quoting for work

[gazdkw82]

i'm intrigued, what's your chosen way to quote for a job?

Im looking at setting up on my own in the distant future and this is one of the things that im not really sure about.

Do you have a add on a certain % for parts and then an hourly rate?
Set price for specific jobs (sockets - £30 each, pendants £30 each etc?)
a combination of both?
Do you provide a parts breakdown with costs on an invoice?

thanks

 

[FatAlan]

Think I'd be quoting 100% the cost of parts plus labour & vat on top.

 

[gazdkw82]

So say for example you have a trade account and a job comes in. Do you then work out what you require, build up a trolly of items and then add this price to your hourly rate/cost of the job or do you add a % more onto the items prior to quoting?

 

[GMES]

Lot's of different ways of doing it Gaz, some people just quote a total price paarts & labour included, some will break it down, it can all depend what the customer asks for.
And again mark up on parts can vary dependant on what field you are in Ie Dom/comm/ind, personally I don't touch Domestic work as there is just no meat on the bones so to speak, you walk into any domestic job nowadays and you can guarantee the customer as a screwfix catalogue on the table so how can you get any mark up on it.
@FatAlan do you mean you would try and put a 100% mark up on parts if so mate I don't think you will get away with it for long.

 

[SparkyChick]

I'm not discussing my pricing, quoting etc. on a public part of the forum, so I've PM'd you.

Suffice to say, as @GMES has pointed out, having a mark up on materials in domestic is hard. I stopped doing it because I got quizzed a few times 'Why are you more expensive than ScrewFix?'.

 

[telectrix]

initially tot up the poins. £xx per point id standard ( sockets, switches etc ), £yy per point for shower,cooker,fan, etc., £zzz for a CU toget a rough idea. then cost items, add mark-up, estimate time to do the job. if both figures are close to each other, then i know i'm in the right ballpark

 

[telectrix]

I'm not discussing my pricing, quoting etc. on a public part of the forum, so I've PM'd you.

Suffice to say, as @GMES has pointed out, having a mark up on materials in domestic is hard. I stopped doing it because I got quizzed a few times 'Why are you more expensive than ScrewFix?'.

your answer to that is " if it goes wrong within 12 months, i replace for free. will screwfix come out and do that?"

 

[FatAlan]

No I'd charge cost price on materials although again as the OP's original question it would be good to know how others operate. How do people quote for cable and fixings for instance cos it ain't cheap and must be really easy to suffer unnecessary costs if you waste lots on first fixes.

 

[Andy78]

I'm not discussing my pricing, quoting etc. on a public part of the forum, so I've PM'd you.

Suffice to say, as @GMES has pointed out, having a mark up on materials in domestic is hard. I stopped doing it because I got quizzed a few times 'Why are you more expensive than ScrewFix?'.

My reply is that I don't supply the tat that they sell. I provide a quality service which includes decent materials which are more expensive. I understand that sort of service is not for everyone. The person that wants a cheap job with cheap crap soon gets my drift.

 

[SparkyChick]

I steer clear of the cheaper stuff they sell because a lot of it is, as you say, tat and I don't want the hassle.

As for the warranty side, I like your comeback @telectrix

 

[Midwest]

I only do domestic, and it is a pain with customers providing some of the products, usually lighting e.g. down lights. I draw a line though with basic stuff like cable etc, walk away from those ones. Normally work my jobs out, by calculating hours, plus materials, which I mark up then adding a percentage on top.

Most of my jobs are small works, so I can understand those doing on price per point on larger jobs.

 

[SparkyChick]

No I'd charge cost price on materials although again as the OP's original question it would be good to know how others operate. How do people quote for cable and fixings for instance cos it ain't cheap and must be really easy to suffer unnecessary costs if you waste lots on first fixes.

Fixings and such like, depending on how many and what I use, I stick on a few quid to cover them, but they are always a best guess. I'm not going to waste time counting and pricing screws, wall plugs, sheathing etc.

Cable, I estimate and charge by the meter for most jobs because they are small.

 

[FatAlan]

I've yet to enter this world but from a customer point of an itemised quote for parts and materials and an idea of labour costs would always go a long way in my opinion to deciding to offer the job. Saves for any unpleasant surprises or hassel on both sides later on. Perhaps I'm stating the obvious though!

 

[Pat H]

I'm not VAT registered and don't want to be so its easier for me to let the customer buy the main items. My quote is for labour and sundries like cable clips junction boxes etc. And I'll give an indicative price based on an estimated amount of time on the job plus the sundries. Sometimes it goes really well and I bill under the quote other times if unexpected issues arise I discuss with the customer and agree additional time/cost.

 

[SparkyChick]

I've yet to enter this world but from a customer point of an itemised quote for parts and materials and an idea of labour costs would always go a long way in my opinion to deciding to offer the job. Saves for any unpleasant surprises or hassel on both sides later on. Perhaps I'm stating the obvious though!

Personally, I like to know what I'm getting into with any work and I like to see a fully itemised bill so I can challenge anything I find questionable (same reason why I like to see the parts they've taken off my car when it goes in for work). I try and treat all my customers how I want to be treated.

I think it does go a long way to helping with trust, something which a lot of people don't have for those in the trades.