Installation Rates, small jobs

[scarface]

Hey, i have been reading up on how to figure out your hourly rate by adding up your bills each month and all but whats a good way to figure up install time on small jobs?

I get alot of in loving memory decal jobs and get asked to install them, windshield banners and other small odds and ends. Any ideas?

 

[Samm]

Welcome to the board!

 

[gators2001]

we charge 5.00 per decal which is probaly not enough but it only takes a few minutes

 

[ndemond]

Welcome from the Midwest!
Always charge a minimum for starting up the truck. (2hrs min. ?$0.00 so much an hour. Add in install time per hour. Materials and design plus mark up. = Final price

 

[Fred Weiss]

The answer to your question is more a matter of public relations than of profit calculation and can only be answered by you. The reason for this is that you will never be able to price these small jobs for appropriate profit without driving away most customers for these small jobs.

What I'm saying is that you need to decide whether or not you're going to do these kinds of jobs or not. Then it's a matter of figuring out what price is going to sound okay to the customer.

If you price every job to make a profit you will probably have a one or two hour minimum labor charge. So that means you will be asking (in my shop) $75 to $150 to install that In Memory decal. And you will be watching a lot of customers looking at you like you're crazy and for the last time.

If you feel that every customer has the potential to come back with a bigger job one day, then you keep the price nominal and do it with a smile and get on with your day.

Welcome to our boards BTW.

 

[Marlene]

have a minimum charge for labor and most people will be OK with that as it's pretty common.

 

[Jakob77]

Someone on here once said 'As high a price as you can say without laughing'. :Big Laugh

I use that often. It's actually very similar advice as what Fred just said, but maybe not as calculated.

Mark

 

[petepaz]

i do some office building door signs for new tenants about 2 miles down the road (on my way home or into the office takes about 15 minutes and i charge $25.00 for install on each one

 

[Jackpine]

Small decals on auto window..... clean then "peel-n-stick". No charge, it's just good business. They will remember.

 

[SignTech]

I agree with Fred.

Although we do have a half hour minimum, we occasionally will get the customer that wants a 7" x 7" decal on their back window ........ and usually I will only charge maybe $10.00 extra to put it on which is below our minimum.

 

[scarface]

so for jobs like lets say someone wants only 5 6"x1" decals, if your charging $12/psf it should be $12 since it fits within that square foot?

 

[ProWraps™]

sure for the materials.. then how long did it take you to cut it, weed it, mask it, and install it if need be. also to lay it up on your computer. thats the labor cost. ad that to your materials cost.

 

[gvgraphics]

so for jobs like lets say someone wants only 5 6"x1" decals, if your charging $12/psf it should be $12 since it fits within that square foot?

Now that depends on if you want to make money or not. SQF works well with larger decals but not so well with small ones. In your example I would be around $2 each for simple text or $3 each for a logo of smaller text. Don't forget it takes you longer to weed 6 decals in a sqf than 1 large decal in a sqf. Compensate your time and make money.

 

[RedWolf]

so for jobs like lets say someone wants only 5 6"x1" decals, if your charging $12/psf it should be $12 since it fits within that square foot?

6"x1" is rather small so I always try to upsell them on adding some type of image to the "Loving Memory" to make it even more personal. 99% of the time customers like the idea. If they still want it that size I tell them my standard charge of $1.00 an inch for the longest side and that 6"x1" can have the image included for the same price as long as it stays 6 inches on the longest side. I also let them know that any custom work must be charged a minimum of $10.00 otherwise not worth my time to create it. Then if they want 5 like you said, I will give them a quantity discount since the first one is the one you had to spend time on the layout, the rest is just cutting, weeding, and taping. So 5 decals at 6inch long is $30 and since they buy in quantity, knock off a couple of bucks if you wish. Since it is a memorial, the customer usually likes to have it "represent" that person. Upselling them to add an image not only adds a personal touch, it allows you to get a bit more for your time invested.

By upselling them on adding an image, you can make more than $12.00 a square foot. You can make $25.00 sf and give your customers something a bit more than text for that memorial of their loved one.

As far as installing, I don't charge if it is something that only takes a few minutes. As long as you dont have to scrape mud off the vehicle or travel to do the install, why charge? If you feel like you need to charge, then just charge a buck or two per decal, nothing major.

Matt

P.S. I sold 3 decals (5"x4") recently for $15 and installed them free of charge. End result = I got $30 a sf if you lay it out right. 3 decals 5x4 would take 5x12 of vinyl, half a square foot, so half a sf for $15 would come out to $30 for a square. I got paid a decent price for smaller weeding and the customer is very pleased with results and price.

 

[Doyle]

something small like that I would usually say at least $15, reasonable I think (as long as they bring it to me, of course). THose damned windshield banners though I would charge $50

 

[RedWolf]

THose damned windshield banners though I would charge $50

I cannot stand them either.

 

[scarface]

so lets say my shop rate is $45/hr and it took me 1 hour to cut/weed/mask/contact customer on 15 1x8" decals. If my material costs are only $2.00 using 15" vinyl, the total for 15 of them would be $47?

 

[Signgrl]

Ditto and most will come back with jobs that you can make good money on. It's happened time & time again.

Small decals on auto window..... clean then "peel-n-stick". No charge, it's just good business. They will remember.

 

[signpro]

i'm with jackpine... if it's a small thing like that 6"x6" window decal, usually free, as long as they bought it from me that is. if they have a bunch, like a fleet of vehicles with these little decals, probably a few bucks each though. ($5? if they have it cleaned and ready to go.)

i charge $55 for an eyebrow (tint on the inside) including tint. $40 if i'm tinting the rest of the car as well. it takes me about 20mins to do usually, and i have lots of leftover tint from back windows on cars, so i consider the materials to be MINIMAL cost. trucks i charge more for becuase they are bigger. usually $5-$10 more only though, but i explain that they are wider windows. people are cool with that. i haven't done a vinyl eyebrow in years... the wipers scratch them, etc.

 

[onesmf]

I was introduced to the simplest formula for pricing which applies to just about any application and it allows for manipulation of the final number according to your need for profit. Simply put, take the material cost and multiply that by the number of expenditures on your part. For example, applying graphics to a storefront. I figure the material cost and multiply that by 4. The 4 is derived from labor, design, administrative (i.e. paper shuffling), equipment(i.e. software, plotter, etc...) and finally consulation. Obviously, the number you use to multiply by the material cost varies according to what goes into the project. Pretty simple, fair and consistent. Not only does it simplify your final calculation, it is easily explained to your customer. Generally, most customers overlook the fact that you are using expensive equipment and software to run your applications and often times see the light when you point these things out. After all, they came to you because you offer a specialized service that the "average Joe" can't just punch out on a desktop computer. Have a great day!