Day Rate vs Fixed-Price Quotes: Which Should You Use?
Every tradesperson eventually has this argument with themselves: quote a day rate and protect yourself against the unknown, or quote a fixed price and give the customer the certainty they usually want. Neither is universally right. The job in front of you should decide which one you reach for, not habit.
Fixed price: certainty, in exchange for you carrying the risk
A fixed price tells the customer exactly what they'll pay, which is what most people want to hear, and it rewards you if you work efficiently. The trade-off is that you're carrying all the risk of the job taking longer than expected. Fixed price works best when the scope is genuinely knowable in advance: a boiler swap, a known-length fence, a rewire where the circuit count and cable runs are already clear.
Day rate: you get paid for your time, whatever happens
A day rate means you're paid for the hours you actually work, so unexpected complications extend the timeline and the bill together rather than eating your margin. It's the right call when the scope is genuinely unclear until you're into the job: repair work behind old plaster, restoration where the extent of damage is unknown, or anything where "how long will this take" is honestly "it depends what we find."
The customer's real objection to day rate isn't the concept, it's the blank cheque
Most pushback on day-rate quoting isn't really about the hourly figure, it's the fear of an open-ended bill with no ceiling. Solve this by always pairing a day rate with an honest estimate: "£X per day, expected 3 to 4 days, so roughly £Y to £Z total." That single addition turns a day rate from a blank cheque into a number the customer can actually plan around, while keeping the flexibility if the job genuinely runs longer.
Mixing the two on one job
Plenty of real jobs are part known, part unknown, and the quote should reflect that honestly rather than forcing everything into one model. Fix the price for the parts you can define, such as supplying and fitting a known fixture, and day-rate the parts that depend on what's found, such as repairing whatever's behind the wall once it's opened up. Label each line clearly so the customer knows which parts are firm and which are estimated.
Protecting yourself either way
Whichever model you use, the quote should state what happens if the scope changes: for fixed price, that any additional work outside the original description is priced and agreed separately before you do it; for day rate, that you'll flag it clearly if the job is running longer than the original estimate, rather than the customer discovering it for the first time on the invoice.
Quote either way, in one tool
TradeQuoteKit's free quote generator handles day-rate and fixed-price line items in the same document, with totals worked out for you.
Open the quote generatorDay rate vs fixed price FAQs
Can I mix day rate and fixed price on the same job?
Yes, and it's often the right answer. Fix the price for the parts of the job you can define precisely, and quote a day rate with an estimated number of days for the parts that depend on what you find, such as repair work behind an opened-up wall. State clearly on the quote which lines are which.
Do customers trust day rates less than fixed prices?
Some do, because an open-ended day rate feels like a blank cheque to them. The fix isn't to avoid day rates, it's to always attach an estimated total (rate times expected days) so the customer has a number to plan around, even though it's explicitly not fixed.
Which is better for my own cash flow, day rate or fixed price?
Day rate is generally safer for cash flow since you're paid for time regardless of how the job unfolds. Fixed price can be more profitable when you're fast and the job goes to plan, but it's you who absorbs the cost if it runs long, so it needs a more careful scope and a contingency built into the figure.
What if a fixed-price job runs massively over what I estimated?
If the extra time is because the job genuinely changed scope (the customer added work, or something unexpected was found), that's a variation, price it separately and get it agreed before continuing. If it ran over purely because you underestimated your own speed, that's a pricing lesson for next time, not something to pass on to this customer.