Operations
Quoting handyman jobs without losing your shirt
A simple framework for pricing handyman work that covers your costs, makes the homeowner feel taken care of, and still lets you sleep at night.
The two most expensive mistakes in handyman work both happen before you swing a hammer: you under-quote a small job, or you spend three hours building a quote for a $400 outlet swap. Here's a simple framework to avoid both.
1. Categorize the job in 30 seconds
Three buckets: service call (under 2 hours), half-day (2–5 hours), project (anything bigger). Your quoting effort should match.
2. For service calls, use a flat rate
Pick a number — say $145 for the first hour, $95 for each additional hour, materials at cost plus 25%. Don't quote. Just price. The "free quote" treadmill is what kills handyman margins.
3. For half-days, send a one-page estimate
Scope, timeline, total. No itemized labor. CrewOpsPro can build this from saved line items in under two minutes.
4. For projects, walk the site
Photos, notes, materials list, change-order language. This is the only category where 30+ minutes of estimating effort pays back.
5. Always require a deposit on projects
30% to start. Online, by card. The customer who won't put 30% down is the customer who will fight your final invoice.
Most "I lost money on that job" stories come from doing project-level work at service-call effort. Match the effort to the bucket and the math gets a lot kinder.