How much would you charge for minimal work?

[ultinator]

I was called to a house that was being redecorated (just one bedroom at present).

Client expressed concern over two dbl sockets hanging off surface boxes and a hole in the wall which appeared to be an old single socket that had been removed leaving the conductors exposed in connector blocks in a backbox.

I replaced the surface boxes as the threads had been snapped off and put a blank plate over the hole, it took a short amount of time, materials were a fiver and was only about a mile away.

I am aware it seems trivial as it was so little to do but how would you go about charging for something so minor? what would you have charged? I am SE, pretty much outskirts of london area.

Thank you please.

 

[geordie]

£50 including parts

 

[Johnuk]

yea about 50 pound sounds about right. a lot but its not when u add it up

 

[MKS]

As above!

 

[SPARTYKUS]

The important point is to have made it very clear what the MINIMUM charge is, irrespective of time spent. I am in a diff part of country, but state exactly what I expect in my palm be it a 5 minute or 59 minute job.

 

[HandySparks]

My standard hourly rate of £28 per hour for the total time taken, including travel, rounded up to nearest quarter hour. Plus cost of parts with a small mark up.

 

[Guitarist]

£50 for first hour + mats. Usually discount if there for a few hours and depends on client.

 

[thekingiam]

4 strongbow for first hour a case after that?

 

[Dave 85]

On small jobs I normally charge for whatever hours Ive lost on the big job i've had to lose time on to do it, So say I get to the small job at 8.30 leave at 9.30 wholesaler at 10 (I always go there between jobs) Cafe at 10.30 and then arrive at my big job at 11.30, well thats 3 and a half hours lost on the biggun so 85-90 notes right....

 

[Octopus]

£50.00 + parts unless its an elderly persn and then it would probably be £35 + parts.

 

[ultinator]

I think a tenner may have been a little too kind....:6:.

 

[Mr Mike]

I think a tenner may have been a little too kind....:6:.

Perhaps a tenner was too light. Hopefully you will get repeat business and further work from this job.
Just be carefull that you are now expected to work for £10 per hour.

 

[Octopus]

The following arrived in an email this morning and I thought I'd share it:

Here are some pretty sure-fire signs you’re not charging enough:

People snap your hand off

If you’re asked your rate and you instantly hear “that’s so reasonable” or worse, “wow, that’s cheap!”, you can pretty much know for sure that you could have charged a higher rate without the client flinching.
Don’t always pitch the lowest rate you’re willing to accept – you can always be negotiated down a little but you’ll never bargain anyone back up once you’ve offered a rock-bottom rate.

You’re losing work to people who charge more

Charging too little can and does put people off. You’ve probably noticed it yourself when you’re looking for products and services. You’ll often think ‘if it’s so cheap, it will probably break quickly’ or ‘if they charge so little, they must be desperate for work…and there must be a reason for that’.
It’s hard but try to hold firm when pitching for work and remember that business decisions are made on more than just cost – promote the quality of your work, your reliability and other positives to prove why your price is worth it.

You’re working flat out but you can’t afford time off

If you’re constantly rushed off your feet with work but you can barely afford a weekend off, let alone the amount of holiday you’d get if you were in employment, the chances are you have your pricing wrong.
When you set your prices you need to factor in things such as holidays, sick days, pension payments and more to make your business work in the long-term.

You have never put your rate up

Some small businesses and freelancers find setting their rates so tricky that they find a number that they think works and then stick with it for good. It’s a mistake because the costs around you are likely to be going up all the time, meaning that with a static price, your profits are going down.
Your rates are something you need to regularly monitor to stay profitable. Start by upping the rates for new clients when you need to. Once you feel more comfortable, you can discuss things with existing clients – put a clear case forward as to your reasons (inflation, new skills, increased responsibility etc.) and they should understand.

 

[ferg]

I always warn customers of a minimum charge.
However I usually find that customers are more than happy to pay £50 plus parts. Anything less than that and it can end up costing you money to do the job.

 

[Tonkatoy27]

Most of my jobs are domestic repairs/faults, small installations etc. I repair appliances as well. I charge £36 per hour but when you work it out it soon seems very reasonable.

£36
minus VAT
£30 m
inus overheads
£25
minus tax at the end of the year
£20
minus wages

Brings it down to well short of £10 per hour profit

The days are gone of "just call it a tenner cos I've only been here 10 mins" as there is just as much paperwork and administration with small jobs as there is with large ones making small hour calls actually less profitable.

 

[Octopus]

most of my jobs are domestic repairs/faults, small installations etc. I repair appliances as well. I charge £36 per hour but when you work it out it soon seems very reasonable.

£36
minus vat
£30 m
inus overheads
£25
minus tax at the end of the year
£20
minus wages

brings it down to well short of £10 per hour profit

the days are gone of "just call it a tenner cos i've only been here 10 mins" as there is just as much paperwork and administration with small jobs as there is with large ones making small hour calls actually less profitable.

vat??????

 

[Tonkatoy27]

vat??????

Well exactly, I'm all too aware that if I'm pricing against non VAT registered companies then they will have a 20% advantage to start with.

Unfortunatly, my business employs me, my sister for all the paperworky/retail shop stuff, 2 shop staff and another electrician so If I pocket alot of cash illegally, there won't be enough to pay my staff wages at the end of the week, let alone little things like rent, insurance and tax bills...........

 

[ultinator]

Large commercial centers have trained personnel to guide to the solution of technical problems. Maybe, you should take a few photographs of the damage, to show them. I usually use a tape measure to make meticulous measurements, then write all info in a piece of paper, and go to the commercial center for buying. If i'm sure fixing will be hard for me; call the electrician, he'll only charge for his time.

I don't really understand what you mean here... why would I need pictures and commercial centres trained personnel to guide me to a solution? The problem was clear, a trip to the wholesalers was near, had all the right gear, shame bout the price though - I could have charged more dear.
But as previously mentioned it may help return work and word of mouth, cheap and cheerful. Then BOOM price gone up - now just cheerful

 

[Guitarist]

Most of my jobs are domestic repairs/faults, small installations etc. I repair appliances as well. I charge £36 per hour but when you work it out it soon seems very reasonable.

£36
minus VAT
£30 m
inus overheads
£25
minus tax at the end of the year
£20
minus wages

Brings it down to well short of £10 per hour profit

The days are gone of "just call it a tenner cos I've only been here 10 mins" as there is just as much paperwork and administration with small jobs as there is with large ones making small hour calls actually less profitable.

The big problem we have as professionals is the fact that "Dave down the pub" doesn't do paperwork, or pay tax...