HVACBossPro Blog — Quotes & Estimates

Pricing Your HVAC Diagnostic Fee and Putting It on the Estimate

The diagnostic fee is the first price most customers ever hear from a heating and air company. They call because the house is warm or the furnace will not light, and the first question is “how much to come out?” How you answer, and how that fee shows up on the estimate later, sets the tone for the whole job.

The First Line on the Service List

The diagnostic belongs at the top of your service list, which is covered in Building an HVAC Service List: The Price Sheet Every Estimate Is Built From. It is the line that appears on more estimates than any other, so it is worth getting right.

In HVACBossPro the diagnostic is just a service list item with a name, a price and a description. When the tech finds the problem and the estimate gets written, the diagnostic is the first line and the repairs follow. The customer sees what they owe for the visit and what the fix will cost, separately.

What the Fee Should Cover

Before you pick a number, decide what the customer gets for it. Most shops include some version of:

• The trip to the house.
• A set amount of time to find the problem.
• A basic check of the system, including the thermostat, breaker, filter, capacitor, contactor and drain line.
• A written estimate for any repair needed.

Write that into the description. “Trip to your home, system testing to find the cause of the problem, and a written repair estimate” answers the question before the customer asks it. A fee that is explained feels fair. A fee that is a mystery feels like a toll.

How to Think About the Price

There is no single right number, and it depends heavily on your area. A few ways owners approach it:

• Start from cost. What does an hour of a tech and a van actually cost you, including drive time, fuel, insurance and the office time to book the call? The fee should not lose money on a call that ends with no repair.
• Look at the work it leads to. If most diagnostic calls turn into repairs, some owners keep the fee modest to get in the door. If a lot of calls end with “it was the breaker,” the fee has to carry more of the visit.
• Separate after-hours. Nights, weekends and holidays usually get their own diagnostic line at a higher price. Put it on the service list as a separate item so nobody has to remember the surcharge.
• Keep it simple to say. “It's $89 to come out and find the problem” is easy for the office to repeat on every call.

Avoid setting the fee by copying the cheapest number you find online. A shop that undercharges for diagnostics often tries to make it back on the repair, and customers can tell.

Credited Toward the Repair, or Not

Some companies waive or credit the diagnostic when the customer approves the repair. Others always charge it. Both work. What does not work is leaving it vague and letting the customer assume one thing while the invoice says another.

If you credit it, show that on the estimate. One way is to list the diagnostic and then add a credit line in the same amount when the repair is approved. Another is to write it into the description: “Diagnostic fee, credited toward any repair approved today.” Either way, the estimate tells the story, and the invoice that follows matches it.

Saying It on the Phone and in the Driveway

The office quotes the diagnostic on the phone. The tech explains it again at the door if asked. The estimate shows it in writing. All three should say the same thing, and a service list with one diagnostic price makes that happen without a meeting.

When the tech finishes testing, the conversation is easier with the estimate already started: “Here's the diagnostic, and here are the two things I found.” How to get from testing to a written quote before leaving the house is covered in Quoting HVAC Repairs on Site: From Diagnosis to a Written Estimate Before You Leave.

If the customer declines the repair, the diagnostic is still owed, and the visit can be completed and invoiced for just that line. The card on file can be charged at completion so nobody has to chase a small balance later.

Diagnostic Calls and Maintenance Plans

Many shops treat the diagnostic fee as one of the perks of a maintenance plan, either reduced or waived for plan members. If you do that, make it a separate service list item, such as “Diagnostic — Plan Member,” so the right price lands on the right estimate. Tag plan customers with a Maintenance Plan tag, and the office can see at a glance who gets the plan price.

It is also a good selling point. When a non-member pays a full diagnostic, the estimate is a natural place to mention what the plan includes. Quoting plan sign-ups is covered later in this series.

The next guide covers the other line that shows up constantly: the seasonal tune-up. For the full picture of how the diagnostic fits into quoting, approval and scheduling, visit the HVACBossPro HVAC estimate software page.