How to Price Small Jobs Properly (Without Undervaluing Your Work)
How to Price Small Jobs Properly (Without Undervaluing Your Work)
If there’s one thing almost every trade struggles with, it’s pricing small jobs correctly.
Bigger jobs are easy — quotes, site visits, material lists, all straightforward.
But the small stuff?
- “Can you just pop round and take a look?”
- “It’ll only take you 10 minutes.”
- “While you’re here, could you also…”
- “How much to replace this?”
Small jobs are where most sparkies, plumbers, handymen, roofers, and landscapers bleed money without noticing.
This post is a proper, detailed guide on how to price small jobs in a way that:
- covers your time
- covers your materials
- covers your travel
- covers your expertise
- and stops you from undercharging
This is UK-specific, trade-specific, and written with zero fluff.
Let’s get stuck in.
Why small jobs lose you the most money
Small jobs look easy.
But they’re the biggest trap.
Here’s why:
- you still have to drive there
- you still need tools
- you still waste fuel
- you still use materials
- you still take time off bigger jobs
- you still deal with the customer
But because the job is small, most trades feel guilty charging properly.
So they undercharge.
A “quick job” nearly always takes:
- longer than expected,
- more materials than planned,
- more customer chat than you budgeted for, and
- more admin than anyone wants to admit
If you’re not careful, small jobs become charity work.
The simple formula for pricing small jobs properly
Here’s the cleanest, easiest pricing structure for UK trades:
Call-Out Fee + Labour + Materials + Extras
Let’s break each part down.
1. Call-out Fee (non-negotiable)
This is where most trades mess up — by not having one at all.
A proper call-out fee should cover:
- your travel
- your time getting there
- your lost time between jobs
- fuel
- wear on your van
- job admin
- phone calls
- the “drop everything and go” factor
Typical UK call-out fees (2025)
| Trade | Standard Call-Out (Weekdays) | | ---------------- | ---------------------------- | | Electrician | £50–£90 | | Plumber | £60–£100 | | Handyman | £40–£70 | | Locksmith | £70–£120 | | Heating Engineer | £80–£150 | | Roofer | £60–£120 |
Anything below this, and you’re losing money before the job even starts.
2. Labour Rate
Your labour rate should NEVER be the same for all jobs.
You should charge more for:
- emergencies
- last-minute calls
- evening/weekend visits
- first-hour work (most trades charge a higher first hour)
UK average labour rates (2025):
| Trade | First Hour | Hourly After | | ---------------- | ---------- | ------------ | | Electrician | £60–£100 | £40–£70 | | Plumber | £70–£110 | £50–£80 | | Handyman | £40–£60 | £30–£50 | | Roofer | £60–£100 | £40–£70 | | Heating Engineer | £80–£140 | £60–£90 |
A “10-minute job” still takes an hour by the time you:
- drive there
- unload
- diagnose
- actually fix the thing
- tidy up
- write notes
- send the invoice
Charge your first hour. Every time.
3. Materials (mark them up — always)
This is where trades lose a fortune.
Materials aren’t just “parts.”
They include:
- sealants
- screws
- connectors
- tape
- washers
- joints
- clips
- fittings
- consumables
If you don’t charge for these, you’re literally paying to work.
Mark up:
Most UK trades add 10–30% to material costs.
It’s industry standard.
You’re not a charity.
4. Extras (the silent profit killer)
These are the little things customers ask for:
- “While you’re here…”
- “Could you just…”
- “Can you quickly look at this too?”
These extras can easily turn a £60 job into a £150 loss if you don’t charge accordingly.
Your time has value — charge for the extras.
Real Examples (Straight from UK trades)
Let’s look at common jobs and what they SHOULD cost.
🔌 Electrician — Replace a light fitting
- Call-out: £70
- Labour: £50
- Materials: £10–£30
Total: £130–£150
🚰 Plumber — Fix a leaking tap
- Call-out: £80
- Labour: £50–£80
- Parts: £5–£20
Total: £135–£180
🧰 Handyman — Install a curtain pole
- Call-out: £50
- Labour: £30–£50
- Consumables: £5
Total: £85–£105
🛠 Heating Engineer — Boiler reset & check
- Call-out: £90
- Labour: £60
Total: £150
If you’re charging £40–£60 for these jobs, you’re working for free.
How to quote small jobs quickly (and confidently)
Here’s the simplest rule of thumb:
If the job takes less than 2 hours, use a fixed price.
Why?
- customers love it
- no arguments
- no “how long will it take?”
- no surprises
- you get paid properly
- no awkward discount requests
A fixed-price, small-job menu makes your life much easier.
The biggest mistake trades make when quoting
They price based on:
- guilt
- fear of being “too expensive”
- “I’ll just help them out”
- panic
- assumption
- comparison to “mates rates”
Here’s the truth:
Customers aren’t paying for your time.
They’re paying for your skill, experience, tools, and reliability.
If it was easy, they’d do it themselves.
How Clearwork helps you price small jobs properly
Clearwork helps you:
- track materials so you never forget them
- log labour on the spot
- keep job history so you know what you charged last time
- attach photos so you can justify your pricing
- store customer notes
- invoice quickly, while the job is still fresh
It stops the classic problems:
- forgotten parts
- unbilled labour
- “I’ll add it later”
- lost photos
- missing notes
- undercharging by accident
You get consistent pricing, clean records, and no guesswork.
Final tip: don’t discount your work
Most trades undercharge because they think:
“It only took me 10 minutes.”
But it took you years to learn how to do it in 10 minutes.
Charge like a professional — because you are one.
If you want help organising your jobs, pricing cleanly, and keeping track of materials and labour, Clearwork makes it simple.
Whether you use Clearwork or not, this guide alone should help you charge what you should be charging.
– Brandon