Example
Door hanging: quantity 3, unit price $85, amount $255. If the client adds a fourth door, only the quantity changes and the line becomes $340.
Also called a rate, a per-unit price, or a schedule rate.
What it means in practice
Pricing by the unit your trade actually bills in makes a quote checkable and a change easy. A client who wants a fourth door does not need a new quote, only a different quantity.
It also protects you when the scope grows. Three doors at $85 becoming five doors is arithmetic; "door hanging, $255" becoming five doors is a negotiation.
Where it shows up on the paperwork
The rate column on the quote and the invoice, next to the quantity and the unit. The unit itself, per door or per linear foot or per hour, belongs on the line.
What goes wrong
- Quoting a lump sum for work that is naturally counted, so adding one more of something means requoting.
- Using units the client does not think in, which makes the price hard to sanity-check.
- Carrying a rate from three years ago into a quote today.
Common questions
How do you work out quantity times unit price?
Multiply the number of units by the price of one. Four doors at 85 dollars is 340 dollars. Showing both numbers rather than the total alone is what makes the line checkable.
What is a unit rate invoice example?
A painter billing 420 square feet at 2.10 a square foot, or a plumber billing 3 hours at 95 an hour. The unit is whatever your trade measures in, and the rate is the price of one of them.
What does unit price mean on an invoice?
It is the price of one of whatever that line is counted in: one door, one foot, one hour, one visit. The line total is that price times the quantity, so a client can check the arithmetic without asking you for it.
Should I show unit prices on a quote?
Usually yes. It makes the quote checkable, makes a change an arithmetic problem rather than a negotiation, and shows the client you priced the work rather than guessed at it.
What if my client wants one number?
Give the total prominently and keep the units on the lines beneath it. They can read the number they want, and you still have the breakdown when the scope moves.
What is the difference between unit price and total price?
Unit price is the price of one. Total price, the line amount, is the unit price times the quantity. Three doors at a unit price of $85 have a total price of $255.