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PricingPrice a service from your costs, your time, and the result you deliver, instead of copying a competitor or guessing.
Most pricing mistakes come from the same place: a price chosen first, and the maths done later, if at all. A price that works is built the other way round — costs first, then time, then value — and only then a number you can say out loud with confidence.
List everything a job actually costs you, not just the obvious materials. Include travel, tools, software, phone and internet, insurance, payment fees, and the time you spend on messages, quotes and follow-ups. If you forget these, you are paying for them out of your own pocket.
Work out what you need to earn per working hour to cover your costs and pay yourself, after allowing for holidays, sick days and jobs that do not go ahead. Many owners price only the hours on site, and forget the hours spent quoting, travelling and doing admin. Those hours are work too.
Two jobs can take the same time and be worth very different amounts. A job that stops a leak, restores a booking system, or gets a business found on Google is worth more than the hours alone suggest, because of the problem it solves. Your price should reflect that result, in plain words, when you explain it to the customer.
Look at what others charge, but remember you do not know their costs, their quality, or whether they are actually making money. Use competitors as a sanity check, not as your price list. If you are much cheaper than everyone else, ask why — and whether that price can last.
Put your price in a simple sheet: costs, hours, margin, final price. Then test it on the next few quotes. If everyone says yes instantly, your price may be too low. If no one says yes, the problem may be the price, or it may be how the offer is explained. Change one thing at a time, and keep notes.
A good price is not the lowest price, and it is not the highest price you can get away with. It is a price that covers your costs, pays you properly, and can be explained in one sentence to the customer. That is a price you can keep.
This guide explains the topic in plain language. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Check the rules that apply to your business before you act.
Cash flow is about timing: when money actually arrives, and when it actually has to leave.
A clear invoice — what, how much, when, and how to pay — gets paid faster than a vague one.