The going rate for PC repair?
 

So here's the deal, I used to work in the IT department of an energy company here in Houston. We took care of rollovers, tech support, upgrades, etc but it was always on salary. I've never done any freelance work before, so I'm not sure what a fair rate to charge would be?

Here's the situation, I've got a client, we handle their health insurance, whose ancient computer is on the fritz. They've got some hard disk problems and want me to restore/retrieve as much data from it as I can. Then they'd like me to assist them in the purchase of a new computer. None of this is new to me, it's really second nature, however I don't know what a fair rate would be to charge them. Should I go with an hourly rate, based on how long it takes to restore the computer and retrieve the data? Or should I opt for a flat fee?

Opinions, comments, concerns?

well when i do freelance work i charge $25 an hour, but thats less then what i was makeing at my last job.......

Well, I know for certain that the local PC company here charges about $80.00 an hour for regular PC repairing. For freelance, I wouldn't charge any less than $20 per hour. You can't really make a living charging anything less than that. Not sure how a flat fee would go; customers might get upset over that.

-Lasereth

I charge $80 an hour Canadian for Freelance stuff... but with that job... I'd charge a flat fee. You could spend a few hours on it and then hit them with a big bill and piss 'em off.

I charge $60/hr, billed in 15 minute increments with a minimum service call of 1 hr, customer pays for all parts needed.

I don't like flat fees because it's too easy for you to get screwed. Customers will keep finding things that need to be fixed, or "just check this real quick". And before you know it, your hourly rate is down to minimum wage range. Also with a flat rate, you open yourself up to a followup call in a week that they don't want to pay for thinking it should be a part of what they already paid for.

For that job I would consider an hourly/flat payout scheme. Hourly for the hardware work, flat for helping with the computer purchase for the reason the Heathen mentioned. It could take a while and a huge bill for that is not something most people would expect to see.

The place I used to work at charged $60/hour and the minimum was 1 hour, so 1-60 minutes was $60

Mikado,
Thanks for posting this. I'm in somewhat of the same situation myself.

And thanks to the rest of you for the replies.

dont charge them to the point that they wont call u again.

just make sure that u're their on-call guy.

Thanks for the quotes guys. I'm thinking about cutting them a pretty good break, since they are already clients of ours. I just wanted to make sure what I charge is fair, so that they don't feel I'm taking advantage of them.

The problem turned out to be less than first suspected, so I'm thinking of only charging $20-30 an hour. It took me just a few hours to get them up and running today, and next week once they get their new computers I'm going to set them up and network them through the office.

Thanks for everyone's help.

I can't believe how much you Americans charge, down here in New Zealand I charge $25 an hour and charge installation fees and what-not on top of that but 25 NZ dollars = around 12 US dollars.

I should move to America!

yeah, but put it in perspective. average rent around where I live here in CT is $1000-$1500 a month

In NYC, average rent is over $2000

compare to NZ.

40-80 is fair for PC repair. Consultant fees might be more of a flat rate though rather than hourly.

I do freelance work in the Seattle, WA area I'm on call 24/7 and its $75/hr plus travel time. I've never had a customer griped about being charged that much yet, as it is the going rate for some place like CompUSA or somesuch they charge like $115/hr for onsite stuff.

Average rent here is about 150 a week, that's around 600 a month, DAMN!

Good thing that I live in a house and don't have to worry about rent (just living expenses).

I charge $30 an hour and I charge more if the call is far away and if its an emergency

I have a friend who charges 45/hr with a 30 non-refundable min. but I know that he has a better price than most places around here.

Jesus christ, the amount of time I have put into friends systems for nothing....God I could have over 10k right about now...FFS

For freelance work, I charge $35 an hour, billable in 1/2 hour increments with a minimum of 1 hour for on-site work. I don't mark up the price of the materials either.

If I'm building a PC at home for somebody, I include the labor as part of the overall PC price. In this case I mark up the price of components to cover the labor.

I also have full-time job that pays well, so any freelance work is just extra pocket money.

I have never had any complaints about my prices, especially when they check the local Best Buy or other local computer repair and they charge $80 and higher, plus a $30-50 bench fee.

I have found that if you give the customer a good deal for freelance work, you have the possibility to get more work via referrals. I don't advertise my business at all, most of my work comes from referrals.

We do Corporate IT support and it's 100 bucks an hour if it's made in advance and its 300 bucks the first hour if it's emergency.

Shit, all this time I've been being taken advantage by my "Friends" I've been doing it for free. Do'h

my fees
 

i charge $30 for the first hour, then $20 for every after that... they pay for all parts... and minmum 1 hour

I charge my friends extra, cause they all want to stand around and "help".

It all boils down to what your value is. If you are good and know how to accomplish what they need in the minimum amount of time then charge a lot. $100 to $120 an hour is not too high if you can get them up and running soon.
Most businesses expect a certain return per hour or day. If you can get them back in the groove quickly, they will remember and call you again. I have been doing this for over 20 years and have to make my own free time.

Just make sure you are worth the money....