What do you think is a fair hourly rate for a plumber

plumber

Hi all

I am looking for some feed back on what you think would be fair price for a plumbers hourly rate for the plumber and customer.

Please take into account time it takes to get to the job, hidden costs like vehicle, insurance, phone, taxes, vat, wages, tools and admin.

Should daily rates be on pair with hourly rates?

Weekend call out rates?

I would appreciate your feed back as I'm about to start a plumbing business and want to put a pricing structure together that's fair.

gifted

Well to give you an example of how people are taking advantage of this recession to cut hourly rates a friend of mine applied for a job as a plumber with an agency, told him the rate is €9.50 an hour :mad:

jeepers101

Why don't you calculate how much you're costs will be and work off that. It shouldn't all be a case of 'what can I get away with charging'.

If you can keep your costs low then you can offer great value to your customers. I know people that charge anywhere between 30 and 60 euro per hour.

plumber

Thanks guys

It's not that I'm trying to find out what I can get away with charging.
I have done the Maths and to cover my costs i would have to be charging 35 euro an hour. The thing is that would have to be 40 paid hours per week for the business to work without turning profit.

That would allow for 500 per week into my pocket.

Then comes the extra not paid hours for pricing, paperwork, picking up materials and traveling which i would also be doing for the same 500 wage.

I would need to charge 40 euro an hour so it be worth the hassle but would people pay this?

shane0007

plumber wrote: »

Thanks guys

It's not that I'm trying to find out what I can get away with charging.
I have done the Maths and to cover my costs i would have to be charging 35 euro an hour. The thing is that would have to be 40 paid hours per week for the business to work without turning profit.

That would allow for 500 per week into my pocket.

Then comes the extra not paid hours for pricing, paperwork, picking up materials and traveling which i would also be doing for the same 500 wage.

I would need to charge 40 euro an hour so it be worth the hassle but would people pay this?

You are exactly right. People see a charge of €40 an hour & think its going straight into your pocket where this is far from the truth as you are finding out.
What you need to also factor in is the call out charge plus the hourly rate. This will let you achieve a wage.
It gets a lot worse when you have employees if you get to that stage. Your overheads go up with insurance, employer's prsi, pension, holiday pay, etc.
I charge €35 per hour but would have a call out few of €50. Weekends €80 but if they are regular clients I generally do not charge the higher rate. I sometimes don't charge a call out fee for the elderly either.
Starting up a new business will be a mammoth task. Don't expect to earn a wage ever! Some weeks you will get paid but it could be many weeks before you see it again. It will take a long hard slog to get to the stage of a sustainable business but if asked would I repeat it again, the answer would be yes as I have been self employed for so long, I know nothing else.

plumber

Shane thanks for you comment

Do you find people are prepared to pay 35 plus the call out and get repeat business from them? does your prices include vat?

I worked from my self a couple of year back but it as all price work i was doing then went abroad but i think i should be able to get most of my old client back as i never really and any issues or complaints from them.

I was also looking at some of the course that i would need to complete for gas, oil, meters, solar etc and they don't come cheap plus they take a lot of time to do.

sullzz

gifted wrote: »

Well to give you an example of how people are taking advantage of this recession to cut hourly rates a friend of mine applied for a job as a plumber with an agency, told him the rate is €9.50 an hour :mad:

€9.50 an hour ????
If its with an agency , you get no holiday pay or bank holiday money , agency lads get screwed .
I was working in a house the other day where the painter who was agency , accidentally knocked over a pedestal and broke it , the customer demanded he replace it as they supplied all the sanitary ware , the painter had to drive out to ideal bathrooms and get a new one , between travelling out and buying the new one he's must have lost a days pay .

Dtp79

A wage????? What's that??

BrianBoru00

To be honest, if I was looking for a plumber, and I know very little about plumbing, I would be asking for a price for the job.

It could take you 10 mins or four hours to do a job so theres a big difference pricewise there, I dont think its like say a car valeting service where you can have a price list available to customers...

shane0007

BrianBoru00 wrote: »

To be honest, if I was looking for a plumber, and I know very little about plumbing, I would be asking for a price for the job.

Very true, most of my work would be based on priced work, however, boiler breakdowns & similar works would not be. These would all be on call out plus hourly rates. What is often missed is I am called out to a boiler, the problem is diagnosed, I have to drive to the supplier to collect the part which round trip can be a couple of hours & then go back & fit it. Test & analyise & issue a cert which also costs.
This is fine if I am employed as I would get paid for my time. The self employed does not donut has to be charged for.

plumber

It all come into play when when a small hour job turn out to be three hours work! but that's another issue that need to be explained to the client before the job goes to far i guess.

So for me as a plumber I would be happy with 35 euro an hour plus time charged per quarter getting to the job but what are ye people out there believe is a fair hourly rate and call out fee?

shane0007

In reality you will find your rate will change to suit the job in hand & even sometimes the attitude of the client comes into the equation.
If you can get an honest rate for an honest job all parties involved will feel like its a win win situation. And that's all really anybody can ask for.

ratracer

I recently had a plumber in to do some small maintenance jobs in my house. (Adjust toilet cisterns, replace a tap etc). He charged me €40 and was here for about 3/4 of an hour. I felt this was a very fair price.This was also the same plumber that plumbed my house when it was built ten years ago. I used him again because I knew him, even though I didn't ask what he was going to charge me in the first place simply because I knew him and trusted him not to rip me off.

From a customer point of view, I would be very sceptical of getting someone to do a job for me unless they were recommended by someone who had used them previously. I would prefer a job rate than an hourly rate, as who decides how much work should be done in the hour? I know many tradesmen who have very different ideas of what constitutes an hours work. And call out charges? I don't expect anyone to work for free, but seriously??

Obviously these are only my opinions as a costumer, I know some might not like them.

corkgsxr

shane0007 wrote: »

In reality you will find your rate will change to suit the job in hand & even sometimes the attitude of the client comes into the equation.
If you can get an honest rate for an honest job all parties involved will feel like its a win win situation. And that's all really anybody can ask for.

Thsts the one really.

plumber

I think your right it will all depend on the work and as long as i have an idea what i need to earn in a day to cover my cost and give the client a fair deal it will be hard to go wrong. thanks

hfallada

OP would you consider setting up a LTD company. It costs about €250 to do. But you can store money in it without having to pay high rates of tax and draw it down when you need to. You can have all your expenses coming out its account like phone, diesel and if you need to take out loans in its name. Most banks give free banking for the first 2/3 years

plumber

I have being thing of going the LTD company way for two reason (1) lower tax rates (2) i hope to grow the business and if things get better start tendering for big commercial works.

Id appreciate and tips with LTD VS Sole trader. Thanks

shane0007

Ltd is very expensive for annual running costs. It is also very expensive to close down if it all goes tits up.
Pluses are you are not personally liable to an extent. As a director you still have legal responsibilities but people can sue the company and not you personally. Banks will still require a personal guarantee.
I would go sole trader first off & when you think the business is ready to grow, then consider changing to Ltd.

Your accountant should be the one advising on this as he/she will know your own unique circumstances.

scudo2

plumber wrote: »

Hi all

I am looking for some feed back on what you think would be fair price for a plumbers hourly rate for the plumber and customer.

Please take into account time it takes to get to the job, hidden costs like vehicle, insurance, phone, taxes, vat, wages, tools and admin.

Should daily rates be on pair with hourly rates?

Weekend call out rates?

I would appreciate your feed back as I'm about to start a plumbing business and want to put a pricing structure together that's fair.

€500 per hour. + €25 = the rest of the week off.

Somebody has to pay for your golf round.