Fine-tune your minimum charge
How do you calculate a handyman minimum charge?
Add up every minute a visit costs you (round-trip drive, setup, cleanup and the paperwork) plus the shortest job you'll take, multiply by your hourly rate, then add your vehicle cost for the miles. That total is the least a visit can bring in without you paying to show up.
A 15-minute faucet washer sounds like a quarter-hour of work. With a 30-minute round trip, ten minutes of setup and cleanup, and ten more for the quote and invoice, it is more than an hour of your day. At $75 an hour, that hour is your floor.
A small job is never small for the person driving to it.
The vehicle line uses 76 cents a mile, the IRS business standard mileage rate for July 1 to December 31, 2026 (IRS standard mileage rates (checked November 2026)). It is a yardstick, not your real cost. If you track fuel, insurance and wear, use your own number.
Who this calculator is not for
- Crews with a dispatcher and a shop. Your overhead per visit is bigger than drive and paperwork; you need a full overhead rate.
- Flat-rate menu shops. If every job already has a fixed price that includes travel, a minimum adds nothing.
- Anyone wanting tax answers. The mileage figure here is a cost yardstick, not tax advice on what you can deduct.
Proof: where the minimum lives in ScopeBid
ScopeBid keeps a local price book of services, materials, trip charges and minimums. Add the minimum to a quote as its own line, and Profit Guard shows what the job leaves you.
Screens shown in a tinted duotone; the app itself is navy with orange buttons. The store example is a painting job.
Minimum charge questions
What is a handyman minimum charge?
The smallest amount you bill for any visit, however short the job. It exists because every visit costs you drive time, setup, cleanup and paperwork before you touch a screwdriver. Many handymen state it as a one-hour minimum or a flat service-call fee.
Should I charge a trip fee or a minimum charge?
A trip fee is added on top of the job price; a minimum is a floor the job price can't go below. A minimum is simpler for small jobs, while a trip fee is clearer for far-away customers. Some pros use both: a minimum in town, plus a trip fee beyond a set distance.
What mileage rate should I use for my vehicle cost?
The calculator uses the IRS business standard mileage rate as a yardstick: 76 cents a mile for July 1 to December 31, 2026, and 72.5 cents for the first half of 2026, per the IRS standard mileage rates (checked November 2026). Your real cost per mile may be higher or lower; replace it with your own if you track it.
How do I tell a customer about my minimum?
Say it before you book, in one sentence: "I have a one-hour minimum of $X, so if you have any other small jobs, we can do them in the same visit." It turns the minimum into a reason to add work, not a surprise on the invoice.
Can ScopeBid add my minimum automatically?
ScopeBid's price book keeps services, materials, trip charges and minimums you set, and you can add them as lines on a quote. Its App Store listing does not describe an automatic rule that raises a quote to the minimum, so you add the line yourself.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you choose. What you charge is your decision, and local market rates vary a lot.
Honest limits
- Your first 3 quotes are free with full PDFs. Unlimited quoting, the full Business Memory, job costing and invoicing are ScopeBid Pro, billed monthly or yearly.
- ScopeBid records payments; it does not take cards or move money.
- It is an estimating and invoicing tool, not accounting or tax software. You set your own tax rates.
- One design decision we made: the optional minimum-margin warning can be overridden. Sometimes a small job for a good customer is worth doing at cost, and that should be your call.
Make it a habit with ScopeBid
Save your minimum and trip charge once in the price book, then add them to every small quote.
Make it a habit with ScopeBid on the App Store · Updated November 2026
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