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gattaca
Premium Member
join:2003-05-28
USA

gattaca

Premium Member

How to charge for system repair

Another thread got me thinking about a question I've had for a while now.

When I work on computers for people (usually friends of my parents) I have difficulty determining what price to charge. I have been very inexpensive thus far, as I would feel bad charging someone more than a reasonable amount. As such, I rarely charge someone more than $50 regardless of how much time I spent on their computer, either from malware removal, system updates, hardware diagnosis, etc.

The reason I have trouble determining what I should charge them is that a lot of the time spent repairing the computer is not necessarily time that I have to spend in front of the computer. For example, while I'm installing Windows updates on a machine very far behind, I can be doing something else. For example, I often do homework while repairing peoples' computers because there is so much time between malware scans, system updates, etc.

How do you charge a fair hourly wage for something that you are not necessarily in front of the entire time?
Cloneman
join:2002-08-29
Montreal

1 edit

Cloneman

Member

Obviously you can't linearly charge for time the computer spends working on it's own, because that's usually a really long time.

However, updates and such require user intervention, and you are, somewhat on standby and you need to keep checking it, etc. Which you should be paid for.

I would say 50$ is low unless it's for a friend.

I would charge about 100$ for a job that was a full reformat with little or no data backup to a stranger, which includes doing updates and installing security software and microsoft office, winrar, etc, for the customer, and possibly a dusting if I'm in the mood.....

Still, I consider my price cheap.

thender
Screen tycoon
Premium Member
join:2009-01-01
Brooklyn, NY

thender to gattaca

Premium Member

to gattaca
I charge a flat rate or a daily rate, but not an hourly, whether it's fixing audio electronics or laptops or whatever.

I find it more fair. If I can fix it faster, I get the same amount of money. If I can't fix it faster, why should the customer pay for my inadequacy?

99% of my work is stuff that takes 5-15 minutes, I charge a flat rate. Most people find me after looking at crazy marked up parts sites like powerbookmedic, welovemacs, and ifixit. They wind up assuming I'm doing the job for free or for $15, which helps in people not thinking I am a ripoff(if only they knew what this stuff cost from the manufacturer )

I am the most affordable but will let them know. I usually leave OS reinstalls/software/virus issues to the $30-$50 people on craigslist, they are a dime a dozen in NY. I really don't care to waste hours in travel time & aggravation on F'd up slow machines trying to undercut the cheap ass guy that comes up on adwords or craigslist.

Whatever you do don't gouge people and do repairs without authorization then expect people to pay through the nose for it.
Bobcat79
Premium Member
join:2001-02-04

Bobcat79 to Cloneman

Premium Member

to Cloneman
said by Cloneman:

Obviously you can't linearly charge for time the computer spends working on it's own,
Lawyers do the equivalent all the time. They have 10 files sitting on their desk, they're billing all 10 customers.

Karride
Slower Traffic Keep Right
Premium Member
join:2000-04-17
Germantown, TN

1 edit

Karride to gattaca

Premium Member

to gattaca
I charge $30-$50 to look at the problem, and $30-$60 an hour to repair (usually this depends on my mood and if I feel like doing repair work or not). For the hourly rate, I charge only fo r time I'm actively working on the computer, so updates I just walk away from are not counted. After I look at the system, and before I start, I give them an estimate on how long I think the repair will take, so they know what the final cost is and decide if its worth it or not.
TherapyChick
join:2003-09-19
Fayetteville, NC

TherapyChick to gattaca

Member

to gattaca
When I go on site for repair, I charge $60/hour with 1 hour min.

I usually spend at least 3-6 hours at a time though.

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

1 edit

Caddyroger to Cloneman

Premium Member

to Cloneman
me bad. misread the post. thought he said $100 and hr.

gattaca
Premium Member
join:2003-05-28
USA

gattaca

Premium Member

said by Caddyroger:

$100 an hour is not cheap it robbery. You would not get my business they other out that can do the job for less.
He didn't say $100 for an hours. He said $100 for a complete reformat/reinstall with security updates, etc.

Caddyroger
Premium Member
join:2001-06-11
To the west

Caddyroger

Premium Member

I edited my post.