That small repair that felt like easy money rarely is, once you count the drive, the load-up, the dump run, and the afternoon it ate. Small jobs don’t lose money because the work is hard. They lose money because the cost of showing up is the same whether you’re doing 40 square feet or 400.
Why small jobs go underwater
Every job carries a block of cost that has nothing to do with its size: loading the truck, driving out, unloading, setting up, cleaning up, driving back. Call it mobilization. On a big job it disappears into the total. On a small one it can be most of the invoice.
That’s also why pricing small work off your normal per-unit rate fails. The rate assumes those fixed costs get spread across real footage, and at 60 square feet they don’t. There’s more on that trap in pricing small jobs so they pay.
Back into the number from a real day
Don’t guess your minimum. Build it once from your own costs. Example numbers to show the method, swap in yours:
- Two guys and the truck cost $150 an hour to keep on the road (wages, fuel, insurance, gear).
- A small job still eats about two hours of loading, driving, setup, and cleanup. That’s $300 spent before any work happens.
- Add one hour of actual work: $150 more, so $450 of cost on the smallest job you’d take.
- Add margin and round to a number you can say out loud: $550 or $600.
That’s your floor. Quote every job normally, then charge whichever is higher, the quoted price or the minimum. The minimum isn’t your small-job price. It’s the bar a small job has to clear.
Say it like a fact, not an apology
A minimum only works if you can state it without flinching. “We have a $600 minimum on any job” is a fact about your business, the same as your service area. The moment you explain it defensively, it sounds negotiable.
Two moves make it land easier. Say it early, on the first call, so the wrong-fit jobs filter out before you’ve driven anywhere. And offer a bundle: “While we’re out there, anything else need doing? Cracked walk, loose step?” One trip covering three small tasks is a good deal for both sides, and the minimum is what makes the trip worth taking. The smallest pour where all of this bites hardest is the shed pad; how to price a shed slab works that case end to end.
Knowing your number instantly matters too, because a minimum you have to look up sounds like one you just made up. Keep it stored with the rates you quote from in the truck. PriceDesk keeps a minimum job charge alongside your rates so the floor applies itself, free for 14 days, no card.