How much should I charge for PC repair?

I would suggest that he maybe get A+ certified. It is a lot quicker and it sounds more in line with the kind of things he's doing. A local college probably has hands-on training classes. (I teach that course where I work.)

I don't know if this helps , I do the same thing and I charge $15 per hour . If they have the money .

I own my own company in England and I do the same, servicing my local community by fixing or cleaning PC's.

I originally worked for a company for 8 years and they obviously knew I knew my stuff, I got made redundant that was when I formed my own pC service company, I then need to prove to my new customers that I knew what I was doing so I went back to college and did a degree in computing, which comprises of an high national certificate and a high nation diploma.

I'm half way through my HNC its extremly good and teaches you all aspects of computing from networking to PC building.

I charge around £35 per hour which $65, thats the going rate over here in England.

Hop that info was useful.

when i was reparing computers as a side job (you know for movie money)i was charging $15 per hour but most of my customers were on a fixed income and it was when i could get to them...
i have an A+ cert and better then 20 years with computers and 13 years in tech support
i now do this full time and charge $50 per hour (some of my old customers get a discount) i am liberal with my time if i'm sitting around watching a utility run i'll round down if the client asks tons of dumb questions i might round up LOL

That is one thing I hate about doctors and lawyers...they still get paid even if they don't produce the desired result - what a gig!

But, consumers won't stand for "well, I spent 4 hours trying to fix your PC, but I couldn't...so that will be $300 please", no matter how much certification you have.

So, I feel you have every right to charge for you work *if* you produced the desired result, regardless of how long it took. How much you charge should be evaluated by how long you think it would have taken an experienced tech to do the same work. It would be unfair to charge the customer for the 8 hours it took you (not being an expert), when an experienced tech could have done the same work in 4.

I've been fixing pc's for friends and students (senior citizens) who take my computer classes at a nearby senior center. Since I'm retired, I've been doing it free, but I've had a number of folks who got upset that I wouldn't accept payment. As a result, while I still don't charge, if someone insists, I tell them what I would charge if I did charge, and that I'll accept whatever they think is fair. So far, that has worked well for me. They pay whatever they think is fair, and I get something for my efforts.

More power to you if you can earn a few bucks fixing a computer. After all nothing is free in this world and people should pay you something for your time. I used to help people out and I never got a dime for my help. Just lots of "Well John or so and so said to do this and I'm not sure what you are doing is right." Even after I fixed their problem and the computer is work great. So with comments like that everytime you try to help someone you soon get a sour note. I for one do not help anyone anymore with their computers. My stat answer is too take it to a computer shop and they will fix you up.

My big weakness is that after I have fixed a computer for someone, and given them tips at the same time, and charged a fair price, they consider me their phone tech support from that time on, and of course they think it is free. I do charge sometimes, but my humble side makes that a real task for me, to hassle them for money. Any ideas?

> Hi Dave, When I first started fooling around with computers, aaarrrgh, it was
> very frusterating. Crashing was my main result, it seemed. After a while, as I
> became more proficiant, I pondered about building my own machine. That day
> came and the whole process was achieved in the better part of a day. I read up
> on everything I could think of beforehand. The adventure of building it was
> exhillerating as well as a little frusterating, at times. Long story short,
> when it was time to push the button it wouldn't post. Suddenly I was a
> complete idiot for attempting this task. After several days of trouble
> shooting, I was pretty sure the Mother Board was the culprit. I secured an RMA
> and awaited the new board. A couple of weeks later it arrived. Well this time
> the build time was a mere few hours. I pushed the button and I crossed my
> fingers. It roared to life and booted into windows. Just as suddenly I
> regained my former genius status. Hah! After that I thought I knew everything
> about computers. In truth, it was another new beginning. It has been a few
> years since then. I am still learning and making mistakes everyday in
> computing. I believe it to be a life long process, never quite mastered. I am
> so glad now that I decided in favor of building my own machine. The degree of
> understanding computer basics increases imeasurably from doing so.I feel like
> I am in the middle, knowledge wise. I can lend help to the poor unfortunates,
> new to computing. I also can understand the tutoring of the learned gurus. I
> believe everyone with any savy should attempt a build. The computing world
> would be a safer and all around safer place to be. It was the nice man who
> wrote to you about what to do about charging people to fix computers that
> inspired me to write you, as I do quite a bit of that myself. I must confess,
> I almost never charge people either. I guess I just feel too guilty to take
> advantage of peoples ignorance. I make sure that I always leave them with a
> free CD that contains all of the goodies. Spyware utilities, etc. It see
> ms to help if you end the session in this manner. My advice to them is use it
> often and keep it current with the updates, simple. I relly enjoy your advice
> column, Dave. You do nice work, thanks. Tom
>

Shame on you Dave for suggesting MCSE as a route for this guy! A+ Certification, IF he wants certification is the most appropriate. However, IF he wants to branch out into more "systems" oriented repairs, the thousands of dollars required for MCSE certification may be worthwhile.
As a hiring manager (once upon a time ago), I passed over a few recent recipients of A+, in favor of guys like this poster. I preferred someone with real-world experience to someone who passed a test (which had a minimum passing score of 75% back then).
A+ can lend an aire of credibility, when combined with this fine gentleman's community reputation.

Excellent and thoughtful comments, everyone. Thanks for sharing your perspective. In terms of A+ versus MCSE, honestly, I don't really know because I don't have either and really don't have much expertise other than the mythical "common sense" of a long-time computer user. Perhaps someone could outline the basics between the two?

In terms of the dilemma of having your support job stretch out into a lifetime of telephone and email tech support, why not just have a "certificate of task completion" that you give your customer when you're done with a job that entitles them to one hour of free telephone tech support with follow-on questions and other issues. Whatever they talk about, it's one hour. Then after that, it's all on the clock and you tell them up front "Oh, Mr. Smithers, just wanted to let you know, before we get into your MSIE problem, that my records show you've used up your free hour of phone support. Did you want me to start the clock? I charge $50/hour."

I agree with the many posts that recommend taking the A+ course and certification. As to pricing, it is a little more difficult. First, the income you receive is supposed to be reported on your tax forms as income from hobbies, etc. This however, does open up the doorway for more tax deductions. (pick up a good book on tax preparation and read it cover to cover several times). You might check the classified ads, GreenSheet newspaper, etc. to see what others are charging in your area. Based on what they are offering for their services, you can adjust your price accordingly. I suspect the prices will range between $25 - $45.

I do the exact same thing in my community. I don't charge by the hour at all but I do have rates for the type of job and also depending on how messed up the computer is. For example if a pc has virus/needs a tuneup/upgrade/cleaning etc etc this will be more than a pc that just needs an upgrade (common sense) but for a typical tune up and some virus' spyware etc I charge no less than $150/job. As you say, these jobs take time and time is money but if I were to charge by the hour Id be charging $800.00 for some jobs that take alot of time, I am like you, I'd do these jobs for free because I love the challenge and for me it's simply fun.. so there you go.. you get paid for something you love.. join the millions who do the same in other fields... get paid you're providing a service.

What does it take to get A+ cert?
This site info is just what I asked for with my search.
Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.

hi Dave,
while I agree he should get something in return for his time effort and especially if he produces results. I do not charge "poor folk" How do I know them from the rest/ they bring me something some one gave them, or a flea market box of hardware. or one of those rip off mail order ( i will not name them) you know the ones that you will pay for forever.
a few start calling me when they surf and get new viruses, all hours, My message machine says if you are a client with a new pc problem leave your number and time you called... if you have the same problem as last time Here is the number to ( huge commercial pc center in your town) Because I'm not your parent and i don't have time to keep holding your hand while you go back and download more viruses. sounds cruel, but I just can not afford to spend time on the morons and make the deserving clients wait. I charge accordingly for services rendered. usually nothing more than cost of hardware and as much time as a certified tech would charge. i cases of fixed income I have been known to have them just bring me a coffee from ( fast food name here) point is I learned a long time ago, you can not be nice to every one and you can not help the world. But you can be useful to a few. I know this is long winded and you may edit as you wish, I just want to mention one thing. when I have to look for drivers or find a system quirk, and I try to look it up, I just hate all those creeps that want you to pay them to give you something you could find for free if you had the knowledge where to look. I call it every body's got to make a buck some how. ok I'm done keep up the fine work. and hey the guy in UK charge them something, you can't be a nice guy every one will suspect you. at least get a cup of coffee.

Hi, I'm a 16 YO Boy in Miami, Fl and I'm starting to get customers and I want to know which is th recommended fee I should charge... I know a LOT about computers and networks, at this time I'm working on my A+, N+ and CCNA at my local school... How much should I charge for fixing PCs? (Hourly rate or flat rate?) Thanks in advance for your help

All,
I feel very much like the poster of the original question. I got into this business completely by accident, I never intended to repair PC's, but since I've built about 25+ custom machines for variious clients, including my own office, LAN and network infrastructure, etc, it just "happened." When my multimedia customers began begging me to do something I never wanted or intended to do, I opened a "side" business and it thrives simply because of what Dave said; Results, a little humility, compassion, and a strong sense of fair play go a long way to instilling customer loyalty and repeat business.
Now on what to charge, I do on-site work only, simply because the system "as it runs in use" is the only way to truly diagnose what may be peripheral problems that wouldn't follow the system over to my place of business...how many USB termination problems got here and worked fine until I realized this! So, since they receive faithful time and money-saving service on site from me that gets them back up to speed in the quickest possible time, I charge $75US for the first hour, (which most problems are cured in and which also includes an "on-site service fee") and $50US for each hour/part, pro-rata afterwards. There are times when I cut my fees (like a full reformat and reload) because they might want to get a new PC if they had to pay more than say, $400 for this service, but this is with residential clients only. b-to-b clients need their machines, and will gladly pay more to have them up and running. They can't wait around to buy a new machine, and setting up a new machine to run their business systems often makes a new machine MORE expensive a proposition than simply re-upping one that's already set up to work with their network and hardware.
Like Dave said, your experience and diligence saves these customers BIG-TIME in the long run, and you (be fair to yourself first!) deserve to charge a fair price for good service rendered in good faith! I have a standing policy of course and that is, "No solution, no charge." In sisteen years that has never happened of course! Also, when NEW issues come up that require research, I do that on my own time, and I let them know it. They don't pay for my "continuing education" or experimentation. But you see what I mean.
As for the "eternal tech support over the phone" issue, I'd say that person is missing opportunities to follow up and make more money. I kindly, but FIRMLY "educate" my customers that I am NOT microsoft, nor their hardware or software manufacturers, and that I am not the MIS help desk just because I fixed their PC a month ago, then I ask them if they would like me to stop by for "another service call" and take care of it for them, but I do tell them they should try the manufacturers tech support people first. This leaves the choice up to them! I find that rather than trying to find their own solutions, many people (especially b-to-b's) not having the time and feeling foolish talking to tech support people would rather have me do it and save themselves more time, money and face, rather than taking them away from what they do to earn a living, and again, they are happy to do it, and I am happy for the repeat business!
Use your head AND your heart and you will never have a problem with MOST customers.
One more thing my accountant taught me; you dont want EVERY customer. Some want everything for nothing, and simply hate anyone involved in technology services because they are dependant on them, and feel used and abused. They are usually not above taking this out on you! When you feel this, flee. You are not Bill Gates, nor Dell, and you do not deserve to be made a martyr in the technology revolution. These clients want to kill the messenger and the doctor - don't let it happen to you!

helow sir,
i know how to install windows ,formatting,partations etc
i come to uk from pk as a student how much i can earn dur to this can i find a gob

I currently work for key systems working on hardware but sometimes friends and family ask me to do PC repairs for them it could be just about anything but I would like to know how much is a fair price to charge them.

Thank You

R Espinoza

Hi guys.
Charging always a tuff question. I have lost an engineering business and two houses because I would not charge what my time is worth.
If you see a Dr. on the street do you walk up to him and start asking him questions, if you do, he/she will most likely say make an appointment and we will discuss it. So why if I know how to repair TVs, Dishwashers, dryers computers, furnaces and all the other skills I have why should my Hateful old mother in law, or the neighbor across the street think my time is free. I just repaired my wife's 30 something niece's computer, she brought 3 more over for me to repair. I would have billed a minimum of 100 dollars for the work I did on the first one and now she wants more free work. Those 3 will not be repaired so my wife took them to our son-in-law, a great kid, but he works all day long is tired in the evening what makes his time free.
My knowledge in computers and engineering have come from years of study, study that they will not do, like many employeers they want me to teach it to guys who hang out at bars after work, ride the waves on a jet ski during the summer all while I am learning. I will be charging a minimum of $100 per computer and the price will go up from there. It is better to charge more and have less customers than to have many customers and loose money/break even and not have time for your family.... Sounds harsh, but this geek is tired of the freebies and hardluck stories.
Cyber.engineer

I work 40 hrs a week doing a dull job that's had redundancies hanging about for years.
So 3 years ago I started my own business doing what I know best - ie my hobby - computers.
I have a good local customer base with referals.
I charge £17.00 an hour but one thing that suprised me was one customer's commented that I was charging too little, that people (?) expected to pay more or maybe respected businesses that charge more.
I said that it's all down to value for money... I have PC World just down the road from me.

It's true that if it was my sole income that I woud have to charge more but I couldn't take the @*&^.

What's great is that PC World is just down the road.

The harsh reality is that people generally don't value your time if they're not paying for it.

In the IT services World, your time is likely to be abused by those who aren't paying for it.

Some call it brain-picking. ("Can I just pick your brains?")

Some call it being a mooch.

But either way, you DO most certainly need to charge for your time and expertise.

And you need to charge hourly billing rates that are in line with others that provide similar/comparable services in your area.

Even in a rural, sparsely populated, even just taking care of residential/home office customers, you should be able to command at least $50/hour with a 2 hour minimum for service.

In major metro areas where consultants work with larger small businesses (10-50 workstations), you'd typically see hourly billing rates in the $75-$150/hour range.

As one of the commenters also pointed out, if you charge too little you even have credibility problems.

I'd also recommend that you read through some of the FAQs on our Web site for the Computer Consulting Kit Home Study Course that deal with skills, certifications, and being in a small remote area at
http://www.computerconsultingkit.net/cp/frequently-asked-questions/who-needs/

By signing up for our mailing list on the home page of that URL, you'll also get invited to an upcoming computer repair business Webinar, which I think you'll find very helpful for your situation.

At the end of the day, you need to ask yourself,
"Is it a business or a hobby?!?"

This is an interesting discussion, to say the least. Before going forward I want to say that I appreciate the open forum and the opportunity to partake in this discussion. Is a certification worth the time and money, and if so, which certification should be pursued for this type of service provider?

The constants above in matters of certification has been the A+ certification versus MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer). The A+ certification is a non-vendor specific/bias cert (more on A+ later) while the MCSE is Micro$oft specific/bias. So, which one should you pursue?

If you intend to work for a third party (employer - In the traditional sense) and your propective employer is running a Microsoft shop then it's advised that you acquire at least the MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) certification leading to MCSE, why; because (believe it or not) ever since the introduction of Windows 2000 (workstation and server family) and followed by Windows XP, Vista, Server family... in short - It's not the good old days (if you call it that) of Windows '95/'98 where your neighborhood or office "mouse jockey" was enough to make an impression on the technically unadapted, these days employers want to have some sense of confidence that you know what you're doing and a certification is a good start and if hired, YOU BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! Also, vendors are demanding technicians be certified as a prerequisite before working on equipment in order to honor their warranties, not being certified may very well VOID a warranty leaving a company high and dry. As for the A+ certification...

As mentioned above the A+ certification is non-vendor specific. I was doing hardware upgrades long before I even thought of acquiring the A+ certification and cringe every time I think back on how I handled expensive hardware components, MY GOD! I can only begin to assess how much of the failed installs were the direct result of our incompetence - But with a limited scope of understanding (management included), nobody knew better, for the most part most of what we did worked. Yes, the A+ certification is worth it and anybody who frowns at it (many do) should be challenged to take the test for humbling purposes. This certification prepares you for hardware and software installations, upgrades, troubleshooting and resolution of conflicts (hardware/software/end user), operating systems, etc.

What should I charge? This is a question that I have struggle with too throughout the years, when I think I have a perfect compensation plan in place situations arise that I didn't anticipate such as assisting a disabled person learn to use technology to improve their quality of life but who is living on a fixed and small income, do I refuse to provide service based on their inability to pay my fee(s)? I've never refused my services and often have performed services for very little compensation, if any. Supply and demand will govern your fees, the local market will determine what you charge, in my market (United States of America - Pacific Northwest) my rates range from $35 an hour to $125 for medium and large scale companies depending on the complexity of the task/project and scope in duration.

I hope this helps answers some of the questions posted in this discussion.

Best wishes to you and yours

People think your sat on your arse doing nothing when repairing computers and they do not realise computer shops (pcworld comes to mind) will charge them hell of a lot more for less of a service (unless they turn a blind eye to x amount of pirated software installed on the customers machine).

I personally charge what the hell i want, i have had the days of people treating me like a tech support guy and and expecting me to fix problems for nothing. Once you experienced that you can understand why i am bitter towards such people.

Well, I see some of the people are looking for a bit more specific answers. So, if we say anywhere from $40 to $130 they're no better off.

So, in general, we know that rates will vary due to many factors. Among them (and not limited to):
- country/region (demand)
- service offered (hardware repair, network configuration, software install - some things require more skill and training. Say, setting up a Win 2008 Server domain vs. installing Win XP and Office on a client)
- type of client (home user, micro business, large enterprise - what they can pay or are used to paying)
- technician skill level of (beginner vs. 20 yrs of experience)
- company reputation - whether client is hiring a solidly established company with ample technical resources vs. a solo practitioner working from home
- how badly or fast they need to solve the problem - work through the night vs. whenever you get to it

Now, if we try to take all of this into consideration it'll get too complicated, but you should be aware of these as you compare rates quoted by different people in different cases.

I haven't given a number either, I know. You must find out about rates through research, compile information and find your number. These are some of the resources you have:
1. Friends in the business - ask what they charge for different services
2. Competitors - you can often find out what they charge through websites, asking any of their customers you may know.
For example, my local CompUSA had a menu on the wall with pricing for repairs, Virus cleaning, installing and configuring machines at home, etc. You write all of them down, figure how long each item would take you and you get an idea of their hourly rate. Since they have testing equipment, spare parts to swap and more; they can seem more reliable to a client. Whether they are or not, that's the client's opinion and the competition's rate. You at least know that you are better off charging a bit less than them in order to compete on a price basis (unless you want to stress you have pickup, delivery and whatever else that justifies the same or higher rate)
3. Prospective clients - You prepare a table of the services you can provide and a list of questions. eg. how many PCs you have, have a Server, have tech personnel in-house, who services your systems, how much do they charge, do you have a support contract, etc. You then can visit or call prospects and tell them you are offering Tech Support and you are conducting a small survey about rates in the area and would like to ask them a couple of questions.

Doing this research could be a bit time consuming, but if you carry it out bit by bit in an organized manner you should be able to get to the numbers you're looking for.

Hope this helps.