?
Build it from four lines: pieces per person, the garment, decoration per piece and a $35 one time setup per logo. For 40 people with 3 embroidered polos each ordered together, decoration and setup come to $665.00, about $16.63 per person. The garment is quoted separately.
Is the setup fee charged again on reorders?
No. The $35 setup is one time per new logo or design, and the file stays on record. A reorder of the same logo pays only the per piece decoration at the tier it lands in.
Does ordering more pieces lower the price?
Yes. Embroidery is tiered by quantity per order. Shirts run $10.75 each at 1 to 8 pieces, $8.50 at 9 to 23, $7.25 at 24 to 47, $6.00 at 48 to 71 and $5.25 at 72 and up.
How do I budget for new hires during the year?
Add a reorder line. We have no minimums, so an order of 4 shirts is fine. At the 1 to 8 tier that is $10.75 a shirt, $43.00 for four, with no new setup.
Is screen printing cheaper per piece than embroidery?
It depends on the order. Screen printing, DTF and sublimation are priced per order on the quote, so there is no published per piece number for them. Send the design, the quantity and the garment, and we quote the methods side by side.
When should I order uniforms for a January start?
Approve proofs by early to mid December. Decorated orders run 7 to 10 business days from proof approval, so approving Wednesday, December 2 finishes about December 11 to 16, before shipping. Fully custom pieces take about 45 days door to door.
Put a real number on next year's apparel.
Send headcount by role and pieces per person, and we return decoration and setup priced line by line, with the garment quoted beside it.
