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How much should you charge for a plumbing job?

Work out a price for a service call from what it costs you: time on the job and on the road, parts, and your share of overhead. Add the margin you want, and the calculator gives you a price for the job and what it earns you per hour.

Average drive from the previous stop.

Wage plus payroll costs.

Fuel and wear for the drive to this customer.

Insurance, phone, software, equipment payments and other fixed costs.

Your overhead is spread across these. Use your average across the year.

The share of the price you keep after costs. 30% of a $100 visit is $30.

$256 per visit

Cost per visit: $154 · Profit per visit: $103

Wages $64 · Parts and materials per job $40 · Vehicle $8 · Overhead $42

That's $140 for each hour the job takes, including the drive.

Driving to this customer is 18% of the job's time and costs you $20 a visit. See what driving costs across all your routes

Keep the drive out of your margin

Routova groups each day's stops by area and orders them by real road drive times, so less of every visit goes to the road. Route optimization is on every plan, from $49 a month.

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What goes into a plumbing price

Flat-rate prices only work if the time behind them is right. Time your common jobs, such as a faucet replacement or a drain clear, and price each one from its own average rather than one rate for everything. Count the drive: it's paid time on every call.

How this calculator works

It adds up the cost of one visit: wages for everyone on the job for the time on site and the drive, materials, vehicle cost, and your monthly overhead divided by your visits each month. Then it sets the price so that your chosen margin is left after those costs: price = cost ÷ (1 − margin). The monthly and yearly figures multiply the price by the visits in that period.

Why the drive belongs in the price

Customers don't see the drive, but you pay for it on every visit. If your stops are spread out or in a poor order, the same price earns you less. Shorter drives lower the cost of every visit without changing what the customer pays.

Questions

Should I charge a flat rate or by the hour?
Many customers prefer a price they know before you start. This calculator builds one from your hourly costs and shows what it earns per hour of the job, so you can check it against your hourly rate.
How do I price emergency calls?
Run the calculator again with the after-hours wage and the longer drive, or add the surcharge you already use on top of the result.
What do other plumbing companies charge?
It varies a lot by area. This calculator starts from your own costs so every price covers them. Compare the result with local quotes before you set your rates.

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