How much should I charge to PAT test is a regular question from new PAT testers.

To answer it you need to take various factors into consideration for different people.

When it comes to setting prices for your services, consider the costs involved in your work, and how much you want to earn.

But you also need to do some research to work out what the prices are in your area:

If you want to charge more how can you present your service to be better than theirs, or

If you think you can charge less, how can you sell your service to get their work?

Don’t assume because you’re cheaper customers will leave their current supplier and come to you. There are companies out there charging 2 or 3 times more than others who continue to retain clients long term.

Your job as the business owner is to determine where you want to position yourself in the market – will you be the most expensive, the cheapest or sit somewhere in the middle.

Think about what you want to earn too. Think of your skills – how many items can you test in an hour, a day, a week? What does that bring you in?

Lets do an example: you want to earn £40,000 per year (figures are approx). You’ll need to pay tax and insurance, and other costs, so let’s say they cost £10k a year, so you need to make £50k.

50k a year is £4166 per month, and £208. per day based on working 20 days.

In an 8 hour day that’s £26.04 per hour.

How many items can you test in an hour? Let’s say 20. So that’s 26.04 / 20 = £1.30 – that’s how much you have to charge per item. You need to have a strategy to create pricing in your business; the strategy needs to take into account all your costs, overheads, wages, etc.

Whenever you’re deciding on your pricing, it needs to start with your target audience – do your research, will people pay these rates, what are they paying now, what do you have to do to get people to pay those rates? Even if it’s 70p per item, you still have to have USPs to get people to move from a current supplier to you.

Understanding your market and it’s needs is essential to getting them to buy from you so you can live the life you want.