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PSA: Hit 50 handyman jobs this month and I'm shocked at the math
People keep saying you gotta charge by the hour for local handyman work, but I hit 50 jobs in June and the numbers tell a different story. I switched to flat rate pricing back in March after a buddy recommended it, and my gross went up 30% compared to hourly. The kicker is customers actually tip more when they know the price upfront. One lady on Elm Street paid me $120 to fix three loose cabinet doors and gave me an extra $20 because she liked knowing it wouldn't balloon. My average job takes 45 minutes now versus an hour and a half when I was dragging things out per hour. Anyone else find flat rate works better for small repairs around town?
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jasonf352mo ago
That Elm Street job at $120 for 45 minutes works out to $160 an hour gross, which is way above what most hourly guys charge around here. Did you have to eat any losses on jobs that went way over your estimated time, like a stuck screw or a surprise issue behind a cabinet? Curious how you handle the ones that turn into a two hour fight for a flat rate that assumed 45 minutes.
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the_fiona2mo ago
Isn't it interesting how flat rate pricing shifts the whole dynamic by putting the customer in a buying mood instead of a watching-the-clock mood? That Elm Street lady's $20 tip is proof people value certainty so much they'll happily pay above the flat rate. Kind of makes you wonder why anyone still defends hourly billing for simple jobs that have a predictable time.
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the_tessa2mo ago
Right, and the other thing people miss is that flat rate kills the "are they dragging this out?" tension on both sides. I learned the hard way that once you give someone an hourly quote for a simple job, they're staring at their watch and you're counting minutes in your head, it's just bad energy for everyone. Lock in the price, let them feel good about the deal, and that $20 extra is just them saying thanks for making it easy.
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