In this section we will discuss how much to charge for your services and also, most importantly, keep records of your expenses.

How much to charge for your service

Do some research on what the average call out rates are being charged in your area or the area you want to service. Keep this price at an average rate until you establish a reputation

Your charges should include call-our-rates, travel expenses if out of your service area, rate-per-hour or rate-per job.

Call-out-rates

Call our rates should be considered especially when a client has requested a quote. Your time is money, and you should relay to your client your call-out-rate. This rate can be deducted or reduced if you are awarded the job, but essentially can be invoiced if it took you time and expenses to get to a client.

Hourly rate versus rate-per-job

Although there is no set rule to this because each job you encounter will be different, however, once you have established your clientele and have gained enough experience, you will be able to determine what method of billing will suit you.

The important part is to not be greedy or over-charge as this WILL compromise your reputation within a matter of time.

Hourly rates are usually calculated based on an estimate on how long you think the job may take you. However, if you have quoted for 3 hours, you should not necessarily charge the client additional hours if you ended up spending 5 hours on a job unless there were situations out of your control.

Rate-per-job can be an option depending on the type of work required where you can give an overall price to complete the task or job.

Mark-ups and profits

Marking up materials that will need to be used for the job can be done as long as it does not over-price the final quote. Usual mark-ups can be anywhere between 15% and 45% which can either off-set sourcing the spares or time/expenses to collect and deliver.

Careful calculations will need to be done before setting out quotes to minimise the risk of running a loss, over-charging or the job not being viable.

Mark-up on spares and parts used. Do no mark-up on you labour rates, travel or tools you may have needed to purchase

To calculate mark-up:

• If you want to mark-up by 20%, multiply your cost by 0.2.
• If you want to mark-up by 45%, multiply your cost by 0.45, and so on.

Bill of Materials

A list of all materials and spares needs to be written down and a cost allocated to each item. This will help you with quoting as well as being a shopping list and a “to-do” list on the scope of work required.

Always write down what materials are needed and sum up the value along with your rates. You can then price-adjust the total to be slightly higher (Depending on local rates). As long as the final quote is not over-priced.