In one line
The price of one of something: one door, one metre, one hour, one visit.
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.
Example. Door hanging at $85 per door, trim at $18 per metre, testing at $95 per hour.
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 metre 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.
The tools for this
Related terms
- Line itemOne row on a document: what it is, how many, at what rate, and what that comes to.
- MarkupThe amount added to your cost to reach the price, expressed as a percentage of the cost.
- Hourly rateWhat you charge for an hour of work, built from wages, overhead and profit rather than from wages alone.
- Itemised invoiceAn invoice that lists the work as separate lines with quantities and rates rather than one total.
Common questions
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.