How much to charge for computer repair?
This is a good question. I have been working on computers for 12 years (independent) and this is how I set up pricing.
1) Decide about how long it will take to fix the problem in hours.
2) Base your price on this hourly rate. Hourly rates are anywhere from $50 to $100 per hour depending on where you are, how far out the job is (more for very rural areas), if they are bringing it in or it is a house call, or if it is a laptop/notebook, This will be your flat rate, which is based on the hours you will be working on it. 99% of all fixes will only take 1 to 2 hours.
3) Only if there are unknown circumstances, do you charge more. An example is if you get rid of a virus, and it is routine, but took 10 minutes to an hour longer than you thought, stick with your price, If the customer suddenly drops off all his media to clean out, that would be extra.
4) Remember that ALL problems need to be fixed when a computer is returned to the customer, like if you are setting up Windows, and find a bad cooling fan, you charge for the part, but keep the labor the same. If you let the computer out of the shop (or leave the site) without addressing the problem, it is now your responsibility, unless you tell the customer, and they opt out of you simply fixing it, which is very unlikely.
Good luck!
I’m in the business. Depends on how good you are. People would rather pay a guy $75 for him spending an hour or less repairing their rig than to pay a guy charging $50 an hour for 2 hours time if he has to fumble around to get the rig fixed. Can’t really tell you what you should charge not knowing how good you are. You will need to build a customer base where you have happy customers referring you to their friends. Also depends on what the competition charges.
