Pricing is the single biggest lever in your repair business. Get it right and you're profitable. Get it wrong and you're working 60-hour weeks wondering where the money went.

Most repair shop owners underprice their services. Not because they don't know better — but because they're afraid of losing customers. Here's the thing: the customers you lose to price aren't the ones you want.

The Two Models: Flat Rate vs. Hourly

Flat Rate

Customer knows the cost upfront. No surprises. You eat the risk if a repair takes longer than expected, but you keep the upside when it's quick.

Best for: Common repairs you've done hundreds of times. Screen replacements, battery swaps, SSD upgrades, virus removal, OS reinstalls.

How to set flat rates: Track your actual time on 20+ instances of each repair type. Take the average, multiply by your target hourly rate, add parts cost plus markup, and round to a clean number.

Example:

Average screen replacement time: 45 minutes
Your target rate: $100/hour
Labor: $75
Part cost: $45
Part markup (30%): $13.50
Price: $135 (round to $129 or $139 depending on market)

Hourly Rate

Customer pays for actual time spent. You carry less risk, but customers hate uncertainty.

Best for: Complex or unpredictable work. Board-level repairs, water damage assessment, data recovery, custom builds.

How to set hourly rates: Calculate your fully loaded cost per hour (rent, utilities, insurance, your salary, tools, software) and multiply by 2.5-3x. If your cost is $40/hour, charge $100-120/hour.

The Hybrid Approach (Best of Both)

Most successful shops use both:

Flat rate for the menu of common repairs (posted on the wall and website)
Hourly rate for everything else, with a diagnostic fee that applies to the repair

This gives customers certainty on standard work and protects you on the weird stuff.

Always Charge for Diagnostics

Free diagnostics attract tire-kickers and devalue your expertise. A $30-50 diagnostic fee:

Filters out people who aren't serious
Compensates you for time even if they decline the repair
Can be applied toward the repair cost (so it's effectively free for paying customers)
Positions you as a professional, not a hobbyist

Frame it as: "We charge $49 for diagnostics, which includes a full assessment and quote. If you proceed with the repair, the diagnostic fee is applied to your total."

Know Your Market

Check what competitors charge, but don't race to the bottom. Instead:

Google "phone repair near me" and check the top 5 results' pricing
Call 3 competitors and ask for quotes on common repairs
Check uBreakiFix, Batteries Plus, and local shops for benchmark pricing

Your goal is to be in the middle-to-upper range. Too cheap signals low quality. Too expensive needs to be backed by exceptional service, warranty, or speed.

The Markup on Parts

Standard part markup in the repair industry is 30-50%. This covers:

Shipping and handling
Storage cost
Warranty reserves (you'll need to replace some defective parts)
The expertise to source quality parts

Don't feel guilty about markup. You're not just selling a part — you're selling the knowledge of which part to buy, the skill to install it, and the warranty that it works.

Review Pricing Quarterly

Costs change. Supplier prices shift. New competitors open. Review your pricing every quarter:

Are you hitting your target profit margin?
Which services are most/least profitable?
Have your costs changed?
What's the competition doing?

Raise prices annually at minimum. If you haven't raised prices in 2+ years, you've given yourself a pay cut after inflation.

Track Everything

You can't price effectively if you don't know your actual costs and times. Track:

Time per repair type
Parts cost per repair
Revenue per repair
Customer acquisition cost

This data tells you exactly where you're making money and where you're bleeding. Without it, you're guessing.

techsbox tracks jobs, parts, and invoices so you always know your numbers. See pricing — plans start at $15/month.

How to Price Your Repair Services (Without Leaving Money on the Table)