How To Price Moving Jobs: Pricing Guide
A Closer Look At Estimating Moving Jobs
Understanding how to price moving jobs is essential for launching a successful moving company. Pricing your services involves understanding your market and competitors, creating estimates that cover all parts of a moving job, and upselling package deals.
This approach helps in developing pricing models that are both competitive and appealing to customers. We’ll explore how these factors contribute to the final price and how to send estimates, quotes, and invoices through Jobber’s customer relationship management (CRM) software. For an in-depth moving company startup plan, get our step-by-step guide below.
Understand Your Market and Competitors
Before diving into the details of creating an estimate, you first must know your market. Researching other moving companies in the area gives valuable insights into the average cost and prices of moving services within the market. This helps to ensure your pricing is competitive yet fair.
Consider the variety of services competitors offer, such as packing services and long-distance moves, and how they structure their pricing. Also, note any special promotions for local moves or off-peak seasons that could attract customers.
Additionally, customer reviews can indicate where your service could improve or excel beyond the competition. By deeply understanding the market landscape and how professional moving companies structure their moving costs, you can better position your company to attract and retain customers.
This strategic approach helps save money and enhances the ability to provide accurate estimates and effectively manage relocation expenses.
How To Price Moving Jobs?
Pricing moving jobs effectively is crucial for the success of any moving company. It involves more than just calculating the distance or the hours worked; it requires a comprehensive understanding of various factors influencing the final price.
From considering the type of services, such as packing or long-distance moves, to assessing additional costs like moving specialty items or upgraded moving insurance. Each element plays a significant role in providing accurate estimates. Now, let’s look at how to price moving jobs.
1. Visit the Customer's Location
Whether pricing moving jobs for residential or commercial moves, visiting the customer’s location is always a good option. Being present on-site can significantly improve the accuracy of your estimates. Visiting the customer’s location allows moving companies to:
- Assess the volume and type of items that will be moved
- Identify potential challenges such as narrow stairways or large furniture
- Evaluate access for moving trucks
This hands-on approach ensures the moving company and customer clearly understand the scope of work and the associated costs. Following this method builds trust and helps prevent unexpected additional costs during the move, guaranteeing a smoother moving process. Overall, visiting the customer’s location will enhance customer satisfaction and produce accurate estimates.
2. Create an Inventory Checklist
Creating an inventory checklist helps all professional movers determine how to price moving jobs. A checklist accounts for all items being relocated, including large furniture and small decorations.
This helps break down the moving costs by providing clarity on the volume of items and type of packing materials needed. Such thorough preparation not only aids in calculating moving costs but also in planning logistics, like the size of the moving truck needed and the number of staff.
This detailed approach minimizes the risk of additional costs and supports moving companies in offering precise moving estimates, ultimately helping to save money for both the mover and the customer.
3. Consider the Distance of the Move
Moving companies often differentiate between local moves and long-distance moves, as the distance greatly influences the mover’s cost. Local moves are typically calculated at an hourly rate of anywhere between $25 and $100+ per hour per mover.
Whereas long-distance moves might be priced based on the shipment weight and total miles traveled. Professional movers also need to account for fuel costs, driver time, and the moving truck wear and tear.
All of these factors contribute to the final price. Determining the distance helps moving companies give accurate estimates, manage logistics more efficiently, and save money on unforeseen moving expenses.
4. Plan the Moving Date
The choice of date can significantly influence the final price due to variations in demand. Peak moving times, such as weekends, the beginning and end of the month, or summer months, can drive up prices due to higher demands for moving services.
Conversely, choosing a weekday or off-peak season can save money on moving costs. This is because moving companies may offer discounts during these times to fill their schedules.
Considering these factors, customers and moving companies can negotiate the best terms, leading to cost-effective and efficient moving jobs.
5. Charge based on Weight
Moving companies, particularly larger and more established ones, may charge based on weight when providing moving services for long-distance moves. This method is often utilized because it reflects the resources required more accurately.
Heavier loads typically consume more fuel, require larger moving trucks, and call for more labor, all of which increase the mover’s cost. Professional moving companies find that charging by weight helps give a more accurate estimate of the moving expenses, leading to more precise billing and fewer disputes over the final price. The average cost is $0.50 to $0.80 per pound.
This approach also aligns with industry standards, providing transparency in moving expenses and helping justify the cost of hiring movers. Using this method ensures that the price reflects the scale of the job, which can help customers and movers alike manage additional costs and moving expenses more effectively.
6. Additional Costs
When pricing moving jobs, it’s essential to consider potential additional costs that can affect the overall moving costs. Here are some common additional expenses that moving companies might encounter:
- Stairs: If the moving process involves multiple flights of stairs, extra charges may apply due to the increased labor and time required.
- Specialty items: Items like pianos, safes, or art require special handling and equipment, increasing the cost.
- Packing services: Full packing services include labor and the cost of packing materials such as boxes, bubble wrap, and tape.
- Upgraded moving insurance: Basic coverage might not suffice for high-value items, prompting the purchase of full-value protection of moving insurance.
- Shuttle service: Used in long-distance moves where a smaller vehicle is needed to transport items from a large moving truck that can’t access the destination directly.
- Long carry fees: If moving truck parking is far from the entry point, additional fees might be necessary to cover the extra distance movers need to carry items.
These additional costs are vital for providing an accurate estimate and ensuring moving companies cover the complexities of the job. Ultimately, all additional services affect the final price and the success of the moving process.
7. Estimate Terms
Understanding the different types of moving estimates is crucial for both moving companies and customers. Here are some common types of estimates used:
- Binding moving estimate: This guarantees that the price quoted in the estimate is the total cost you will pay, regardless of any differences between your items’ estimated and actual weights. This provides a fixed cost that cannot increase but can decrease if the actual weight is lower.
- Non-binding moving estimate: Unlike a binding estimate, a non-binding estimate approximates the cost, which can increase or decrease depending on the actual weight or number of items moved. This estimate offers flexibility but can lead to higher costs than initially expected.
- Binding-not-to-exceed moving estimate: This option is often preferred by customers as it ensures that the final price will not exceed the quoted price, but it will decrease if the shipment weighs less than originally estimated. It offers a maximum cost guarantee while still allowing for cost savings.
Each of these estimates manages expectations between moving companies and their clients. This ensures there is a clear understanding of the potential moving costs and helps to provide an accurate estimate. Choosing the right type of estimate can help customers save money and avoid unexpected additional costs during their move. This in turn may persuade them to move forward with your company.
Upsell Tiered Pricing Packages
Tiered package pricing is a strategic approach for moving companies to upsell additional services and land larger moving projects. By offering deals in basic, standard, and premium packages, companies can cater to a wide range of customer needs and budgets.
This method not only simplifies the moving process for clients but also allows businesses to enhance their moving services with add-ons like full packing services, moving insurance, and storage unit options.
For example, a basic package might include simple loading and unloading services, while a premium package could offer an all-inclusive bundle. Services could include packing materials, advanced moving insurance, and after-move cleaning.
This structure encourages customers to opt for higher-tier packages, which increases the average cost and moving job value.
It also helps moving companies clearly communicate each tier’s value and distinct advantages, making it easier to hire movers and secure customer trust. This approach not only aids in accurate estimates but also boosts potential revenue through strategic upsells.
Sending Estimates, Quotes, and Invoices
Once you’ve determined how to price moving jobs, sending the estimates, quotes, and invoices is the next step. This process is done through Jobber’s customer relationship management (CRM) software.
A CRM system can automatically create estimates and quickly convert them into quotes or invoices. On top of this, Jobber can schedule moving jobs, accept payments, and automate many manual day-to-day tasks. Learn more about Jobber’s CRM software below.
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