Minimum charge
A minimum charge is the lowest price you will do any visit for, set to cover the drive, setup, the smallest real job, pack-up and your margin.
- job minimum
- trip minimum
- minimum visit charge
Without a minimum, a small patio priced by the square foot can come to less than the cost of sending the truck. The minimum makes sure every visit pays for itself.
State it up front ("our minimum visit is $275") and help the customer get more for it, by adding the walk, steps or trash-can pad. Some companies lower the minimum when the truck is already on the street, which improves route density.
Formula
minimum = (drive + setup + smallest job + pack-up hours) × hourly cost ÷ (1 − target margin) + chemicals
Example
Invented numbers: 1.25 hours of drive, setup and work at $104 an hour is $130, plus $5 of chemicals. At a 50% margin the minimum is $270, rounded to $275. A 300 sq ft patio at $0.23 would be $69, so the minimum applies.
Track it in Birdy
Leads, quotes, jobs and invoices on one customer record, set up with your own data.
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