How much to charge

I’ve been trying to gain as much real world experience as possible. As a result I’ve been making a lot of house calls for simple computer problems. I always get asked ‘How much is this gonna cost me?’ My usual response is $20 and most folks seem happy with that. My question is, how much should I be charging for these house calls? Most of my customers are senior citizens or close to it and their problems are very easy. I’ve never spent more than an hour on a call and they always call me back to fix another unrelated problem for $20. What is the standard charge for these Geek Squad types of calls? I’m pretty comfortable charging 20 an hour but I don’t want to short change myself and drive down any industry standard rates at the same time.

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Comments

CompuTron99

Rates will vary depending on where you are living / working. IMO, I would research this a bit and see what other's are charging (including Geek Squad). This way you will know if you are under-charging and may prevent you from over-charging.

I'd call the competition as if you were a future customer and get the rates that way.

Pash

rsutton

Pash wrote: »

lollolol I don't think those are the services he is offering

Sepiraph

General rule for contractor is that to charge ~ 2x the amount for a regular full-time, reason being you don't get any employment benefits.

I did some Cisco installation before and I was charging $100/hr. So $20/hr (usd?) seems pretty low but it depends on the task really. At the bare minimum you should charge at least as your regular job, then again since you are doing this over the phone it may be worth it.

crrussell3

I typically charge $50/hr to do house calls.

jamesleecoleman

You might want to make sure that you don't rob them if you do change your rates. I think that $20 + travel converage (gas and some car repair fee's) would be good if it's easy stuff that takes around an hour.

Plantwiz

Sepiraph wrote: »

General rule for contractor is that to charge ~ 2x the amount for a regular full-time, reason being you don't get any employment benefits.

I did some Cisco installation before and I was charging $100/hr. So $20/hr (usd?) seems pretty low but it depends on the task really. At the bare minimum you should charge at least as your regular job, then again since you are doing this over the phone it may be worth it.

+1

IF you are serious about making this into a business, then you'll need to ensure you are charging enough to operate a business.

Not to take all the fun out of your endevour, but I've had 3 friends who decided to start a business for themselves....and forgot a few 'details'.

(provided you are in the US)
1. Keep enough out for taxes. Bank at least 25% of eveything you bring in. If you begin to bring in a healthy amount, you'll need to file quarterly...or you'll be fined for NOT filing quarterly (seek a tax accountant for details in your State).
2. Insurance. (But why, it costs so much)...yes I know, and this little gem is one that many forget and 2 of my friends ended careers (and their livelihood due to this mistake). Not looking to scare you on this one, but you need to be very much aware of YOUR risks for having insurance or not and can you cover the loss if you are injured or cause damages? Again, find an agent who will 'teach' you about insurance...don't buy what you don't understand...buy enough, not too much, not too little.
3. Bonding - do you need to be bonded to enter people's homes? And you may want to be for your sake.

I have one friend who didn't withhold his taxes properly and ended up paying $20K + in taxes and fines because he didn't file quarterly. The other two were injured at their customers site. No insurance. One broke his fall with his face and shattered his arms....his looks fine today, but is unable to work due to the injuries to his brain. The other messed up his back and cannot lift items over 30# or sit for 15 minutes or so without tightening up. No insurance and no ability to afford decent rehab...they may have recovered, but it seems for now they are the best they will be (it's been many years).

So, will cleaning up someone maleware cause you great harm? The risk is low, but if you branch out, start installing satellites, AV equipment, etc...make sure you are covered. Best to speak with the pros in your community to ensure you don't lose all you have or will have.

FWIW

ULWiz

I have it broken down this way for my business. This is just for basic service. If i was doing a big project that i would need to bid on those numbers would most likely go slightly higher. Tryin to keep myself below the normal average i researched for my area.

In-House- $40hr
On Site- $50hr
Laptop Repair- 60

Each one of these is roughly 10$ below the average cost in my area and everything is billed at half hour increments.

logisticalstyles

Thanks for the good advice. So far I haven't done anything that will put me in harms way. Most of the calls have been to install an all in one printer, or some other accessory. It's either something like that or teaching someone how to download pictures emailed to them. I also run a small mobile dj business and during the day work at an accounting firm so I'm pretty good on the tax side. And please believe that I will not be climbing anyone's roof anytime soon. Once again thanks for the good info.

Zartanasaurus

I think charging $25/hr to do very basic desktop support is very reasonable. You're obviously not trying to run a business here, just get some extra cash/experience on the side. That's about twice what you'd get paid to do the same thing at a company and you don't have any choice as to whether or not you want to take that particular person's call.

NetEng

About 12 years ago I worked for a local computer and printer repair shop in east Texas. We charged 65/hr in store and 100/hr in house. We only had a few house calls the two years I worked there, but had more in store work then we could handle.

Plantwiz

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

I think charging $25/hr to do very basic desktop support is very reasonable. You're obviously not trying to run a business here, just get some extra cash/experience on the side. That's about twice what you'd get paid to do the same thing at a company and you don't have any choice as to whether or not you want to take that particular person's call.

Well, it may be twice what his paycheck shows he's being paid, but it doesn't account for all the taxes, the building space, the tools (including Internet), phones, billing that he wouldn't be sending himself/herself, monitoring software, Network session licenses, parts on-hand, etc.... and again Insurance.

If he/she gets injured on site, or damages the clients equipment or home in some manner...

The $25 p/h is fine if its merely a hobby. If he/she is looking to run a business, there needs to be some calculation for Risk (something many leave out). Also, you do not want undercut the competition by that much...it deflats the value of IT service for everyone (your training/knowledge has value...don't forget to charge for it).

Turgon

logisticalstyles wrote: »

I’ve been trying to gain as much real world experience as possible. As a result I’ve been making a lot of house calls for simple computer problems. I always get asked ‘How much is this gonna cost me?’ My usual response is $20 and most folks seem happy with that. My question is, how much should I be charging for these house calls? Most of my customers are senior citizens or close to it and their problems are very easy. I’ve never spent more than an hour on a call and they always call me back to fix another unrelated problem for $20. What is the standard charge for these Geek Squad types of calls? I’m pretty comfortable charging 20 an hour but I don’t want to short change myself and drive down any industry standard rates at the same time.

Charge what you can get away with quite frankly. If you are high you can come down. Start low and it can be difficult to raise. You will often have the same hassles to deal with whatever rate you charge.

sambuca69

$45 for showing up (your "service call"), $15 each 15 minutes, rounded up to the next 15 minute mark.

So, the first 15 minutes you're at $60, plus $15 every 15 minute increment, not including anything extra you need to supply.