How to Build a Plumbing Price Book (Flat-Rate Pricing Guide)

A price book is a list of the jobs you do most, each with a set price and a clear description of what that price includes. With one, two plumbers in your shop quote the same job the same way, you stop pricing from memory at the kitchen table, and customers get a firm number up front.

You can buy a ready-made flat-rate book, but the most useful one is built from your own jobs, your own times and your own costs. This guide shows how.

Flat rate or time and materials?

Both have a place. Flat rate works best for repeatable service work: the same toilet swap, faucet or water heater, done many times. Time and materials (T&M) suits open-ended work where nobody knows what's behind the wall: remodels, old leaks, slab work.

	Flat rate	Time and materials
Customer sees	One price before you start	An hourly rate and an estimate
Risk of a slow job	Yours	The customer's
Reward for working fast	Yours	None
Best for	Repeat service jobs	Unknown scope, remodels

Many shops do both: flat rates for the common jobs in the price book, and a written estimate or T&M for everything else.

Step 1: List the jobs you do most

Go through last year's invoices and write down every job type. Count how often each one came up. Your first price book needs 20 to 30 lines, not 500. Start with the jobs that make up most of your calls: water heaters, toilets, faucets, drain clearing, shutoff valves, garbage disposals, leaks.

Step 2: Define exactly what each price includes

"Toilet replacement" means different things to different people. Write the scope in one line, so the price means the same thing every time:

What's included: remove and dispose of the old toilet, new wax ring and bolts, set and test.
What's not: a new toilet if the customer supplies it, flange repair, flooring repair.
Who supplies the fixture: you, or the customer. These are two different lines with two different prices.

Step 3: Use your real average time

Use the time the job actually takes you on an average day, start to finish, including setup and cleanup. Not your fastest time, and not the manufacturer's estimate. If you have a few weeks of job notes, average them. If the same job swings a lot, split it: "water heater, garage install" and "water heater, attic install" are different jobs.

Step 4: Price each line

Use the same formula for every line, with the hourly price and markup from how to price plumbing jobs:

Price = (hours × hourly price) + (parts × (1 + markup)) + fixed extras

Here is a simple template. The numbers are examples only, using a $100 hourly price and a 30% parts markup:

Job	Includes	Hours	Parts cost	Price
Toilet replacement, customer-supplied toilet	Remove and haul old toilet, wax ring, bolts, supply line, set and test	1.5	$35	$196
Kitchen faucet replacement, we supply	Mid-range faucet, two supply lines, remove old faucet	1.5	$160	$358
Shutoff valve replacement (each)	Quarter-turn valve, fitting, test	0.5	$20	$76
Drain clearing, cable, accessible cleanout	Clear one line from an accessible cleanout	1.5	—	$150
50-gal gas water heater, garage, we supply	Heater, connectors, haul-away; permit extra	3.5	$650	$1,280

Check the math on one line: the toilet is 1.5 × $100 = $150 labor, plus $35 × 1.30 = $45.50 in parts, which rounds to $196. The water heater line includes an $85 haul-away fee.

Step 5: Add the add-ons people forget

The lines that save the most money are the small ones. Give each its own price, so adding it to a quote takes one tap instead of a calculation:

Expansion tank, drain pan, new shutoff valve, supply lines
Haul-away and disposal
Permit and inspection (often passed through at cost, plus your time)
Service call or diagnostic fee
After-hours or emergency fee
Difficult access: attic, crawlspace, stairs

For water heaters in particular, see the 12-item water heater quote checklist.

Step 6: Offer options where it helps

Some shops show two or three versions of the same job, for example a standard tank and a high-efficiency one, or a repair and a replacement. Options let the customer choose instead of shopping you against another plumber. Keep it to a few choices; too many slows the decision down.

Step 7: Keep it current and keep it on your phone

Review prices at least once a year, and when a supplier raises prices.
Compare your quoted times with real times every few months, and fix the lines that are always off.
Keep the book where you quote: on your phone, not in a binder at the shop.

Plumbo builds each quote from your own price book, offers your add-ons as one-tap choices, and holds back any starter price until you confirm it. Try the 60-second demo →

The short version

List your 20 most common jobs. Write what each price includes. Price them from your real time, your hourly price and a written markup rule. Give every forgettable add-on its own line. Review it every year, and keep it where you quote.