Every year a new tech sees an invoice and asks why he makes $22 an hour when we charged $189 for forty minutes. Fair question. Here's roughly how I explain it at my shop. Numbers differ everywhere; this is the shape, not a formula.
- The tech's wage, plus payroll taxes and workers' comp on top of it
- The truck: payment, fuel, insurance, repairs, the stock on the shelves
- The office: the person who answered the phone and scheduled you
- Drive time between calls that the customer never sees on the bill
- Callbacks, which we fix for free
- Slow weeks in October when the phones are quiet and everyone still gets paid
After all that, a healthy shop keeps a margin, and plenty of shops don't. I'd rather you understand this before you go out on your own and price yourself out of business.
HVAC contractor, owner · 25 years · Middlesex County, NJ
Mentor
Not billed separately in a flat call fee. Different thing from your pay:
- Driving between calls during the workday should be paid to you as hours worked, as far as I know
- If it isn't, that's a conversation with your boss, and the state labor department has the details
Mechanical contractor (HVAC + plumbing) · 24 years · Burlington County, NJ
Mentor
Same on the mechanical side. The number new guys never see is unbilled time. Here's what I look for in a tech who's earned a raise: the one whose calls don't come back. A callback is the most expensive hour we have.
HVAC contractor, owner · 25 years · Middlesex County, NJ
Mentor
And if you're wondering why every owner says he's broke when there's a margin: some of them are. Two things:
- A lot of owners pay themselves last
- Equipment margins and service margins are very different animals
I'm not saying every owner is honest about it. I'm saying the $189 isn't profit.