How to Price Repairs: A Practical Guide for Repair Shops

Pricing is where repair shops quietly win or lose money. Charge too little and you are busy but broke; charge blindly and you either scare customers off or leave cash on the table. The good news: pricing is a skill, not a guess. Here is a simple, repeatable way to price repairs so every job actually makes money — and so you can quote with confidence instead of anxiety.

Start with your true costs

You cannot price a repair until you know what it really costs you, and that is far more than the part:

• Parts: what you pay landed, including shipping and any duty.
• Labour: your time on the job, valued at a real hourly rate — not zero because “you would be there anyway”.
• Overheads: rent, power, tools, software, insurance, consumables and bank fees, spread across the jobs you actually do.
• Re-do and warranty risk: a small allowance for the occasional return, because they happen even to great techs.

If you have never added up your monthly overheads and divided by the number of repairs you complete, do it once. The per-job overhead number usually surprises people, and it instantly explains why “just the part plus twenty bucks” leaves nothing behind at the end of the month.

Set a real labour rate

Decide what an hour of your skilled time is worth, then price each repair as parts + (labour rate × time) + margin. A screen that takes thirty minutes and a board repair that takes two hours should never earn you the same money just because the part happened to be cheap. Time your common jobs once — screen, battery, charge port, water clean — and you will have a rate card you can quote from in seconds, which also makes you look sharp in front of the customer.

Cost-plus versus the market

Two forces set your price. Cost-plus makes sure you never sell at a loss; it is your floor. The market tells you what customers in your area will accept; it is your reality check. Use both. If your cost-plus price lands well above the shop down the road, the answer is usually to look at your parts sourcing or your speed — not to slash the price and work for free. If it lands well below local rates, you are probably undercharging and can raise prices without losing anyone.

Offer tiers, not a single price

Wherever you can, give customers a choice of part quality — for example a premium or genuine option and a value or aftermarket option, each clearly explained and warranted differently. Tiered pricing does two valuable things: it lets budget-conscious customers say yes to something instead of walking out, and it lets quality-focused customers happily spend more. The only rule is total transparency about what each tier is and how the warranties differ, because trust is the entire game in this industry.

Charge a diagnostic fee

Investigating a “won’t turn on”, a no-charge fault or a water-damaged device takes real time and skill, whether or not you can ultimately fix it. A modest, upfront diagnostic fee — often credited toward the repair if the customer proceeds — protects your time from tyre-kickers and pays you for your expertise, not just for fitting a part. It also filters out the people who were only ever going to shop your quote around for free.

Common pricing mistakes

• Pricing only on the part. Your skill, tools and time are the product; the glass is just materials.
• Racing to the bottom. The cheapest shop in town attracts the most demanding customers and the thinnest margins — a bad combination.
• One price forever. Parts costs move constantly; review your rate card every few months.
• Not quoting in writing. Verbal quotes create disputes at pickup. Send a clear written quote and get approval before you start.
• Forgetting small consumables. Adhesive, screws, cleaning supplies and packaging add up; bake them into overhead.

Know your numbers per job

Two quick metrics keep you honest. Gross margin per repair (price minus parts) tells you what each job contributes toward your time and overheads. Average job value across a week tells you whether upsells like protectors, cases and tier upgrades are working. If your average job value is creeping up while customers stay happy, you are pricing and selling well.

Communicate price with confidence

How you present a price matters as much as the number itself. Lead with value — the warranty, the quality part, the quick turnaround, the testing you do — then state the price plainly, without apology. Send a written quote the customer can approve before work begins, so there are never surprises at collection. Shops that quote clearly and secure approval up front see fewer disputes, better reviews and more repeat business.

Get your costs straight, value your time honestly, offer sensible tiers, charge for diagnosis, and always quote in writing. Do that consistently and pricing stops being a worry and becomes one of your biggest strengths.

A worked example

Say a common screen replacement costs you $45 in parts and takes thirty minutes. At a labour rate of $80 an hour, the labour component is $40. Add your per-job overhead — perhaps $15 once you have actually done the maths on rent, power and software — and you are at $100 before margin. Apply a sensible margin and you might land around $129. That is a price built from real numbers, not a guess, and it comfortably absorbs the occasional warranty return. Run the same exercise across your ten most common repairs and you have a rate card you can quote from in seconds.

Handling price objections

Someone will always say “the place down the road is cheaper”. Do not panic, and do not immediately discount. Calmly explain what your price includes: a quality part, skilled fitting, proper testing and a real warranty. Many customers who open with price are actually seeking reassurance, and a confident, friendly explanation of value converts more of them than a knee-jerk discount — which only teaches people to haggle. If someone genuinely only wants the rock-bottom option, it is fine to let them go; the bargain-hunters are rarely your profitable, loyal customers.

Review your prices on a schedule

Parts prices drift, new models arrive, and your speed improves with experience. Put a recurring reminder in your calendar — quarterly is sensible — to check your rate card against current parts costs and local rates. Small, regular adjustments are far easier on customers, and on you, than a sudden jump after two years of quietly absorbing rising costs. Pricing is not a set-and-forget decision; it is a habit.

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