None of these is the right answer on its own.
Pick the one that fits how you sell — then put cost-plus underneath it as the floor, whichever one you picked.
1. Cost-plus
Work out what it costs you, add the margin you want.
Works when Costs are predictable and you are the one carrying them.
Watch out It never asks what the customer thinks it is worth, so it quietly caps what you can earn.
The floor price you just calculated.
2. Going rate
Charge roughly what comparable businesses charge.
Works when Buyers compare easily and you are new enough to need a reference point.
Watch out You inherit their cost structure, not yours. And it only ever moves one direction.
Every shop within three miles landing on the same number.
3. Value-based
Price on what the customer gets, not on what it costs you to deliver.
Works when You can name the outcome in dollars or hours saved, and prove it.
Watch out You have to be able to say the number out loud without flinching. Most of the work is the proof.
Bookkeeping priced on the penalties avoided and the Sundays returned.
4. Time and materials
Bill the hours you spend plus whatever you had to buy.
Works when Scope is genuinely unknown, or the customer keeps changing it.
Watch out You get punished for being good: the faster you work, the less you earn. Your ceiling is hours in a day.
A repair call where nobody knows what is behind the wall yet.
5. Fixed price per job
One number for a clearly defined piece of work.
Works when You have done it enough times to know how long it takes.
Watch out Scope creep eats the margin. Write down what is not included, not just what is.
A standard house clean, a standard install, a standard package.
6. Good, better, best
The same core thing at three levels, three prices.
Works when Customers want different amounts of it, and some will pay for more.
Watch out Three is the number. Add a fourth and people stop deciding and start leaving.
Basic, standard and full-service versions of the same visit.
7. Retainer or subscription
A set amount every month for ongoing work or access.
Works when The need comes back every month anyway.
Watch out Define the edges or it becomes unlimited. Say how many, how often, how fast.
Monthly bookkeeping, a service plan, a maintenance agreement.
8. Bundle
Several things together for one price, less than buying them separately.
Works when You have something valuable that costs you almost nothing extra to include.
Watch out Never bundle your best seller with your worst. You have just discounted the thing that was already selling.
Clean plus windows plus oven, once a quarter.
The one that is not optional
Cost-plus is not a model you choose. It is the floor underneath every other model on this page.
Quote by the hour, by the job, by the month or by the outcome — if the number does not clear your
all-in cost plus the margin you need, the model was never the problem.
Which one fits you
Can you say what the customer gets in dollars or hours?
Then price on that. Value-based, with cost-plus underneath as your floor.
Does the same need come back every month?
Put it on a retainer. Predictable for them, predictable for you.
Is the scope genuinely unpredictable?
Time and materials — but quote a range and a cap, or they will not say yes.
Do your customers want very different amounts?
Build three tiers. Most people pick the middle one, which is the point.
None of the above?
Fixed price per job. That is not a failure
of imagination — it is the model customers find easiest to say yes to.