The most expensive words in the HVAC industry are "Free Estimate." When you offer them, you attract price shoppers who want a diagnosis for free so they can buy the part on Amazon.
Profitable shops don't sell time; they sell solutions. Here are the three pricing rules that separate the growing businesses from the struggling ones.
1Rule #1: Charge for the Diagnosis
Your truck, your tools, and your 10 years of experience cost money. A "Service Fee" or "Diagnostic Fee" ($89-$129) filters out serious customers from window shoppers.
Waive the fee if they proceed with the repair. It builds goodwill without risking your time.
2Rule #2: Flat-Rate > Hourly
Customers hate watching the clock. If you fix it in 15 minutes because you're an expert, you shouldn't be punished with a smaller bill.
Hourly
Hourly: $150/hr (Customer watches you work)
Flat Rate
Flat Rate: $350 to fix the Capacitor (Customer pays for the result)
3Rule #3: The Good-Better-Best Offer
Never give just one price. Give three. It shifts the psychology from "Should I buy?" to "Which one should I buy?"
- Good: Fix the immediate problem ($350)
- Better: Fix + Maintenance Plan ($495)
- Best: Fix + Maintenance + IAQ upgrade ($850)
Copy This Email: The 'Stalled Quote' Follow-Up
Subject: Quick question about [Project] Hi [Name], I'm finalizing our schedule for next week and wanted to see if you were still interested in moving forward with the [System Replacement]? If not, no worries—I'll close out the file on my end so I don't keep bugging you. Cheers, [Your Name]
Automate Your Pricing with ServiceHub
ServiceHub is built to support this profitable pricing model out of the box.
- Built-in Service Call Fees: Automatically added to every booking.
- Flat-Rate Line Items: Build a price book of common repairs.
- Good-Better-Best Quotes: Send multi-option quotes in seconds.
?Frequently Asked Questions
Should I charge a diagnostic fee?▼
What is flat rate pricing?▼
How do I present Good-Better-Best options?▼
Start protecting your margins
Stop guessing. Start pricing for profit with ServiceHub.