How To Price Trade Work Using Fit Times And Uplifts

# How To Price Trade Work Using Fit Times And Uplifts

## Most Trade Businesses Don't Underprice The Work. They Underprice Everything Around It.

One of the most common mistakes when starting a trade business is only pricing the installation itself.

You think about the time spent doing the work.

You do not think about everything surrounding the work.

For example, imagine a job that requires a full day of productive installation time.

Many businesses quote:

8 hours.

What often gets missed is:

- Visiting the site
- Measuring the work
- Building the quote
- Ordering materials
- Collecting materials
- Loading the van
- Travelling to site
- Walking to the work area
- Customer discussions
- Packing away
- Completing paperwork
- Creating the invoice

The installation may genuinely take 8 hours.

The business may invest 12–15 hours in total.

This is why many trade businesses feel busy but struggle to understand where the profit has gone.

The problem is not usually the labour rate.

The problem is that some of the labour was never included in the first place.

## Why Pricing From Memory Eventually Stops Working

At the beginning, most trades quote from experience.

You remember what happened on the last job.

You remember roughly how long it took.

You remember what you charged.

For a while, that works.

Then workload increases.

More customers.

More quotes.

More jobs.

More variables.

Suddenly similar jobs produce completely different results.

One job makes money.

The next one doesn't.

The challenge is that memory is difficult to improve.

If a job loses money, it is often hard to understand exactly why.

A fit-time system gives you something measurable.

Instead of estimating everything from memory, you build labour from known activities and improve the system over time.

## What Are Fit Times?

A fit time is the productive installation time for an individual item or activity.

Not the entire job.

Not the travel.

Not the permits.

Not the paperwork.

Not the customer discussions.

Just the productive time required to complete the task.

Examples from a fit-time library might include:

Electrical:

- 2-gang socket outlet: 25–27 minutes
- Switched fused spur: 29 minutes
- 1200mm LED batten: 38 minutes

Building:

- Internal door installation
- Stud wall construction
- Skirting installation

Plumbing:

- Basin mixer tap installation
- Radiator valve replacement
- Thermostatic shower installation

Landscaping:

- Fence panel installation
- Concrete post installation
- Patio slab laying

The principle remains the same regardless of trade.

Every item receives a measurable fit time.

Those fit times become the building blocks for future quotes.

## Build A Catalogue Of Reusable Items

Instead of estimating complete jobs from scratch, build a catalogue of common items.

Each item should contain:

- Description
- Manufacturer Part Number
- Material Cost
- Fit Time

For example:

### Socket Outlet

- Manufacturer Part Number
- Material Cost
- 25 Minute Fit Time

### LED Batten

- Manufacturer Part Number
- Material Cost
- 38 Minute Fit Time

### Basin Mixer Tap

- Manufacturer Part Number
- Material Cost
- Fit Time

### Fence Panel

- Manufacturer Part Number
- Material Cost
- Fit Time

Over time, the catalogue becomes more valuable because future quotes are built from existing information rather than memory.

## Why Manufacturer Part Numbers Matter

When requesting supplier pricing, ambiguity creates problems.

Descriptions vary.

Supplier references vary.

Products get substituted.

Using manufacturer part numbers helps remove guesswork.

Benefits include:

- Faster supplier quotations
- Less back-and-forth communication
- Fewer pricing mistakes
- Reduced risk of incorrect deliveries
- Easier future ordering

The larger the catalogue becomes, the more important consistency becomes.

## Build Labour From Individual Items

Once fit times exist, labour can be built from the individual items required for the job.

For example:

- 4 Socket Outlets @ 25 Minutes
- 2 Switched Fused Spurs @ 29 Minutes

Calculation:

100 Minutes

+

58 Minutes

=

158 Minutes

Or:

2.63 Hours

This gives you a productive installation time.

Not a guessed job duration.

A measurable labour requirement.

## Why Uplifts Are Easier Than Constantly Changing Fit Times

Many businesses react to difficult jobs by increasing fit times.

That often creates a new problem.

The fit time should represent the productive installation time.

The site conditions are a separate issue.

For example:

A fence panel still takes the same amount of time to install.

A radiator valve still takes the same amount of time to replace.

A socket outlet still takes the same amount of time to fit.

What changes is the environment.

Some sites are easy.

Some sites involve permits, long walks, restricted access and constant interruptions.

Instead of changing every fit time, many businesses apply an uplift percentage to reflect those conditions.

This keeps the catalogue consistent while still allowing for different site environments.

## Typical Uplift Percentages

The exact percentages will vary between businesses.

However, practical starting points might include:

### New Build Or Open Site

10–15%

Clean conditions.

Easy access.

Minimal interruptions.

### Commercial Fit-Out

20–25%

Normal commercial environment.

Some coordination.

Some access restrictions.

### Schools, Hospitals Or Live Buildings

25–35%

Permits.

Restricted working.

Working around occupants.

### Industrial Sites

30–40%

Heavy materials.

Long walking distances.

Additional safety requirements.

### Difficult Access Or Highly Restricted Sites

40–50%

Long travel routes.

Permit systems.

Constant interruptions.

Reduced productive time.

## What The Uplift Is Actually Covering

Most lost time does not happen during installation.

It happens around installation.

Examples include:

- Signing in and out
- Walking to break areas
- Collecting materials
- Forgotten materials
- End-of-day clean-up
- General interruptions
- Access restrictions

These small delays can remove hours of productive time from a working day.

That is exactly why uplifts exist.

## Example Labour Calculation

Imagine the job above contains:

158 Minutes

=

2.63 Hours

The work is taking place in an occupied building.

You decide to apply a 35% uplift.

Calculation:

2.63 × 1.35

=

3.55 Hours

If your labour rate is:

£65 Per Hour

Then:

3.55 × £65

=

£230.75 Labour Value

The process is simple:

Productive Time

↓

Uplift

↓

Labour Rate

↓

Labour Value

## Your Labour Rate Should Already Include Business Costs

Your labour rate should already account for:

- Vehicles
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Tools
- Administration
- Training
- Overheads
- Desired profit

The labour rate should not change every time you create a quote.

The fit times and uplift percentages do the adjustment.

## Review Completed Jobs And Improve The System

This is where the methodology becomes powerful.

After every completed job compare:

Estimated Labour Hours

vs

Actual Labour Hours

And compare:

Expected Margin

vs

Actual Margin

If a specific activity consistently overruns:

Adjust the fit time.

If a specific type of site consistently loses money:

Adjust the uplift percentage.

The goal is not perfect estimates.

The goal is creating a pricing system that becomes more accurate with every completed job.

## Example: A Full House Rewire

Imagine you complete a full house rewire.

The first project performs well.

The second project feels tight.

The third project loses money.

Without fit times, it is difficult to understand why.

With fit times, you can review:

- Socket quantities
- Switch quantities
- Consumer unit installation
- Testing time
- Cable installation

Then compare those assumptions against the actual hours worked.

The system tells you where the problem is.

Instead of guessing, you improve the specific part of the estimate that caused the issue.

## Common Mistakes

### Pricing Entire Jobs Instead Of Individual Activities

Jobs vary.

Activities are easier to measure and improve.

### Building Labour From Memory

Memory becomes less reliable as workload grows.

### Mixing Site Conditions Into Fit Times

Keep productive installation time separate from access and site conditions.

### Never Reviewing Results

Without feedback, pricing cannot improve.

### Using Different Pricing Methods For Similar Work

Consistency creates visibility.

Visibility creates better decisions.

## How FieldHive Helps

FieldHive allows trade businesses to build reusable catalogue items containing labour times, material information and pricing data.

Instead of rebuilding the same calculations repeatedly, common items can be reused across future quotes.

The result is a pricing process that becomes more organised, more consistent and easier to improve over time.

## Related Guides

- How To Build A Pricing Catalogue For Trade Work
- How To Avoid Underquoting Labour
- How To Quote Repeat Work Faster

## Build A Pricing System That Improves Over Time

Most pricing mistakes happen because businesses rely on memory.

A fit-time system creates something measurable.

The more jobs you complete, the more information you collect.

The more information you collect, the easier future pricing becomes.

Build the system once.

Improve it with every completed job.

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