Pricing Your Work
How to build a price from your own costs, markup and margin, what drives the number in your trade, and how to stop underselling yourself.
23 guides in this section
Core Pricing Guides
Guides in this section
How to price your work so you actually make money
Price off your own costs, not off what the guy down the road charges or what you earned as an employee. The reliable method is cost-plus: add up what the job...
How to write an estimate that wins the job and protects you
A good estimate does two jobs at once: it sells the job by making it easy for the customer to say yes, and it protects you by pinning down exactly what you...
Should I charge for estimates?
Charge nothing for a quick ballpark quote, but do charge for real work: detailed design, a measured takeoff that takes hours, a diagnostic visit, or a long...
Day rate, fixed price, or time and materials: which should you quote?
The three ways a US contractor can charge, who carries the risk in each, where each one belongs, and the not-to-exceed clause that stops time and materials ending in a fight.
When to raise your prices, and how to tell your customers
The countable signals that say a contractor is overdue a price rise, how to rebuild the number rather than adding a percentage, and the one-line notice that ends the conversation.
Why you should never be the cheapest bid, and what a cheap price tells the customer
What being the lowest bid does to a contracting business, what a cheap price actually tells a customer, and the six things to compete on instead of price.
How to explain your price when they say "that's a lot"
The three things a customer actually means by "that's a lot", how to translate your costs into what they get, and what to change when the budget is the real problem.
Pricing residential vs commercial work: what actually changes
What actually changes when a contractor moves between residential and commercial pricing: who writes the scope, retainage and payment terms, paperwork, insurance limits, and lien versus bond claim.
Materials: who supplies, who pays, and getting it in writing
Why contractors mark materials up 15 to 25 percent, when to let a customer supply their own, and the clauses that stop a late or faulty customer-supplied item costing you a day.
Trade-Specific Pricing Guides
How to price electrical work
What actually drives an electrical price: the license that pulls the permit, the inspection cycle, copper and gear price risk, the comp class, and the exclusions that stop concealed wiring costing you.
How to price plumbing work
Why service and installation plumbing need two different pricing models, how access and concealed pipework drive the number, and the certified recurring work most plumbers never price for.
How to price HVAC work
Why equipment markup, drive time and the second visit decide HVAC profitability, how to price around two demand spikes a year, and why the A2L transition is a pricing event.
How to price solar installation work
Pricing solar after the Section 25D credit ended: the segments that still work, why a rooftop install often needs two licenses, the three approvals you do not control, and who owns a leak.
How to price carpentry work
Why framing and finish carpentry need different prices, how lumber price risk and the takeoff decide the number, and the pre-1978 lead rule that catches remodelers on trim work.
How to price concrete and masonry work
Why the 90-minute set window rather than the pour decides a concrete price, what is always missing from the estimate, and how silica compliance and bad ground belong in the number.
How to price roofing work
Why insurance rather than shingles drives a roofing price, how to quote what you cannot see until the tear-off, and the deductible rule that is treated as insurance fraud in a growing number of states.
How to price welding and fabrication work
Why certification rather than licensing sets a welder's ceiling, why shop and field work need two different rates, and the fit-up, documentation and confined-space costs that belong in the price.
How to price drywall work
Why the finish level is the price in drywall, when Type X board is a code requirement rather than a choice, and how to stop a held-up production crew eating a correctly priced job.
How to price flooring and tile work
Why the substrate rather than the square footage decides a tile price, the waterproofing line that should never be cut, and the prep failures that produce callbacks months later.
How to price painting work
Why prep rather than paint is the price, what is always missing from a cheaper quote, and why the EPA lead-safe rule on pre-1978 homes is a painter's strongest competitive argument.
How to price handyman work
Why the state license threshold is the most important number in handyman pricing, the aggregate-cost trap, and why small jobs carry a fixed cost that has nothing to do with the work.
How to price landscaping work
Why route density rather than hourly rate decides maintenance profitability, the pesticide applicator license your contractor license does not cover, and how to price a trade with a season.
How to price pool service work
The two tracks in pool work and why crossing between them is unlicensed contracting, how to price a route rather than an hour, and the chemicals and remediation that should never sit inside a flat contract.
Just starting out? These templates are also available in the After Your Apprenticeship section, along with 20 guides covering everything from your first quote to your 5-year plan. →