Part One – Upfront Pricing Isn’t Magic, It’s Science and Consistency
Series: Getting Paid On Time and On-Site
Guest: Marcel Donnelly from Flat Rate NOW
Tradespeople should receive payment for their hard work on time and on-site, just like every other job. Sometimes, work is contractual, and money is distributed over a specified period. However, essentially, you should be getting paid once your work is done. It’s that simple.
In this series, Marcel dives into the fundamentals of getting paid. For our first episode, it’s all about upfront pricing—it’s science and consistency. How should you set up your company, so you never have to worry about chasing bills? With upfront pricing, you can reduce huge overheads in expenses and chasing debts and, at the same time, cut all your personal, business, and financial stress.
If you are interested in pricing and getting paid for your time and work, you may also like these episodes:
- TSS087 – Getting paid for bids, quotes, and proposals – [LINK]
- TSS095 – Does your business suit flat-rate pricing? – [LINK]
- TSS172 – Stop Working For Free, Time Is Money – [LINK]
About this podcast, ‘Upfront Pricing Isn’t Magic, It’s Science and Consistency’
Podcast Highlights:
- 01:58 – The issue of pricing for tradespeople
- 06:04 – No cash flow: receiving payments at the end of the job is not ideal
- 07:35 – Getting paid for quotations, proposals, and estimates
- 10:20 – Importance of letting people understand the actual costs and building a price that encompasses all expenses
- 13:13 – Finding the technology and having the right conversations with the right people
- 17:20 – Reducing labour and overtime
- 18:25 – Money and stress; Leveraging your resources for pricing
- 22:13 – Addressing resistance from clients
- 29:17 – Upfront pricing model: building processes and standards, giving your customers a choice
- 36:53 – More on the science and consistency of upfront pricing
Starting off the series, our guest Marcel Donnelly talks to us about the science and consistency behind the upfront pricing model. Receiving payments for tradespeople has been an issue in the industry for so many years.
Different firms implement different systems, and you also have to consider what your client wants. However, you need to let your clients understand the actual costs of your services—this includes more than just labour. You need to cover vehicle expenses, insurance, location expenses, electricity, technology, and so on.
He emphasizes the need to build a figure that encompasses all your expenses. And this is important because problems with pricing can disrupt your cash flow. You cannot operate properly without consistent cash flow, which can cause you all sorts of stress. When you adequately address your pricing issues, you can also find ways to reduce labour and overtime.
Additionally, the upfront pricing model is not just beneficial to you, but also for your customers. With this pricing model, you can give them options and find common ground with them. This way, there’s no buyer remorse.
Marcel will be back on our next episode to talk about technology and how it can remove friction and improve efficiency in your workflow.
About Marcel Donnelly
Marcel Donnelly is the Director of
Flat Rate NOW, Australia’s first choice plumbing software. Based in Sydney, Australia, Flat Rate NOW helps its clients take their plumbing, gasfitting, and drainage business to the cloud. From time and material pricing, they can go to digital flat rate pricing to increase their deals, sales, and save them time.
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Marcel has left behind 5 electrical and 5 plumbing
inspection checklist resources for you to get hold of. They come complete with frameworks and instructions on how to best use them. Complete the form and get taken to the folder that contains all of the documents.
