trades and handymen - which option
Day rate or fixed price? How to pay a tradesperson
A fixed price moves the risk to the tradesperson and they will price that risk into the number. A day rate leaves the risk with you but you only pay for the work actually done. Which is better depends almost entirely on how well the job can be defined before it starts.
Why trust this page: GetBrent is a directory. We take no commission and we provide neither service, so we have no stake in which one you pick - which is the only reason a comparison like this is worth reading.
A fixed price
An agreed sum for a defined piece of work, however long it takes.
Best for
- +Well-defined jobs with a clear scope - a bathroom, a fence, a rewire of a known property
- +Budgeting, where certainty is worth paying something for
- +Anyone who would rather not supervise progress
- +Work where the tradesperson has done the same job many times and can price it accurately
Watch out for
- -Scope becomes everything. Anything not written down becomes a variation, and variations are where disputes live
- -A price that assumes the worst will be higher than a day rate would have been on a good run
- -Cheap fixed prices sometimes mean corners, or a large bill of extras later
A day rate
An agreed daily or hourly rate, charged for the time actually worked.
Best for
- +Jobs nobody can scope until something is opened up - old properties, damp, leaks, unknown wiring
- +Small and varied work, where writing a specification costs more than the work
- +Work you want to direct and change as it proceeds
- +Snagging, repairs and maintenance
Watch out for
- -No ceiling unless you agree one, so agree a review point
- -You carry the risk of a slow week, and of materials runs charged as working time
- -Ask whether travel and collecting materials are charged
The short answer
If you can describe the finished job precisely, take a fixed price and write the scope down properly. If the job involves opening something up and finding out, a day rate with an agreed review point is fairer to both sides and usually cheaper in the end.
What to ask before you book
- •Get the scope in writing, including what is specifically excluded.
- •Agree who supplies materials and whether they are marked up.
- •On a day rate, agree a review point and a figure at which you talk again before continuing.
- •Agree a payment schedule tied to stages, and avoid large sums up front.
- •Check insurance, and for gas or electrical work check the relevant registration.
Find companies near you
Whichever way you go, compare two or three local firms. GetBrent charges no booking fee.
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