Switched from hourly billing to flat rates for gutter work and finally stopped losing money

I used to charge by the hour for gutter cleaning and repairs. Every job ran over schedule and customers got mad when the final bill was higher than my quote. Six months ago I started giving flat rates based on the house size and number of stories. Now I make more on fast jobs and don't argue about time. My guys work quicker too since they know a set price. The only catch is you have to measure carefully or jobs with hidden damage eat your profit. Has anyone else tried switching their pricing structure and seen a big change?

2 comments

2 Comments

samwalker1mo ago

Whoa, I gotta disagree a bit here. In my experience, flat rates can bite you hard when you least expect it. I've seen a lot of small business owners switch over and then get burned by one bad storm damage job that wipes out weeks of profit from the easy ones. Hourly might make customers grumpy sometimes, but at least you're not gambling on every single quote you write.

valh321mo ago

Nah, hourly saved my tail more times than I can count.