How to price plumbing jobs
To price plumbing jobs so they pay, start from your own costs: what you want to earn, what the business costs to run, and how many hours you can actually bill. Then choose how you charge: by the hour, a flat rate per job, or a mix of the two.
By Business Genie, Mesa, Arizona · Published · Updated
Sample job: $111 an hour, $30 of parts, a flat price set at the average of eight recorded swaps (1:30). Change the rate in step 2 and the parts in step 3.
The three ways to charge
Plumbers charge in one of three ways: time and materials, a flat rate per job, or value-based pricing, and many mix them.
Time and materials
Time and materials charges an hourly labor rate plus parts at a markup. It’s transparent, but the customer doesn’t know the total until the end.
Flat rate
Flat rate sets one price per type of job, however long it takes. Customers like the certainty, and an experienced plumber earns more by finishing efficiently.
Value-based
Value-based pricing charges for what the fix is worth to the customer. A burst pipe at midnight is worth more than a routine faucet swap, even when the labor is similar.
Work out your hourly rate
Start with the income you want, add the yearly cost of running the business (truck, insurance, tools, software, marketing), and divide by the hours you can bill. Be honest about billable hours: drive time, estimates, supply runs and paperwork aren’t billable. Count them from last year’s jobs, not from a 40-hour week.
- 7:00Drive0:20
- 7:201Drain clearing1:05
- 8:25Drive0:15
- 8:402Faucet replacement1:30
- 10:10Supply run0:35
- 10:453Leak repair1:25
- 12:10Drive0:20
- 12:30Estimate0:30
- 1:00Drive0:15
- 1:154Toilet repair1:00
- 2:15Paperwork0:45
- 3:00
Five hours billed in an eight-hour day: the same share as 1,300 billable hours in a year of 40-hour weeks (2,080).
Example. You want to earn $80,000 and the business costs $40,000 a year to run. If you bill 1,300 hours, your break-even rate is $120,000 ÷ 1,300 = about $92 an hour. Add a 20% markup for profit and the rate is about $111 an hour. The hourly rate calculator runs this with your own figures.
- Break-even: $120,000 ÷ 1,300 h
- $92.31
- Your hourly rate
- $111
This rate prices the sample faucet swap everywhere on this page.
Mark up parts on purpose
Parts markup pays for the time spent sourcing parts, for the stock you carry on the truck, and for handling warranty returns. Decide your markup deliberately: a higher percentage on small, cheap parts and a lower one on expensive fixtures, so a water heater isn’t priced far above what the customer can look up online. At a 50% markup, a $20 supply line is $30 on the invoice.
warranty returns
Build a flat-rate price book
A price book lists your common jobs with a set price for each: drain clearing, faucet replacement, toilet repair, water heater install, garbage disposal, leak repair. To build one, record the actual time and materials on your common jobs for a few months, average them, and add your margin. Review the prices every year. Keep the price book where techs can reach it in the field, so every plumber quotes the same price for the same job.
| Job | Book time | Parts | Flat price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drain clearing | |||
| Faucet replacement | $196.50 | ||
Eight recorded swaps · sample data 0:000:301:001:30 avg2:002:30 1:30 × $111/h=$166.50 labor+$30.00 parts=$196.50 | |||
| Toilet repair | |||
| Water heater install | |||
| Garbage disposal | |||
| Leak repair | |||
Grey lines are yours to fill: record a few months of each job, average them, and price them the same way.
The book’s faucet replacement, $196.50, on an estimate in the app. In Business Genie, techs can send estimates from the iOS or Android app, with a deposit on bigger jobs. See estimates and proposals.
The price follows your rate and markup. Customer and address are sample data.
Pricing mistakes to avoid
Most plumbing pricing mistakes come from leaving real costs out of the price, or from never updating it:
- Copying a competitor’s prices.Their costs, speed and overhead aren’t yours.
- Leaving drive time between jobs out of your costs.The sample day above loses 70 minutes to it.
- Forgetting insurance and vehicle costs when you add up overhead.They belong in the yearly running costs your rate is built on.
- Giving free diagnosis on complex jobs.Charge a diagnostic fee and credit it toward the repair.
- Leaving prices unchanged for years while parts and wages go up.Review them every January.
Questions
Should plumbers charge flat rate or hourly?
Flat rate suits most service work: customers know the price before you start, and you are paid for knowing the job rather than for the time it takes. Hourly pricing penalizes working fast and invites disputes when a job runs long. Many plumbers start hourly to learn their real costs, then move common jobs to flat rate once they have enough data.
How much should I mark up plumbing parts?
Choose a markup that covers sourcing, keeping stock on the truck and handling warranty returns. Many plumbers use a higher percentage on small parts and a lower one on expensive fixtures. When a customer supplies their own parts, charge a higher labor rate to cover the lost markup and the warranty risk.
How do I price emergency plumbing calls?
Set an after-hours rate or a minimum call-out fee in advance, and tell the customer when they call, before you drive out. The premium pays for the disruption to your evening and your next day’s schedule. Whatever you choose, apply it the same way every time.
Quote the same price from every truck
Estimates with deposits, invoicing and payments, and job costing to check your prices against the real job. Free for a month.