How much to charge for a materials pickup run
Price it from your own shop rate, not a national average. The True Rate kit's Price Book puts this task at 0.5 to 1.5 hours per trip and starts you at 1 hour. At the worked example's $90 shop rate, that's $90 per trip flat. Across the typical range it runs $45 to $135, before the trip charge and the minimum.
- Typical time
- 0.5 to 1.5 hours per trip
- Starter hours
- 1 h per trip
- Supplies
- $0 per trip
- At $90/hr
- $90 per trip
This task, priced
This is an estimate from the numbers above, not a quote. Materials and fixtures the customer picks (the faucet, the fan, the door) bill separately at your materials markup.
What your rate does to this price
Same 1 starter hours and $0 in supplies, priced at three rates from the kit's worked example. Break-even covers the $2,870 a month overhead and the $60,000 pay goal and nothing more. The shop rate adds the 20% margin, rounded up to the next $5.
| Shop rate | Flat price |
|---|---|
| $65/hr, below break-even | $65 per trip |
| $70.52/hr, break-even (no profit) | $75 per trip |
| $90/hr, the worked example's shop rate | $90 per trip |
Charging $65 an hour instead of $90 takes $25 off this job (per trip), every time you do it. The price follows the rate because the hours don't change. That's why the kit starts with your rate, not someone else's price list.
Not sure your rate covers your costs? Run the free calculator. Why a 25% markup on supplies is only a 20% margin: markup vs margin, with a calculator.
What gets left off this estimate
These are the lines from the kit's "Did you forget?" list that apply to this job, and where the kit bills each one.
- Parking, tolls, equipment rental. Materials line, marked up per tab 2.
- Customer-supplied parts (wrong part = another trip). Say it on the estimate: labor only, no warranty on their parts.
- "While you're here…" extras. Don't do them free. Text a change order first (Get Paid Texts, #1).
Price Book note. Bill it. It's real time.
Before you send the number
- Call ahead so the order is pulled before you get there. Waiting at the counter is still your time.
- Write that the run covers your time, not the materials. Those go in Materials.
- Group pickups for the day when you can. One run for several jobs is easier to bill.
Starting points, not a price list to copy
These numbers are the True Rate kit's starter hours and supplies for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, on an ordinary house. They aren't industry data, a survey of what others charge, or a promise of how long the job takes you. Edit the hours for your market and your own speed. An old house, a seized nut or a fussy customer changes the job.
The $90 shop rate is only the kit's worked example ($2,870 a month overhead, $60,000 pay goal, 62% of hours billable, 20% margin). Your rate comes from your costs.
Does that include a trip charge or minimum?
No. The flat price is the task alone. In the kit's Price This Job sheet, a ticket with only this task adds a $35 trip charge, a 15% small-job buffer (because the whole job is under 4 hours) and a 5% contingency, then brings it up to the $195 minimum job charge. At $90 an hour, that's $195 for this task on its own. Those are the kit's starter settings. Set your own.
Where do these hours come from?
They're the True Rate kit's starter hours for a solo tradesperson with a few years in, working on an ordinary house. That's tools out, the work, and clean-up. Drive time isn't in them. They're not industry data or a survey of your market. Old houses and tight spaces take longer, so log your real times and edit them.
Price the whole ticket
The True Rate kit is a spreadsheet that prices all 80 jobs from your own rate. Its Price This Job sheet adds materials, the trip charge and the minimum, and shows your margin before you send the number. $39 once, for Google Sheets or Excel.