How to Price Plumbing Jobs: An Easy Formula to Create Fast Estimates

To make sure you’re turning a profit on every job, you’ll need to determine an appropriate hourly rate, then factor in material costs. Here’s how:

1. Calculate your hourly base rate

Your hourly base rate is the amount you pay yourself (or your plumbers) before you factor in overhead or material costs.

Your billable hours are how many hours in your week you can charge customers for plumbing services, installations, or repairs. This doesn’t include time spent driving to and from the job site or completing admin tasks.

To determine your hourly base rate, divide the amount of money you’d like to earn every week by the number of hours of work you can bill customers for. 

Weekly earnings ÷ # of billable hours per week

For example, if you want to earn $800 per week and you can bill customers for 28 hours of work, your hourly base rate would be $28.57.

Pro Tip: To offer competitive pricing and still turn a profit, compare your hourly rates with the average rates in your state.

2. Calculate your overhead costs

Overhead costs are the operating expenses you pay to keep your business running smoothly. These could include:

• Business equipment (such as tablets, computers, or cell phones)
• Building rent
• Plumbing tools (like wrenches, plungers, or pipe cutters)
• Vehicles, fuel, and maintenance
• Taxes and business insurance
• Plumbing advertising and marketing
• Plumbing business management software

To calculate your hourly overhead costs, use the following formula:

Total monthly overhead costs ÷ # of billable hours per month

If your overhead costs for the month are $4,000 and you and your team produce 500 billable hours every month, your overhead costs would be $8.00 per hour.

Then, to calculate your overhead costs for a plumbing repair, use this formula:

Hourly overhead costs x # hours the job will take to complete

If you’re servicing a clogged drain and you estimate the job will take you two hours to complete, your overhead costs for the job will be $16.00.

3. Factor in your profit margin and calculate markup

Your profit margin is how much money you make once you’ve covered all the costs for a job—like materials, overhead costs, and employee wages.

Your markup is the take-home amount your business gets after applying your profit margin percentage to your hourly rate and overhead costs.

If your ideal profit margin is 25%, use this formula to determine your markup:

(Hourly rate + overhead costs) x 0.25 

Continuing our example above, our markup would be $11.14 ($28.57 + $16 x 0.25).

FREE TOOL: Try our free profit margin calculator

4. Figure out your total labor costs

To get your total hourly rate, add your hourly base rate, overhead costs, and markup together. In our case, this would be $55.71, but we’ll round up to $56.00 per hour.

From there, determine how much time you’ll need to fix the plumbing issue and complete the job. Just multiply the expected labor hours by your hourly rate.

(# of labor hours) X (hourly rate ) = (Total Labor Costs)

If you’re servicing a clogged drain and you know it’ll take you two hours to complete, your total labor costs would be $112 (2 hours x $56 per hour).

READ MORE: How to calculate your break-even point

5. Estimate your cost of materials

For plumbing services, repairs, or installations that require extra materials—like fixtures, piping, or specialty tools—add the exact cost including taxes.

Here are some examples of materials to consider including for the following jobs:

Service	Materials you may need
Water heater installation	Water heater, venting pipes, pressure valves, water and gas piping, thread compound, solder
Leaking pipe	Epoxy putty, pipe clamps, slip coupling, replacement pipes
Clogged drain	Chemical drain cleaner, plungers
Emergency services	Plumber’s putty, duct tape, washers
Burst pipe	Fittings, emery cloth, connectors

Here’s the formula to use:

(Sum of required materials costs) X (product sales tax rate) = (Total Material Costs)

To continue our example, let’s say the cost of materials to fix a clogged drain totals $47.62 and your state’s sales tax is 5%. This would make your total material costs $50.

READ MORE: How to bid plumbing jobs and win more work

6. Add it all together

Add up your total labor costs and material costs to get the total amount of your plumbing estimate. 

Or enter your labor cost, material cost, overhead expenses, and profit into Jobber’s plumbing pricing calculator.

In our case, the amount on our plumbing estimate would be $162 before taxes.

Pro Tip: Many plumbers set their minimum service times at one or two hours to account for travel time or any other hiccups along the way. This helps to keep their schedule full and jobs profitable.

Additional pricing considerations for plumbers

Before you send an estimate to a prospective customer, make sure you’ve considered any other factors that may cut into your profits. 

Letting your customers know about these added expenses from the get-go can keep you from eating the costs when the job is done.

Here are a few things to consider:

• The removal of garbage and debris from the job site
• Correcting any existing plumbing code violations in old or neglected properties
• Removing or replacing any deteriorated piping
• X-raying floors or walls before cutting or drilling
• Provision of backflow prevention devices where required
• Opening, repair, or replacement of walls or ceilings required to complete work
• Time required to shut down, drain, and refill water piping, etc.
• Servicing pipes, fixtures, or equipment in hard-to-access areas
• Any job that requires a permit, like replacing drain lines or adjusting water supply lines

Always complete an on-site assessment before sending an estimate. This will give you a chance to examine pipes, assess their general condition, and determine how easy or difficult they may be to get at.

Pro Tip: To make sure your pricing is competitive, check what other plumbing contractors in your region are charging. You can check their website for pricing or try calling for a quote.

READ MORE:  Free estimates: should contractors charge for quotes?

What to include in your plumbing estimate

Your plumbing estimate should include:

1. Your business’s name and logo
2. Your business’s contact information
3. Your client’s name and contact details
4. A quote or estimate number
5. A breakdown of the type of service you’ll be providing, including materials and costs
6. How long the estimate is valid for
7. The total cost for the service, including taxes

With the correct information and a professional layout, your plumbing estimate can help you impress your clients and win more jobs.

Here’s what a plumbing estimate looks like with Jobber’s free plumbing estimate template: