Will raising prices cost me customers?

Some, usually fewer than owners fear. If your rate is well below cost-plus-profit, losing a few price-only customers while earning more on every other job is often a good trade. We model it with your numbers before you change anything.

Should a plumbing company use flat-rate or time-and-materials pricing?

Most residential service work suits flat-rate pricing because customers want to know the price before work starts. Larger or unpredictable jobs often still suit time-and-materials or a written estimate. Many companies use both, with clear rules for which applies.

How long does a pricing project take?

The rate calculation takes one to two weeks once we have your figures. A first price book for your 40 to 80 most common tasks usually takes another three to five weeks, then a few weeks of field use and adjustment.

Do you set prices for us?

No. You set your prices. We give you the calculation, the options and the trade-offs, and the decision stays with you.

Pricing and Profit Consulting for Plumbing Companies

Pricing is the fastest profit lever a plumbing company has, because it changes the result of every job already on the schedule. We rebuild your labour rate from what the business really costs to run, convert it into flat-rate prices for the tasks you do most, and help your plumbers and office present those prices clearly. This is business consulting, not engineering, mechanical design, inspection or code-compliance services.

What it is and who it is for

Pricing and profit consulting is a structured review of how your company sets and presents prices. It fits owners who recognise any of these:

The labour rate was last changed more than two years ago, or was copied from a competitor.
Wages, vehicle and insurance costs have risen faster than prices.
Plumbers quote on the spot, and two plumbers quote the same job differently.
The company is busy, yet net profit is in single digits or the owner is underpaid.
Customers often say "that's more than I expected", which usually signals a presentation problem as much as a price problem.

It works for one-truck shops and for firms with a dozen service vans. The maths is the same; only the size of the spreadsheet changes.

How a labour rate is really built

A sustainable labour rate starts from total cost, not from the market. The steps:

Annual overhead. Office wages, rent, software, insurance, vehicles, fuel, marketing, accounting and the owner's market salary.
Direct labour cost. Each plumber's wage plus burden (statutory deductions, benefits, paid time off, training).
Billable hours. Hours actually sold to customers, not hours paid. For many service plumbers that is far below 2,000 a year once driving, shop time, callbacks and holidays are removed.
Target profit. The net margin you want, set before you calculate, not hoped for after.

A worked example with illustrative figures: overhead of $420,000, three plumbers costing $95,000 each with burden ($285,000), and 1,300 billable hours each (3,900 in total). Cost per billable hour is ($420,000 + $285,000) ÷ 3,900, about $181. To keep a 15% net margin, the rate must be about $181 ÷ 0.85, roughly $213 an hour before materials markup. If the company charges $150, every billed hour loses money once the overhead is counted, however busy the vans are.

From labour rate to flat-rate price book

Customers rarely buy hours; they buy a fixed toilet, a replaced water heater or a cleared drain. A flat-rate price book turns your rate into task prices.

For each common task we set a standard time (from your own job history where possible), add materials at your markup, add a small allowance for the access problems that come up often, and round to a clean price. We usually start with 40 to 80 tasks, which typically cover most residential service tickets, and build options (good, better, best) where they make sense, such as water heater replacements or fixture upgrades.

Your licensed plumbers decide what work a job needs. We only help price and present it.

Presenting prices without losing the job

A good price presented badly loses jobs. We coach three habits:

Price before work. The customer sees and approves the price before tools come out.
Options, not a single number. Two or three clear choices let the customer decide instead of refusing.
All-in prices. Show the full price the customer will pay. The Competition Bureau's guidance on drip pricing warns against advertised prices that leave out mandatory fixed fees, so trip charges and unavoidable fees belong in the number you advertise. This is a summary, not legal advice; read the Bureau's page or ask a lawyer about your own advertising.

What is included, and the timeline

Weeks 1–2: cost review and labour-rate model, with two or three margin scenarios.
Weeks 3–6: first price book for your most common tasks, plus option structures.
Weeks 7–10: field rollout, presentation coaching for plumbers and office staff, and the first adjustments.
Ongoing: a quarterly price review tied to wage and supplier changes.

How results are measured

We measure before and after on numbers you can check in your own records: average ticket, gross margin per job, close rate on presented options, and revenue per billable hour. These go onto the weekly scorecard described in growth planning. We don't promise a set profit figure; we show you the movement each month.

Mistakes to avoid

Copying a competitor's rate. Their overhead and billable hours are not yours.
Using paid hours instead of billable hours. This is the most common reason a rate looks fine on paper and loses money in practice.
Raising prices without telling the office. The person answering the phone needs a confident, honest answer to "why so much?".
A price book nobody updates. Supplier prices move; set a review date.

For the full method, read our guide to setting a plumbing labour rate. When you're ready to look at your own numbers, call, text or email, or compare the monthly plans first.

Pricing and profit consulting for plumbers