DIPAZE
Free tool

Service Call Fee Calculator

Set a trip or service call fee that covers your drive time, labor, vehicle and overhead and still leaves the margin you want. Built for HVAC, plumbing and electrical, and every number is yours to change.

min
Minutes in the truck to the job and back.
min
Diagnostic time included (system check, thermostat and airflow test). Use 0 if the fee covers the trip only.
$/hr
Example value. What your time costs you per hour.
Total miles driven for the visit.
$
Example value. Type your own cost per mile. See the note on the IRS rate below.
$
Consumables allowance (refrigerant gauges wear, filters, small fittings). Optional.
%
Added on top of direct costs: insurance, phone, software, office.
%
Share of the price you keep as profit.

All values shown are examples for the selected trade, not averages or recommendations. Replace each one with your own costs.

Calculated service call fee
$264.50

Suggested, rounded up to $5$265
Margin you keep at that price30.1%
Your cost for the trip$185.15
Profit at the calculated fee$79.35
cost = ($135.00 + $21.00 + $5.00) x (1 + 15%) = $185.15; price = $185.15 / (1 - 30%) = $264.50

Step-by-step breakdown

  1. Labor = (drive minutes + diagnostic minutes) ÷ 60 × labor rate = $135.00
  2. Vehicle = miles × cost per mile = $21.00
  3. Fixed costs (consumables allowance) = $5.00
  4. Overhead = (labor + vehicle + fixed) × overhead % = $24.15
  5. Cost of the trip = labor + vehicle + fixed + overhead = $185.15
  6. Price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) = $264.50

Margin is a share of the price, so a 30% margin divides the cost by 0.70. Adding 30% on top of cost (a markup) would give a lower price and a smaller margin than you planned: markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin), so 30% margin equals a 42.9% markup.

What the fee should cover

A service call fee is not extra profit. It pays for the part of a visit that happens before any repair starts. Tell the customer what it covers when they book, and the fee is much easier to explain.

  • The drive to and from the home, including time stuck in traffic
  • A first look at the system so you can tell the customer what is wrong
  • Truck, fuel and tool wear for the trip
  • The slot on your schedule that you held for this customer

Decide in advance whether the fee is credited toward the repair if the customer books the work, and say so in your quote. Check your local rules on how fees must be disclosed.

Start from a trade example

Illustrative starting points built from the example values, not industry figures. Load one into the calculator, then replace the numbers with yours.

Examples by trade

How to use this tool

  1. Pick your tradeThe trade only changes the example values and the wording. Every number stays editable.
  2. Enter your own costsDrive time, labor rate, miles, vehicle cost per mile, overhead and the margin you want.
  3. Read the feeCompare the calculated fee with the rounded suggestion and see the margin you keep.

Method and sources

The formulas above are plain arithmetic on the numbers you enter. This page does not claim an industry average for service call fees, and none of the example values are market data.

About vehicle cost: the IRS publishes standard mileage rates for business use. They exist to calculate a tax deduction, not to set prices, so use the figure as a reference at most and replace it with your own cost per mile. Current rates are on the IRS standard mileage rates page.

This tool is a pricing aid, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Local rules may limit or require disclosure of trip and diagnostic fees.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a service call fee?
Add up what the trip costs you: your labor rate times the drive time and any diagnostic time you include, the vehicle cost for the miles, and any consumables you always use. Add your overhead percentage, then divide by (1 minus your target margin) to get the price. The calculator above shows each step with your numbers.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Margin is the share of the price that is profit. Markup is the profit as a share of your cost. A 30% margin needs a price of cost / 0.70, which is the same as a 42.9% markup. Adding 30% to your cost instead only gives a 23.1% margin, so a price built that way keeps less than you planned.
Should I charge for drive time?
Your time in the truck is time you cannot bill to another customer, so it is a real cost. Many businesses include it in a trip fee, others build it into the hourly rate. Either way it has to be paid for somewhere. The calculator lets you set drive minutes to zero if you prefer to cover it in your hourly rate.
Should the fee include the diagnostic?
That is your choice. Some businesses include a set amount of diagnostic time in the fee and credit it toward the repair if the customer books the work. Others charge the fee for the visit only. Enter the minutes you include, or zero if the fee covers the trip alone, and tell customers before you arrive what the fee covers.
What should I enter for vehicle cost per mile?
Use your own cost: fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance and the loss in value of the vehicle, divided by the miles you drive. The default of $0.70 is only an example. The IRS publishes a standard mileage rate, but that number is for tax deductions, not for pricing, so check it against your own costs before you use it.
Can I round the fee?
Yes. A round number is easier to quote on the phone. The tool shows the calculated fee and a suggested fee rounded up to the next $5, plus the margin you actually keep at that rounded price. Rounding up keeps you at or above your target margin.

More free tools

Contractor Hourly Rate Calculator

Turn the income you want into the hourly rate you need to charge.

Open tool →

Job Estimate Generator

Build a simple estimate with line items, tax and deposit and save it as a PDF.

Open tool →

Profit Margin & Markup Calculator

Convert cost, price, margin and markup in any direction, with the formulas.

Open tool →

Missed Call Revenue Calculator

See how much revenue unanswered calls cost you each month and each year.

Open tool →