When it comes to deciding the price of your product and service you need to be very careful since this will be the deciding criteria for your clients. A price too high and you will lose out customers and a price too low will reduce the perceived value of your product, or worse still you will be unable to generate much profit from your business
When estimating the price for your product, you should consider the following:
* The size of the job and the time you’ll need to complete it (including ordering and installing products, etc.)
* The cost of product
* The services, in addition to your own, that may be needed (i.e., carpet or drywall installation)
* The number of outside service people you will need (eg -to lay that carpet, to paint the space)
* The deadline given by the client for completing the job (a rush job is always billed at a higher rate)
* Your markup (typically a minimum of 15 percent)
Deciding the rates for your products
There are various ways in which you could decide the rate for your products and services.Some common ways are;
1.Hourly fee:
This is one of the simplest way to charge, since all you do is multiply the number of hours you actually work by your rate. This works well for a new designer because you won’t be sure about exactly how much time a job will take until you have a few jobs under your belt. You will need to set a f rate that will give you enough money to make the business profitable. Depending on where you live, your rate as a new designer may range from $30 to $120 an hour. You can decide your rate by checking with the competition (try visiting their websites to get an idea) or contacting an organization like the American Society of Interior Designers for help.
2.Flat fee:
This method can work well if you have had a couple of assignments under your belt and you have the experience to decide the time by which you would complete the job at hand. This will also work when your client supplies all the products and furniture and you are expected to finish the given assignment within your time . Here too you simply multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours you think you’ll need to complete the job, plus expenses. This fee would apply to every service you provide, from concept to installation. This is not suited to designers who are just starting out since a wrong estimation of the time to be taken to complete the job can result in losing money on the project. pretty fast.
3.Cost plus:
Here you will add up all costs that are necessary to complete the job ,such as furnishings and materials for a job as well as for any subcontractors (like carpenters, carpet installers, etc.). You will then add on an agreed-upon percentage to the total as your fee. Designers commonly charge a 20 percent service fee with this method, although some experts in the field recommend a 50 percent to 100 percent markup, depending on your market. This is one of the most common ways for designers to charge for their services.
4.Retail:
This entails charging clients the retail price for every item you purchase-and your fee is the difference between the wholesale cost you’ve paid and the retail price. In essence, this means clients aren’t paying directly for your services, which means a lower cost for them. If all you’re doing is buying products and arranging them rather than planning spaces and installing items like curtains, this pricing method can be feasible. It also works best on smaller jobs.
5.Square footage:
This method is mostly used for charging on a commercial job. The fee is calculated based on the area of the room being designed. Needless to say the costs here will include all decorating costs that will be incurred to design and decorate every square foot of the space. If you’re interested in trying this technique, use the statistics from other design work you’ve done to figure out a price per square foot. You will need to include in this price all costs to be incurred ,right from conception, design to implementation.
Whichever method you choose to use in deciding your rate, the cost of freight and the amount of time you spend planning, lining up subcontractors, buying product and supervising work should all be taken into consideration when you set your rate. You’ll have to use a combination of the methods discussed here to establish a rate that covers your costs and allows you to make a profit.