Per Hour Charge

$15 to $40 is what the employee grosses but nowhere near the rate the customer is charged. You need to add liability, workman's comp, rent, telephone, electric, equipment, unemployment insurance, vehicle insurance, gas, tolls, parking, auto repairs, etc etc etc, and then that dreaded thing called PROFIT.

Trying to go the hourly rate avenue will always cost you more. Offer someone an hourly wage and they will be there forever. Pay someone by the job and you'll have a hard time remembering what they looked like because they will be gone before you know it.

Think of it this way......if attorneys charged by the case rather than by the hour we wouldn't know Johnny Cochran from Johnny Walker, F.Lee Bailey from Beetle Bailey, or Doug Rader from Robert bAss (anyone notice the vast amount of disturbing similarities between those two?).

rqo wrote:

You make the customer pay for your "Profit", YOU'VE GOT NERVE :-))

Average charges for labor on CCTV systems vary by location, but $75 per hr would be a good mid-point. Running cable would generally not be a separate charge, unless bidding a prewire of new construction. In this case it might be slightly cheaper per-hour.

Depends. On true install we'd do it by bid, which is usually based on how many manhours we think it's gonna take. If it's a small job...adding a one wire or something like that we'd do it by manhour + cog + profit.

75-85 bucks is common around here. I know one guy that charges 35.00 but he's a looney toon...I wouldn't start my truck up for only 35 bucks.

I am at $75, and thinking about raising it. js

Problem is, there's getting to be more of the $35 ass wipes everywhere...... UGH.....

Man, I'd love to tell people $350 after hours. "Uh, no I work til 5, then I have to pick up little Jimmy, and then.... could you come over at about 7?" Yeah, right.

Maybe I'll try it your way the next time one of my deadbeats calls cuz he can't set the alarm and, "oh, yes, I have checked to see that all the windows are closed..." js

everywhere......

Yup, they are the guys that were making 15 bucks and hour, last week, working for someone that was paying all of the overhead for them. Now they figure they can be in business for themselves and $35 an hour is big time. Problem is, their whole business is on the dashboard of their truck and they are only working half a much because their life style was based on the $15 an hour. Gives them more time to drink beer.

And..we are finding that some builders are just hiring the mexicans to pull wire...you know the same guys that sweep out the construction debris...seriously. They have n*****ts like us provide a detailed proposal then just have they're own spare-hands pull cheap shit wire.

| > 75-85 bucks is common around here. | > I know one guy that charges 35.00 but he's a looney toon...I wouldn't | > start | > my truck up for only 35 bucks. | >

| >

| Problem is, there's getting to be more of the $35 ass wipes everywhere...... | UGH..... | >

| >

| |

Well...why not? Lookit how ADT "sells" they're high priced monitoring with QSP service:

Without QSP:

" Labor - $175 plus ** a.. Traveling to Your Home b.. Finding the Problem c.. Repairing the Problem Materials - $3.00 to $100.00 or more

The single * applies to clients WITH QSP, I can't find what the double ** relates to.

*For covered services only. Valid only on certain systems which are in good working condition. Exclusively for systems monitored by ADT and for customers in good standing. Also, if you have a service problem not covered by the Limited Warranty you will receive a discount with QSP. QSP repairs will be made Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Repairs made at other times will incur additional charges. Costs for services without QSP are based on an average.

Quality Service Plan (QSP)/Extended Limited Warranty. During the period you elect to receive Extended Limited Warranty we will repair or, at our option, replace any defective part of the system, including wiring, and will make any needed mechanical adjustments, all at no charge to you. We will use new or functionally operative parts for replacements. This Extended Limited Warranty is for our benefit only, and may not be enforced by any other person. This Extended Limited Warranty gives you specific legal rights. This Extended Limited Warranty will go into effect upon the start on your next billing cycle. For service call 1-800-ADT-ASAP (1-800-238-2727). The Extended Limited Warranty will automatically renew for successive thirty (30) day terms at our then current Extended Limited Warranty rate unless terminated by either party?s written notice at least thirty (30) days before the end of the then-current term. If you purchase the Extended Limited Warranty after the initial system installation, your system must be in good working condition at the time of the Extended Limited Warranty purchase.

Warranty Exclusions. We perform Extended Limited Warranty services only during our normal working hours. IF YOU REQUEST US TO PERFORM EXTENDED LIMITED WARRANTY SERVICES OUTSIDE OUR NORMAL WORKING HOURS, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY US FOR THE SERVICES AT OUR THEN APPLICABLE RATES FOR LABOR AND PARTS. THE EXTENDED LIMITED WARRANTY DOES NOT APPLY IF WE DETERMINE UPON INSPECTION THAT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING OCNDITIONS CAUSED THE NEED FOR SERVICE: A. Damage resulting from accidents, Acts of God, alterations or misuse: B. You fail to properly close or secure a door, window or other point protected by an alarm device, C. You fail to properly follow the operating instruction; D. Trouble in a telephone line or due to interruption of power; E. Repairs needed to window foil, security screens, exterior mounted devices or PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), batteries; F. Ordinary maintenance or wear and tear; G. Alterations to your premises; or H. Alterations to the system made at your request, or made necessary by a change to your premises, damage to your premises or the alarm system, or for any other cause beyond our control. You must furnish the necessary electrical power through your meter at your expense to obtain warranty services."

7?" | Yeah, right. | | Maybe I'll try it your way the next time one of my deadbeats calls cuz he | can't set the alarm and, "oh, yes, I have checked to see that all the | windows are closed..." | js | |

It would strongly depend on the market. I have always charged very well and used nothing, but top quality equipment. As a result I could pay a very competant and profficent installer quite well. Unfortunately I have been losing jobs to cut rate installers. Installing cheap equipment to lesser standards and rushing through the jobs. I am faced with a choice. Do the same, or don't get the jobs. If I do the same I can't afford to pay on the high end of the scale.

I do have a few clients who are willing to pay my going rate and use the equipment I reccomend because they have some knowledge and experience with me and my installs. They KNOW my stuff works. However its pretty darned difficult to build a business and train technicians, either new or experienced, to do good work on one job and barely works work on another.

I would imagine there aren't many companies in the world paying $40 an hour to an installer. I got offered a little around $35 once several years ago as a complete system integrator and designer, but not as an installer. Basically that is for somebody who can design and troubleshoot from memory and knowledge on-site and on-the-fly. A person who can keep the big picture of large jobs in focus in the background while tracking every little detail of how and why up close on the task at hand. There might be a few that make a little more, but not very darned many. I decided I could keep doing that for myself and in the end I will own it all instead of doing it for somebody else.

Realistically an "installer" probably won't make more than $16-$20 / hr and then only if they are very good, very fast, don't make a statistically significant number of mistkaes, and fix their own mistakes usually before anybody else even notices. For the avergae puke the range is probably more like $11-16 with the high end being what he is worth with atleast a couple years experience. JMHO.

As to what to charge. I caculate the job out with a spreadsheet per device and cable run and then charge $75 per hour with a fudge factor of about 10%. I will be raising my hourly rate the 1st of the year. Probably only to about $80. Just enough to cover the increase in insurnace and fuel I've had to live with for the last year. I calculate all jobs based on that rate except if I have to do actual networking. I double my time for that part of the jobs so I can deal with paranoid IT professionals.

I get $75 in Yuma and clients who want quality work and are willing to pay for it are relieved when they hear my rates. You may have more cut rate competitors, but even so you are in a higher price market in SD. Fuel is higher. Insurance is higher. Housing is higher. You should certainly be able get paid more than $75 in SD.

Of course that depends on the client and the job. A small alarm install can pay a little less because of the RMR, but you have to seriously understand that a couple hundred bucks in RMR won't make up for a thousand dollar reduction in the installation of a system. You have got to get paid.

They cheap equipment throw it in video guys are hurting some of my video sales, but my industrial clients won't even talk to those guys.

Thanks to all for the information I've read so far.

The local installers in my area, are all over the price map on this one. I felt that the internet and this newsgroup in particular would be the best source for information.

rqo

Who's Robert bAss?

Is he the guy that died a while ago?

I know what I'm about to say falls into the realm of rationalization but the way I think of people like that is ......... I hope they do a lot of business and get a lot of clients. It's all the sooner they'll be out of business and I (or you) will be taking over their customers. I don't know how true it is, but it seems that it's just GOT to be that way.

When i ran my installation/svc co, I offered "regular" hours of 10 am to 7 pm. That way, I avoided rush-hour traffic, and the customer had the option of after-work hours for normal svc & prices. They appreciated the effort, and since they were putting food in the fridge, it was the least I could do for them.

I love it when they pre-wire only one side of a French Door, and of course, it's the WRONG F-----G SIDE.........