Pricing structure for plasma cutting

[Jeff M]

Thanks to winecountry & mdwalker. Lots of good vauable info. on the money matters. People don't realize the investment we make to do what we do. This is site is the best.

Thanks a lot,
Jeff M

[hayseed]

This spreadsheet is great in my opinion. I just wanted to say thanks for shareing it!

[SouthernDove]

What kind of pricing are you guys using now?:) (I see 2009 was the year for the pricing below.) Thank You Kindly!:)
~Jennifer

[mdwalker]

What kind of pricing are you guys using now?:) (I see 2009 was the year for the pricing below.) Thank You Kindly!:)
~Jennifer

I keep the steel prices updated. Everything else stays the same.

[RobertJohnson]

Thank you for this spreadsheet, just like everyone else, I wonder, am I outrageous on my pricing, or am I way under priced. I think I'm in the middle, but seems like people want metal art for free. Still trying to get a foot in the door, and hopefully people are getting the word that there's a new guy in town. Thankfully I have people out of state that are promoting my work also, so, I hope to eventually make this a full time gig, until then, just do what I have to do to pay the bills.

With that said, I was talking with a friend the other day, and I think I need to set 3 price ranges, LOW, HIGH and what I feel like will keep me going with some profit. Not saying that I'll make a 100 dollar piece for 20, but I will start making more 20 dollar pieces. Then some 60 dollar pieces and some 120 pieces, that way if they see the 120 and think, that's too high, but I would like this 60 dollar piece. I'll let you know if this theory works, LOL Like I said, still a hobby right now. But I do love it!

[artistic touch metals]

Several years back I asked the question... How do I charge for this metal work.... Since then several of our peers have added their two cents. I whole heartedly THANK ALL OF YOU!...

The costs of running this equipment, the shop, wear and tear on tools is deceptive. It was easy to figure out the cost of materials and charge enough to replace them with a profit.... but then what about the welding wire and gas, the electric bill, the consumables.....the list is long on the hidden costs.... I just had an overhead gas shop heater burn out a circuit board. It was two years old... came to the conclusion that plasma dust got on the circuit board and fried it. Soooooo another hidden cost, and more scheduled maintenence, plus two days of hard labor moving the welding tables, welders, benders etc. out of the way so I could relocate the CNC table out from under the shop heater... go figure....

These excell sheets are a great tool. They open your eyes to see what you charged and what you should be charging. This is a specialized field. Metal fabrication alone costs big bucks in an established shop. They dont do artwork.....
The charges outlined are fair and reasonable and if we keep using them we can all stay in business. If we keep this brother in law attitude of covering the cost of material, giving price cuts to be a nice guy..... might as well plan on being out of business in a short time span.

Thanks again to all of you who have contributed your opinions here, and on the excellent artwork you post as well.
Merry Christmas
Max
Artistic Touch Metals.

[mjbdesigns]

Thank you very much for taking the time and effort to share knowledge you have compiled thru years of experience. This helps me immensely as Im trying to get my Pcam business off the ground after working 30+ years for "The Man"
I love to listen to people who are willing to share what they have learned and will do the same with my knowledge as I feel this is one of the things that makes this country what it once was and hopefully will be again some day...
Sorry but this was a long winded thank you

[mody454]

I think this spreadsheet is great. I. Was wondering if anyone could add 3/4 to it though. Or tell me how to

[Gamelord]

Here's my version of the same sheet. I tweaked it a bit for my own use.

I wish to thank the original maker of this sheet for sharing it to all of us.

It is in Open Office format - but should open up in Word/Excel no problem.

PRICEworksheet 4 PSpider.ods

[acourtjester]

Thanks for you input.

[plain ol Bill]

Thanks gamelord. I want to take a look at anything you do buddy.

[motoguy]

Interestingly enough, I am starting to find myself going the other way. I swore by the spreadsheet/app for a while. Now, though, I'm looking for a quicker way to estimate pricing. One that the customer can understand easier, as well. I think I'm going to go with the $/sq ft model. I think my pricing is a bit low right now, based off the spreadsheet. For 14ga artsy stuff, anyway. I seem to come in around $17-$20 /sq ft for bare, and about $25/sq ft painted. If I bump those up to $25/sq ft bare, and $30 / sq ft painted, the prices start to seem more "in line" with what I'd expect. We'll see how it goes.

[FENT1]

Thanks, mdwalker for the spread sheet, just finished my table, and hungry for info on pricing. I can tell this is going to be a bit of a learning curve.

That usually converts to $, so any help is greatly appreciated.

[Gahhruuba]

Thanks a bunch for this!

I now have some sort of guideline on how to do our pricing.

I'd love to see what everyone else is charging now days.

[tnbndr]

Prices/costs are going to vary from region to region. Go to some art shows/craft fairs and see what others are charging and if they are selling.
You can use spreadsheets, etc to get close but actual sales are going to clue you in. After a few years you will have a gut feel for what to charge for a certain project.
Good Luck

[X53Gunner]

I know its an old post but I'm new to this site and using a cnc plasma cutter in general. Just wanted to say thanks for sharing your knowledge and tools with us newbies, it does really help a lot. I will try and pass on fabrication knowledge as that's what I'm doing at this time while waiting on my plasma cutter. Thanks again!

[515metaldesigns]

Marty...was the .33 charge per square inch?

Thank you

[adbuch]

Marty...was the .33 charge per square inch?

Thank you

Marty hasn't been active on this forum since 2011. I'm guessing that when he said $0.33 per cut inch - he was talking about linear measurements, and not square inches. For example, a 12" x 12" square has a perimeter of 48" and would equate to approximately $16.00.
David

[515metaldesigns]

adbuch...thank you for the info. I am new to the plasma world and trying to get my files to cut correctly and figure out pricing. Its been a struggle and hoping we start making progress soon.

[adbuch]

Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.
David

[Rich_H]

My haircut doday was $20 with the tip. I'm generous.

How long did that take and how long will it last? Think about it.

On the way back to the car I thought about the signs I make and the powder coating that goes on them - and TRY to get $25.00 for. People here thing that's an outrageous price. How long did it take me to make it compared to the hair cutter and how much overhead does she have compared to me?

People are strange.

My prices are going up. They have to for me to cover my costs and put a few buck in my pocket.
They may have to drift down if sales go flat but darnit, folks just have to get used to it; I'm NOT a Chinese or Mexican factory!

I hear you. I run a fence company, and one of the things we do is gate openers. For a service call it's $185. That's what you get charged if you call in with "My gate won't open" and I send a tech out on the same day and he's able to fix it in 1 hour or less. After the first hour, or for additional trips (needs parts, etc.) there are hourly, trip, and material charges.

So for that I get calls all the time saying "I can't believe you're charging me $185 for a 9 volt battery in my remote. I could have bought one for $2!"

Sir, I didn't charge you at all for that battery.
What I charged you for was a $60k truck loaded with $15-20k worth of tools and driven by a trained, experienced, insured technician to come across town, assess your system to find out what the problem is, repair it, then test the system and safety devices to ensure that was the only problem.

You're absolutely right though -people don't take a single second to stop and think about what the real costs are...

[ROKCRLER]

Thank you all for the info, ive been trying to use the spreadsheets, but it is a tad difficult to give quick quotes...ive started telling them i'll call you back in a few and then work up the quote.

@Rich_H, your statement rings loud in my head... I have to constantly remind customers/clients of this with this nice little sign.
https://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=32476

[Arctechwelding]

Is this pricing file still available or something like it? I downloaded this, but it's protected. Willing to pay for the file/spread sheet

[ROKCRLER]

Is this pricing file still available or something like it? I downloaded this, but it's protected. Willing to pay for the file/spread sheet

Right click on sheet 1 and select unprotect.
Its protected so you dont accidentally mess up some cells. Protect it after you make your changes.

[Arctechwelding]

What businesses charging for Price per Pierce & Price per Inch?
Trying to get a good starting point to refer to when doing quotes. We get a lot of drawings on multiple gauges of steel and want to make sure we are not screwing the client or ourselves. Appreciate any assitance