Quick Answer
Is flat rate pricing better than hourly for HVAC?
How flat rate HVAC pricing works, when hourly still makes sense, and how to build a flat rate book from your own loaded labor cost instead of a generic guide.
The short answer
- Flat rate quotes one price per task; hourly bills time and materials after the fact.
- Residential customers approve flat rates more readily because there is no open-ended meter.
- Flat rate protects margin when a job runs long and rewards efficient techs.
- Hourly still fits diagnostics, commercial service contracts and unpredictable repairs.
What flat rate actually changes
The math underneath is identical: loaded labor cost, parts and overhead plus margin. What changes is who carries the risk of a job running long. Under hourly the customer carries it and hates it. Under flat rate you carry it and can price for it.
Build the book from your numbers
Standard task times from a national guide are a starting point, not an answer. Time your own jobs for a month, then set the task price from your loaded hourly cost and target margin.
- Time 20 to 30 of your most common repeat tasks
- Use the median time, not the best time
- Price with the margin divisor, not a markup percentage
- Reprice the whole book whenever wages or parts move
Where hourly still wins
Diagnostics with an unknown scope, commercial troubleshooting and warranty rework are usually better billed hourly or with a diagnostic fee that credits toward the repair.
What you see inside LedgerDude
This is the page you get each month once your books are closed — the numbers behind every answer on this site.
In one sentence
Flat rate is better for residential HVAC because the customer approves one clear number, and your margin no longer depends on how fast the tech works.
Questions people ask
Do customers ask for the hourly breakdown?
Occasionally. The best answer is that the price covers the repair, the parts, the warranty and the trained tech, and it does not change if the job runs long.
Will flat rate hurt my slow techs?
It reveals them. Some owners find that two techs charging the same book produce very different gross profit per day, which is useful information.
How many tasks does a flat rate book need?
Start with the 25 to 40 tasks that cover most of your calls. Add the rest over the following quarter.
What does this cost?
One flat monthly price. No hourly bills, no surprises. Founding plans start at $149 a month, and your rate stays locked.
Keep reading
How do you price HVAC jobs?
Start from the loaded cost of the job — labor hours, parts, and a share of overhead — then divide by one minus your target margin to get the price.
How much should an HVAC company charge per hour?
Work backward from the true cost of an hour in the truck — usually $65 to $95 fully loaded — then add your target margin, which puts most residential rates between $125 and $200 an hour.
All answers
Every question we have written a straight answer to.
Pricing
Flat monthly plans based on your revenue.
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