[Jaret]

What do people usually change on top of the final materials and labor costs? 20%?

 

[TotalPlumber]

markup

I use flat rate pricing.
Parts and materials are marked up on a sliding scale. $.01 to $15.00 get marked up X 2.5 $15.01 to $50.00 get marked up X 2 > $50.01 gets marked up X 1.50

Total

 

[Plumber Jim]

Depends on what you want to make. If you want to make 25% from all material sold you just take the cost and divide it my .75 and that gives you the amount it needs to be sold for. believe it or not if you want to make 25% from a $1.00 part you sell it for $1.33



Plumber Jim

 

[sweetness09]

Items under 50 $ are 100%, others are 20-33%. Depending...

 

[sweetness09]

Oops , nevermind I miss-read the post You wanted on TOP of labor..

 

[Artisan]

Your making a SERIOUS MISTAKE, IMO, by asking ANY other plumber what to charge. It is the QUICKEST way to run yourself bankrupt. You HAVE to figure out YOUR OWN PERSONAL COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS and NOT base your selling price on what Joe is doing. You NEED to go to http://numberscruncher.com/ and buy there program and enter in all the variables and find YOUR Break Even Number. After that decide how much Profit you want. McDonald's works on 25% let's say. Are you willing to take less profit than Mickey D's? If you were to choose 25% profit remember that when you calculate a selling price this;

$100.00 X 25% = $125.00 Right? Yes BUT IT IS NOT A RESELLING PRICE!!!

To calculate a reselling price you divide by the reciprocal number from 25 which is .75.
So $100.00 / .75 = $133.34 and THAT is the proper Selling Price!

Also, BEWARE of the adding $ on materials. In California,as I understand it, if YOU markup materials YOU MUST CHARGE TAX ON IT, Even if you paid tax on it at the supply house because you marked it up! IMO a guy needs to calculate a Flat Rate selling price for all jobs and stick to it 99% of the time. It is imperative to NEVER give a client a BREAK DOWN of your selling price or your breaking tax code I do Believe!

I am NOT a shill for NSPG, not at all but I so Advocate that each and every plumber USE IT, LEARN IT and LISTEN TO IT! Be sure to enter in EVERYTHING, right down to paper clips and oil, and paper and if you want to expand you need to charge for a second truck NOW <<<<<<< This is a key word, CHARGE FOR IT NOW on TOP of charging for your existing truck!

I am in NO WAY a $ guru but I can tell you I went from a $xx.xx an hour plumber to a $XXX.xx and hour brake even number PLUS xx% ON TOP OF THAT overnight when I realized, 8 years ago, why I was going broke!

 

[Phat Cat]

Bottom line - you need to know your costs. Following the going rate is dangerous as every company is different.

If a customer asks why we can't do it for the same price as 'Joe the Plumber.'

Joe = No shop, no liability insurance, no office, no uniforms, no lettered truck, works off of a cell phone, no 24/7 emergency service, he doesn't return if he has a callback, and the #1 reason not to use
'Joe the Plumber' - HE DOES NOT HAVE A PLUMBING LICENSE! Also, a specialty contractor is not a PLUMBER!

On the flip side, it is unfair to charge top dollar if you are not backing it up with your services. The larger companies charge more because their expenses are more too. Offering 24/7 service is an expense and convenience to your customer.

All businesses need to at the very least recover their costs.

 

[U&I Plumber]

Bottom line - you need to know your costs. Following the going rate is dangerous as every company is different.

If a customer asks why we can't do it for the same price as 'Joe the Plumber.'

Joe = No shop, no liability insurance, no office, no uniforms, no lettered truck, works off of a cell phone, no 24/7 emergency service, he doesn't return if he has a callback, and the #1 reason not to use
'Joe the Plumber' - HE DOES NOT HAVE A PLUMBING LICENSE! Also, a specialty contractor is not a PLUMBER!

On the flip side, it is unfair to charge top dollar if you are not backing it up with your services. The larger companies charge more because their expenses are more too. Offering 24/7 service is an expense and convenience to your customer.

All businesses need to at the very least recover their costs.

I am curious about this statement.

 

[Phat Cat]

In SC you can get a Specialty license and do plumbing, electrical etc.

They are not plumbers or electricians. Handymen use this license. The requirements to obtain this license is a joke.

 

[PipeDreamer]

In SC you can get a Specialty license and do plumbing, electrical etc.

They are not plumbers or electricians. Handymen use this license. The requirements to obtain this license is a joke.

That's HORRIBLE!!! Have the lawmakers lost their minds? Do they have any concern for the health and safety of their citizens? No one but a plumber (Master Plumber, Journeyman Plumber, or Apprentice Plumber) should be allowed to do plumbing.

What does it take to get a Plumbing License in SC?

 

[U&I Plumber]

In SC you can get a Specialty license and do plumbing, electrical etc.

They are not plumbers or electricians. Handymen use this license. The requirements to obtain this license is a joke.

Thanks for the reply, in the State of Oregon you must be a Journeyman Plumber to plumb, to be in business you must get a contractors license thru the CCB, either a general contractor or a specialty contractor.