What to charge an hour for computer repair

[dustinl15]

I was just wondering what you guys would charge for in home computer repair. I have had lots of people from my town asking me to work on there computer and since I'm from a really small town(pop. 250) they just want me to work on their it instead of hiring someone from a bigger town. I really didn't know what to charge an hour and what to charge for data backup to a DVD/CD for them.

I was thinking $25 an hour and around $5 GB for data backup and wasn't sure what to charge for installing new programs or if I should just put that with the hourly charge. What do you think I should do? What sounds good for a small town like this? I will be covering the surrounding area to prob. atleast 10 miles around the town.

 

[WinDoWsMoNoPoLy]

Depends on what your doing really, but for just troubleshooting and fixing $25 an hour sounds alright. I have reformatted computers for $100 before though.

 

[SNGX1275]

You are fine with $25. I was in a very similar situation for a long time (small town). What you need to do in those small towns is build trust by fixing things and being reasonable on price, I think $25 is reasonable.

If you help them out and don't BS them, they will tell their friends, and soon enough anyone that has a problem will want to go through you. Thats a good thing.

Don't screw them on prices if they need new hardware, I ordered everything from newegg (but feel free to choose whoever) but I always showed them the invoice of what I paid, and I charged them parts and the shipping, then your regular fee. Some of them are even going to think you are being too generous, and will offer to pay you more. Turn them down polietly once, if they insist then say ok.

I've found that works pretty well, and you end up getting paid nicely for doing very small and easy tasks.

 

[Masque]

They're both right here....$25 is good...not to great and not too little. I was told by a teamleader a long time ago to charge for my expertise....and that amount does that while still being able to be a little generous to my customers. Good price for a side business and can go a long way to building it into a bigger business if that's what you want.

 

[Spike]

$25 seems like an enormous amount to me. lol Some of the computers I've had to fix on site - that would have earned me $75 lol

But then, I tend to do these thing for free for the most part, as they aren't exactly rich people I tend to do it for, so it's probably a decent enough figure.

What is the going rate over in the US for commercial work anyway?

 

[SOcRatEs]

I grade on the curve.
Trouble shooting
Buisnesses are $75 hour
residential $25- $50

Freinds? who has any friends with$?
I like to flat fee a lot.

reformat/reinstall fresh $150
Securing data prior to install $200

But then I'm not in a small town & I've had time
to build trust. Word of mouth, goes a very long way!

 

[Tedster]

Heck, my dad hired a man when I was away from home.... he charged him $60 an hour.

 

[dustinl15]

Yah, I don't want to charge to much for a small town. What would you charge if you have to make a backup for someone. Like pictures or something like that?

 

[SOcRatEs]

Depending on method and equipment.
Lets say, external cdrw/dvdrw. $20hr +blank media.
I round up to give client the benifit. if 1.49 hours $20, if 1.55 hours $40.

 

[Tedster]

If it's a one time, non-intensive project that's also relatively simple and takes less than an hour, I think $25 is reasonable. You have to factor in your expenses like gas, aggrevation, tools you use, etc...

Many computer owners will ask you to fix other stuff once you arrive, so be prepared and charge appropriately. Don't let them take advantage of you.

 

[Bucky]

My rates fluctuate. In general I charge by the job. I have run across many people that simply want me to find out what is wrong with their system and then take it elsewhere. $25 an hour to diagnose and repair, $35 if you do not want me to do the repair.

 

[Lekki_Sheep]

My rates fluctuate. In general I charge by the job. I have run across many people that simply want me to find out what is wrong with their system and then take it elsewhere. $25 an hour to diagnose and repair, $35 if you do not want me to do the repair.

Whoa, man you should move to the UK. Over here a call out fee is generally aroun £40 and additional hours £80/hr. I charge less: £10 and £40, but I'm undercutting support companies and being freelance I've yet to get many regular customers. It's a suplimetary income.

I guess you must have a lot of other techs out there as competition. It's getting that way here, but it's not quite that bad yet. It is of course Blair's fault with his drives to change the populous into scientists and IT pros. So many kids are going into IT that it's beginning to look grim. I can take the whole developing my skills thing, but it's becoming a race.