Table of contents
Table of contents
Pricing shouldn’t be a guessing game – for you or your customers. Even if you work in an industry where each job gets priced up on a case-by-case basis, it’s at least useful for you to have a pricing list.
In this article we’ll explain what a price list actually is, why it matters more than you’d think, and how to put one together without it becoming another job on your never-ending to-do list.
It’s exactly what it says on the tin – a clear breakdown of what you charge for what you do. That could be a fixed price per product, an hourly rate, a day rate, or even a set of packages such as ‘basic’, ‘standard’, and ‘premium’.
A hairdresser will usually have a set price list for a full head of highlights, with additional charges for a cut, and a blow dry.
If you’re a wedding photographer, you could have a basic package that states you’ll photograph the ceremony, a standard package that does the ceremony plus dinner, or a premium package that includes photographs from getting ready, to the very last drunken dance.
Having this worked out and ready to go has several advantages:
Think about the last time you looked into hiring a tradesperson, a freelancer, or even just booking a haircut. If their prices were nowhere to be found, did that make you more confident in booking them, or less? If you said yes, we expect you love a surprise.
Regardless of how you decide to price your products or services, a fees list somewhere your customers can actually see it is one step closer to getting more intentional enquiries. Nothing panics a customer faster than pretending to ‘think it over’ when the real problem is the price.
Most people like to see a price upfront, or even a ballpark, for example “from £X”. Not having one doesn’t make you seem mysterious or premium. You aren’t Prada. Soz.
It usually just reads as this is going to involve an awkward conversation later.
Skip the pricing list and a few things tend to happen:
You end up quoting the same job over and over for people who were never going to say yes at your rate.
No visible pricing often gets read as “expensive” by default, even when you’re not.
Without a clear starting point, customers feel like they can (and should) haggle. Which is fine if you’re willing to negotiate, but a massive problem if you’re not.
It’s nice to be easy going, but not if this means you charge two customers differently for the exact same job in a very short space of time – especially if they compare notes! Word of mouth recommendations are a well-known form of marketing, so this could be a disaster for your reputation.
A pricing list does a lot of quiet work for you. It answers the “how much?” question before anyone has to ask it, which means fewer enquiries from people who were never in your budget range, and more time spent on customers who already know what they’re signing up for.
It also makes you look organised – which, much like keeping your books in order, tends to build more trust than any amount of persuasive sales talk.
Fixed prices are better when your work is repeatable. For example, you’ve cut 50 mullets in a day (against your will or not). Or you’ve designed several small business logos for social media.
A fixed list means less admin for you and instant clarity for them. Everyone wins. Apart from anyone who begged their partner to not get that mullet.
If your work varies wildly from job to job (say, you’re a builder and every kitchen extension is a different size, spec, and headache), a flat price list isn’t realistic. Putting one out there anyway could see you promising a price you can’t actually deliver on.
In these cases, an estimate or a proper quote, worked out per job, is the more honest option.
You don’t have to pick one or the other. Plenty of businesses run both – a published price list for their standard offerings, with “get a quote” as the option for anything custom or larger-scale. It gives people the reassurance of some visible pricing, while leaving room for the bigger, more complicated jobs to be priced properly.
This is the bit people put off the longest, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Start with your actual costs – materials, time, overheads, software, insurance, whatever keeps your business running – and make sure your price covers all of it plus a margin you’re actually happy with, not just “enough to get by.”
Own your craft. You don’t have to be modest when it comes to earning a living.
Keeping an eye on your profit and loss is genuinely one of the best ways to sense-check this. If your reports show you’re barely breaking even despite very low costs then there might be a pricing problem, not a “work harder” problem.
If you want a proper walkthrough on figuring out your rate, we’ve covered that here.
A pricing list you set two years ago and never touched again isn’t doing you any favours. Costs go up, and if your prices haven’t moved with them, your margin is quietly shrinking every month. It’s worth reviewing your pricing at least once a year.
If you’re not sure whether it’s time, here’s how to tell if a price increase is overdue.
Once you’ve got a pricing list worth having, make sure people can actually find it:
The goal is simple: attract the right customers and make them feel confident instead of anxious.
Once your pricing’s sorted, Pandle can help you turn it into invoices in seconds and keep track of whether your numbers actually add up to a healthy profit margin.
A creative content writer specialising across business, finance and software topics. I have a love for all things writing, and creating engaging, easy to understand content that helps everyday people!
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