Charging for services your thoughts?

[techleaner]

Been fixing peoples computers for some time now for free but I'm getting more now, mostly virus removals.
I did some research on the net and I keep getting different prices but would rather hear from you guys.
Thanks ahead of time.

Questions 1. How much should I charge for virus removals? 2. How much for BSOD's?

 

[-RockMan-]

Depends on what kind of problems your facing, small, medium or big.
To be fair with customers, charge them 30 dollars per day, also with viruses, you never know when something might take abit too long to get rid of or the system is too damaged to even be fixed with a few patch up repair in the os.

Keep a documentation on what your doing on the customers pc if it takes more than a day and provide them a update every 4 hours.

I did it like this and people highly like it that way, some people are on deadlines at jobs some have kids who need their pc fixed or whatever nonsense may happen.

 

[techleaner]

Thanks for the info i feel alot more confident now to take on more systems thanks again.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

I would look at what local small business shops in your region charge, and then consider what you actually put INTO repairing a machine for a customer and come up with a price, trying to stay as low as possible to attract customers.

 

[Nitestick]

I used to do a lot of free fixes or accept payment when it was offered but people abused that, so I had to start charging. I'd take $50 per fix for simpler issues and come up with a price based on the job for larger ones. Be wary though that if you start charging then there's a burden of getting the job done right. It's OK to do a half-a***d job when you're doing it probono but once you start accepting money you should be vigilant to ensure all necessary data is backed up etc and that your work on the hardware is sound.

 

[WERTZtilitHURTZ]

This is coming from the perspective of an entrepreneur. For starters, I would say take your total time spent per project and figure out what a good hourly wage for yourself would be in that time frame. Certainly don't be afraid to charge more for expertise. After all, that is why people are coming to you; because they can't fix their computer problem. Needless to say, you have to be fair as well.

Also, I think you should really consider keeping the prices as low as possible in order to break into the market. With the economy being what it is right now, that's the best way to pull in customers fast. Perhaps you could use this free thing to your advantage and for select customers. Maybe, say, "First PC fix every day is free." Easy way to generate a bit of word of mouth. Best of luck to you!