Home Services Quoting?

searcher profile

March 23, 2022

by a searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in Cambridge, MA, USA

Have you operated in or done diligence on a home-services business? (Septic-tank cleaning, home alarms etc.)?

If so, I'd love to chat with you for###-###-#### minutes to learn about quoting and sub-contracting. Email me at redacted or let me know your preferred contact method

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of Pennsylvania in Portland, OR, USA
"Quoting and sub-contracting" is a huge topic. Without more specifics, it's tough to know what information you're driving for. My experience is with van-based home services businesses, not general contracting or new construction. I own a service plumbing company.

Here are a few leads for you to dig into the topic:

Almost all well-run home services businesses performing repair work will quote using an up-front, flat-rate price and present the customer with multiple options in an escalating good/better/best scale. The quote will be presented in-person by a technician using an iPad running a menu price book within a CRM. The definition of the tasks and the prices are all established by the company, not the technician. An example of this is a customer with a constantly running toilet. The technician may present a flapper replacement, a whole toilet rebuild, and a toilet replacement/upgrade.

A similar approach is used for sales and installation of equipment that is largely plug and play. For example, a new HVAC unit. In that example the options will include different levels of unit as well as add-ons such as whole-house filtration.

Far and away, the leading software for this is ServiceTitan. The company has considerable online educational tools available to non-customers. Their Contractor's Playbook has basic information about pricing philosophy. Here's a link https://www.servicetitan.com/field-service-management/pricing-for-profit

Jobs that are more custom, based on the home are usually quoted through the use of a bid sheet template. On these jobs there is frequently a dedicated sales person, separate from the crew who performs the work. The sales person estimates labor hours, materials required, permits required and enters those into a bid sheet which guides the creation of the price based on company standards for labor rate, material costs, and gross margin targets.

A great source for education on running a contracting or home services business is Contractor Evolution. https://contractorevolution.com You'll find several episodes there that address pricing.
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Reply by a professional
from Bentley College in Miami, FL, USA
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