Debate: Should we charge per device or flat rate for house calls? I had a week that made me second guess everything.

Last Tuesday I spent 45 minutes at a home in Phoenix fixing a simple driver issue on a Dell laptop. Charged my standard $75 flat fee. Then Wednesday I had a printer swap, two router setups, and a virus cleanup at one house that took 4 hours. Same $75. Felt like I got robbed on Wednesday but the Tuesday guy probably thinks I overcharged. My buddy swears by per device pricing. Says you get paid for what you actually do. But I worry about scaring off the little jobs. What do you all think is the better way to bill?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.mark13d ago

Went through the exact same thing last month. Charged $80 flat for a simple laptop tune-up that took 20 minutes felt guilty about it. Then the next day spent damn near 3 hours at one house doing a whole home network overhaul with a new router, two extenders, and a printer setup. Same $80. My gut tells me per device is the way to go even if it means losing some of those quick gigs. You end up way less frustrated when you're actually getting paid for the real work you put in.

coleman.henry13d ago

Did you actually lose quick gigs or just the guilt that came with them?