How to Price Your Appliance Repair Jobs

Pricing is the thing new independent techs agonize over more than any technical skill. Charge too much and you lose customers to the cheaper guy. Charge too little and you can't pay your bills. And somewhere in the middle is a number that keeps you busy, profitable, and not resentful.

Here's how to figure out your number.

The Two Pricing Models

Almost every appliance repair business uses one of these:

Hourly Rate + Parts

You charge a service/diagnostic fee to show up, an hourly labor rate for the repair, and mark up the parts.

Example: $89 service call + $85/hour labor + parts at cost plus 50%.

Pros: Simple to explain. Scales naturally with job complexity — a 20-minute lid switch swap costs the customer less than a 2-hour tub bearing replacement. Feels fair to the customer.

Cons: Incentivizes you to work slowly (even if you don't mean to, the customer thinks you might). Hard to quote in advance. Experienced techs get penalized — you replaced that element in 15 minutes because you're good, but the new guy across town takes an hour and earns four times the labor on the same job.

Flat Rate Per Job

You charge a fixed price for each type of repair, regardless of how long it takes.

Example: Dryer heating element replacement = $245 (includes parts and labor). Refrigerator evaporator fan motor = $195. Washer drain pump = $225.

Pros: Easy for the customer to understand and approve. Rewards efficiency — the faster you work, the more you make per hour. Eliminates the "how long will this take?" anxiety. Makes quoting over the phone possible.

Cons: Requires building a rate card for dozens of common repairs. Unusual or complex jobs don't fit neatly into flat rates. If you underestimate a job, you eat the difference.

Which One?

Most successful independent techs use a hybrid. Flat rate for the 20-30 most common repairs (which cover 80% of your calls). Hourly rate for everything else. This gives you the speed and consistency of flat-rate pricing on routine work plus the flexibility of hourly on oddball jobs.

Calculating Your Rates

Start with what you need to earn, then work backward.

Step 1: Your Target Income

How much do you want to take home after all business expenses and taxes? Be honest with yourself. Let's say $80,000/year net.

Step 2: Add Your Business Costs

Vehicle (payment, insurance, gas, maintenance): ~$15,000/year. Insurance (liability + commercial auto): ~$2,500/year. Tools and supplies: ~$3,000/year. Marketing: ~$6,000/year. Software and subscriptions: ~$2,400/year. Parts inventory carrying cost: ~$2,000/year. Phone/data: ~$1,800/year. Miscellaneous: ~$3,000/year.

Total overhead: roughly $35,000-40,000/year.

Step 3: Add Taxes

Self-employment tax is 15.3%. Income tax varies but estimate 20-25% depending on your bracket and deductions.

On $80,000 net income: ~$12,000 SE tax + ~$16,000 income tax = ~$28,000 in taxes.

Step 4: Your Revenue Target

$80,000 (income) + $38,000 (expenses) + $28,000 (taxes) = $146,000 gross revenue needed.

Step 5: Calls Per Day

Assume you work 250 days/year (5 days a week, 2 weeks off). $146,000 ÷ 250 = $584/day.

If you average 4 completed calls per day, you need $146/call average revenue.

If you average 5 calls per day, you need $117/call.

That's your per-call revenue target. The service fee + labor + parts markup needs to average that number across all your calls.

Setting the Service Call Fee

The service call fee is what you charge to show up, diagnose the problem, and present an estimate. It compensates you for drive time, diagnostic time, and expertise — even if the customer decides not to repair.

Common service call fees by market:

Small/rural markets: $59-79. Mid-size metros: $79-99. Major metros (LA, NYC, Chicago, SF): $99-149. Luxury/specialty brands: $125-199.

Some techs waive the service call fee if the customer proceeds with the repair. Others don't. Both approaches work:

Waiving it reduces the customer's perceived cost of the repair. A $245 flat-rate repair feels different than "$89 diagnostic + $245 repair." It increases your close rate.

Not waiving it compensates you for the calls where the customer declines the repair. If 20% of your customers decline repairs, those service call fees keep you profitable even when you don't turn wrenches.

The right choice depends on your market and your close rate. If you're closing 85%+ of estimates, waiving makes sense — you're rarely leaving money on the table. If your close rate is 60-70%, keep the fee.

Pricing Parts

Your wholesale cost on parts varies depending on your supplier relationships. A thermal fuse might cost you $8. A control board might cost you $180.

Standard markup in the industry:

Low-cost parts (under $25 wholesale): 80-100% markup. You paid $8, you charge $15-16. The dollar amount is small, so the percentage needs to be higher to make it worthwhile.

Mid-range parts ($25-100 wholesale): 50-75% markup. You paid $45, you charge $68-79.

Expensive parts (over $100 wholesale): 30-50% markup. You paid $180, you charge $234-270.

The customer can look up the retail price of any part online. They know a heating element costs $35 at the parts store. If you charge $80, that's a hard sell. If you charge $55, that feels reasonable — they're paying a premium for you sourcing the correct part, stocking it on your van, and guaranteeing it.

Don't apologize for parts markup. You're providing convenience, expertise, and warranty. That has value.

Building Your Flat Rate Card

For each common repair, your flat rate should cover:

Average time on site (including diagnosis time). Part cost (at your markup). Drive time (amortized across your daily calls). Profit margin.

Example calculation — dryer heating element replacement:

Average time on site: 45 minutes. Your effective hourly labor target: $100/hour. So labor = $75. Element wholesale cost: $30. Your price to customer: $55 (83% markup). Total flat rate: $75 + $55 = $130 for just the element. But the service call fee ($89) is separate or included? If included: $219. If separate: $130 repair quote + $89 service call = $219 total.

Round to a clean number: $225 or $229.

Build this calculation for your top 20-30 repairs. You'll find natural price clusters:

Simple swaps (thermal fuse, door latch, lid switch, belt): $125-175 total

Standard repairs (heating element, drain pump, water inlet valve): $175-275 total

Complex repairs (control board, bearing replacement, sealed system): $275-500+ total

The Pricing Conversation With the Customer

After your diagnosis, present the price clearly and confidently:

"Here's what's going on. The thermal fuse has blown — that's the safety device that cut the heat. I can replace it today for $165. That includes the part, the labor, and a 30-day guarantee on the repair. It also includes checking and cleaning the dryer vent, because a blocked vent is what caused the fuse to blow in the first place."

Notice the structure: explain what's wrong (builds trust), state the price (no hedging), describe what's included (builds value), add the root-cause fix (justifies the price and prevents a callback).

Don't say "it's going to be $165, is that ok?" Say "I can take care of this today for $165." The first asks permission. The second states a fact.

When to Adjust Your Prices

Raise your prices when:

- You're booked 2+ weeks out consistently (demand exceeds supply)

- Your callback rate is low (your work quality justifies higher rates)

- Your costs have increased (fuel, insurance, parts)

- You haven't raised prices in over a year

Lower your prices when:

- Never. Seriously. If you're not getting enough calls, the problem is almost never your price — it's your marketing, your reviews, or your service area. Competing on price is a race to the bottom that nobody wins.

Raise prices for new customers first. Keep existing customer rates steady for 3-6 months, then adjust. Loyal customers appreciate the grace period.

Tracking What Matters

Average revenue per call. Track this monthly. If it's trending down, you're either doing more estimates that don't convert or your job mix is shifting toward simpler (cheaper) repairs.

Close rate. What percentage of estimates does the customer approve? Below 65%, your prices might be too high for your market, your presentation needs work, or you're attracting price-shoppers through your marketing. Above 85%, you might be leaving money on the table.

Revenue per hour. Not per call — per hour. If a complex job takes 3 hours and pays $400, that's $133/hour. If a simple swap takes 30 minutes and pays $175, that's $350/hour. This metric tells you which types of jobs are actually most profitable.

Built by a team with 25+ years in the appliance parts industry, MyPros+ lets you diagnose accurately on the first visit — which means fewer return trips, higher close rates, and more revenue per call. When you can tell the customer exactly what's wrong and exactly what it costs within 15 minutes of arriving, your close rate goes up and your per-call revenue follows.

Try MyPros+ free — 7 days, no commitment →