How do you work out prices for jobs?

[Shane Drew]

quote OWS70:

How do you guys work out prices for signwriting cars vans e.e?

Been going for about a year now doing race cars, few vans and signage.

I have been doubling the cost of vinyl and charging for labour. Is that about what you charge.

Thanks Owen

Doubling the cost of vinyl will give you very little profit at all mate.

You use a metre of tape that costs you $10, you charge it out at $20. You stuff up the installation and have to cut it again. There goes any profit.

You need to cover yourself for errors. I’d go no less than 3 times your cost of material, plus labour. 4 times will give you decent margins so you can offer discounts.

[Alan Wharton]

Dont undersell your work/prices, say you pay £2 mtr for 610mm vinyl, £11-12 a mtr you want to be selling it for 🙄 bear in mind your other materials you are using App tape/masking tape/cutting blades/cleaning materials/premises etc etc etc, they all need paying for and it has to be the customer paying for it not you.
Labour rates mmm that is really down to the area you live in, but bear in mind how many ppl do you know who are self employed earning less than £20-£25 hr.
Job 3 mtr vinyl used = £30-£36
2 hours to fit £20ph = £40
Total £70ish 😎

[Dave Glyde]

I have made up a small spread sheet in excel which prompts me to enter estimated time each of the following – artwork/design, cut and weedle, apply tape, apply to substrate, install sign etc. I like you only double the vinyl costs which is to low as the previous posts have said. The other thing is though that I always round up the vinyl usage by 5 – 10 metres to allow for some wastage and help with a stock if not required.

I usualy work at a rate of £20/hr but adjust this up if I can get away with it or down if there is potential with the customer for more work.

[John Childs]

Over a year, my material costs are about 20% of my turnover.

So, if I am feeling lazy, this is always a good starting point for quotes, supply and fit.

Having said that, I will always make allowances for more, or less, complexity.

Basically, for supply only – material costs times three and supply and fit, material costs times five.

But please bear in mind that my business is more volume oriented than the average, so your multiples would probably need to be a bit more.

In an ideal world, work out your material costs, multiply by two, and then add your labour costs. This will vary with circumstances, and from area to area, but in my case is £30 per hour.

Whatever, get this right. It is crucial to the success of your business.