[jarvis design]

I was curious to see how different companies dealt with consumables when pricing a job. I used to have a flat rate, changed it to a % of material cost, now I'm back to flat rate again!
Most of my jobs are full bath reno's from $10-$25k. Right now I am allowing about $200 per job. I will play with that number depending on the scope of job. I just wonder if its enough? Unfortunately I have not been tracking consumable costs...they just get added in to job costs.

Partial list:
Blades: Olfa, Jig saw, Saws all, Fein multimaster, hack saw
Bits: Screw, drill, carbide drill, diamond hole, auger, hole saw
Caulking: Latex, exterior, silicone, glass silicone
Passlode: small gas cartridge, large gas cartridge
Fasteners: 1/2"-4" #6,#8,#10,#12 wood screws, 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 floor screws, 1"-2" drywall screws, various s.s. screws, drywall nails, roofing nails, various tapcon, anchors, lag bolts, brackets, framing nails for passlode, 1"-2" nails for trim nailer
Shop cloths, cleaning rags, cleaners, drop clothes, pencils, tape, chaulk, shims, sharpies.....
etc, etc, etc.
When I have it all listed seperately, it's a lot of items.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Are you doing T&M.

If it's firm price, I just informally estimate for the specific job.

 

[jarvis design]

No, all my projects are fixed price.

 

[Gary H]

I was curious to see how different companies dealt with consumables when pricing a job. I used to have a flat rate, changed it to a % of material cost, now I'm back to flat rate again!
Most of my jobs are full bath reno's from $10-$25k. Right now I am allowing about $200 per job. I will play with that number depending on the scope of job. I just wonder if its enough? Unfortunately I have not been tracking consumable costs...they just get added in to job costs.

Partial list:
Blades: Olfa, Jig saw, Saws all, Fein multimaster, hack saw
Bits: Screw, drill, carbide drill, diamond hole, auger, hole saw
Caulking: Latex, exterior, silicone, glass silicone
Passlode: small gas cartridge, large gas cartridge
Fasteners: 1/2"-4" #6,#8,#10,#12 wood screws, 1 1/4 and 1 3/4 floor screws, 1"-2" drywall screws, various s.s. screws, drywall nails, roofing nails, various tapcon, anchors, lag bolts, brackets, framing nails for passlode, 1"-2" nails for trim nailer
Shop cloths, cleaning rags, cleaners, drop clothes, pencils, tape, chaulk, shims, sharpies.....
etc, etc, etc.
When I have it all listed seperately, it's a lot of items.

When I do a job such as a window replace , I have a set amount of consumables figured in. Or whatever I am doing.

Example . Every window has a mm blade, skill saw blade, roll of vycor, shims and alum and Chaulk. If its more then one window then the material gets spread out between them to a point. It's a set cost plus labor, overhead, profit and lunch. It helps to keep accurate records of material used so you can compare how much you are using.

At the end of the year I compare what I figured and used to see where I am at.

 

[Big Shoe]

All those little things add up. You may not notice until ask yourself why you are not making enough money.

Depending on situation I'll sometimes use the line ''Disposables'' on invoice.
We had a thread on this a couple yrs ago.

 

[VinylHanger]

200 bucks ain't nearly enough on a job that size. I put that amount in for a small window job.

I figure my needs per window, or part of job and then add in a misc. line to cover the stuff I might not think of, or am not sure of the amounts, or what I might need.

 

[darthdude]

200 bucks ain't nearly enough on a job that size. I put that amount in for a small window job.

That's what I was thinking. I just ran through all the stuff I would use for a full bathroom job, blades, bits, plastic for dust walls, floor protection materials, trash bags, vaccum filters+bags, even smaller things like ear/eye protection (Yes, that should be accounted for and everyone should be wearing them.....) I'm thinking $1000 easy to cover your rear.

 

[wakonako]

We figure it on a job-by-job. Larger jobs go to a percentage cause it usually works out better in our favor.
Supplier mess ups help too. On this last job they sent us 4 boxes of 3600 nails when we only ordered 2

 

[svronthmve]

We figure it on a job-by-job. Larger jobs go to a percentage cause it usually works out better in our favor.
Supplier mess ups help too. On this last job they sent us 4 boxes of 3600 nails when we only ordered 2

And so you dishonestly kept 2 that you didn't pay for? :blink: And you're bragging about it? :sad:

 

[wakonako]

And so you dishonestly kept 2 that you didn't pay for? :blink: And you're bragging about it? :sad:

I forgot how obvious emotion is through text... Also I wouldn't consider that previous post bragging.
If you want the full story....
We placed our order and scheduled delivery. 2 days later the truck arrives at site and gets off loaded. I quickly scan the loads as they come off the truck and don't see anything missing.
Next day supplier calls to tell us that they sent us 4 boxes of nails instead of the 2 we ordered, but not to worry about it because it was their mistake and its just a couple boxes of nails. We're regulars and it just means on our next order we don't need to get any nails. They lost maybe $100 and just wrote it off.

If you make a mistake with a customer do you expect them to be the one to fix it? If a supplier accidentally sends you extra materials do you instantly run back to them with the over order??

 

[svronthmve]

If you make a mistake with a customer do you expect them to be the one to fix it? If a supplier accidentally sends you extra materials do you instantly run back to them with the over order??

Appreciate your clarification. Sheds a different light on your story.

In answer to your questions...

No, I don't hold my customers responsible for my errors. But it definitely speaks volumes to me about their character and integrity if they bring it to my attention. It hasn't happened very often, but my choice has been to waive the forgotten charge.

As to deliveries by my suppliers, yes, I am quick to notify them. For the exact same reason I gave above. I don't EVER want them to question my integrity or reputation. I live and work in a close knit community. If I lose my integrity with others, I'll never get that back. That's worth way more than a couple boxes of nails (or whatever)!

 

[sunkist]

I buy all that stuff when i buy the 2 by 4's etc and bill the customer. If they want the left over 1 1/4 roofing nails, 1 1/8 course drywall screws here you go.

 

[steex]

You can't buy fasteners and stuff for every job, you have to buy it in bulk. One pound of drywall screws is $6, 25 pounds is $50. It just doesn't make sense to buy a pound and pass the cost onto the customer. One 5/32" SDS bit is $7, 25 of them are $30 on amazon. Even the extra time spent going to buy that stuff for every job instead of grabbing what you need from your stock adds up. Just buy a lot of the things you use, keep everything replenished, then get good at estimating how much you're going to use up for a job and add the correct amount onto the bill.

 

[Ohio painter]

I buy as much as I can by the case, for me it is masking tape, roller covers, caulk, etc etc. I keep my van stocked.

I have a good idea what is going to be needed so I usually figure a flat rate per job for the sundries, I don't want to count empty caulk tubes when the job is finished.

 

[K&K Carpentry]

I always try to figure a close to exact cost in the estimate. So for every job I write down what I think I may need for all the small stuff. Its usally pretty close. That being said I always have an overage allowance for every job also. Because we always run into something this comes in handy. On a small 5k job I usally will have a $100 or so overage on top of a 10% standard overage on all materials. This allows me to not eat the overage cost and also not to have to be pissed off that I just lost a hundred bucks. Has always worked for me