The New Flat Rate Blog

Pricing, selling, and scaling, from contractors who've done it.

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Alt text: HVAC technician showing a homeowner flat rate pricing options on a tablet at the kitchen table

7 min read

Flat Rate Pricing FAQ & Glossary: 29 Terms Defined

Flat rate pricing comes with its own language: price books, billable hours, task codes, menus, options. Half of it gets used three different ways depending on who's talking. This page puts every term in one place, in plain words, the way a shop...

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 HVAC technician holding a tablet beside a friendly AI robot that casts a large, menacing shadow on the wall.

5 min read

AI: Boogeyman or Bestie

If you’re listening to the news, you’re probably about to hear someone tell you that AI will destroy the world. Unless they’ve already said it or are...

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Plumber kneeling beside a newly installed water heater in a home garage, with the old tank on a hand truck behind him

5 min read

What to Charge for a Water Heater Replacement

A customer's water heater is leaking on the garage floor and they want a number. You can guess, copy the shop down the road, or build the price from...

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5 min read

AI Search for Home Services: Fix the Path From Click to Call

Home service businesses can attract search traffic without turning it into booked work. As AI search answers more homeowner questions before a...

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5 min read

Why Contractors Keep Coming Back to MasterMind

We've probably all attended some type of event or training where we left feeling excited and motivated, ready to make all kinds of changes.

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Download the free electrical proposal template from The New Flat Rate

6 min read

Electrical Proposal Template (Good-Better-Best, Free Download)

An electrical proposal template is a document that explains the job, equipment, options, prices, and terms a customer can approve before work begins....

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Plumbing dispatcher reshuffling the board after an emergency call lands on a full schedule

4 min read

Emergency Calls: What Plumbing Dispatch Software Should Do

How do plumbing companies handle emergency calls when the schedule is already full? Not with better routing. The best plumbing dispatch software...

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Plumber showing a homeowner pricing options on a tablet in her kitchen

7 min read

Plumbing Customer Retention: How to Turn One Service Call Into a Customer for Life

Every plumbing company has a number it never looks at. Not revenue, not average ticket. The percentage of last year's customers who called you again...

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5 min read

Financial Literacy for Contractors: Make Numbers Useful

Busy contractors can still feel broke. When pricing, expenses, and cash are unclear, hard work may not translate into a stable business or the...

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4 min read

Plumbing Estimating Software: Which Kind Do You Need?

What's the best estimating software for a plumbing company? It depends on the work you do. Commercial and new-construction plumbers need takeoff and...

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