Swapped my flat rate for time and materials on a condo reno

I used to quote everything flat rate because it felt safer for the client. Then I took a 2 unit condo job in Austin where every wall hid a surprise, bad wiring, rotted studs, uneven floors. I went with time and materials after the homeowner showed me photos from their last flat rate job that left them nickel and diming for change orders. That job ran 6 weeks and I actually made fair pay for the mess, plus the client tipped me $500 because they knew exactly where every dollar went. Has anyone else made the switch and seen their bids get accepted more often?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

harper9141mo ago

That "fair pay for the mess" line is exactly where you lose me. The homeowner thinks they saved money because you showed them the receipts, but at the end of the day they paid for every hour you sat staring at a wall figuring out what to do next. Flat rate forces you to eat the learning curve, and that's your problem, not theirs. Plus, most clients don't actually want to know where every dollar goes, they want one number they can plan around. Time and materials just opens the door for them to second guess every trip to the hardware store. You got lucky with a good client, but in my experience, T&M bids get picked apart, not accepted faster.

8