Most trade businesses set their service call fee by copying the shop down the street, who copied it from someone else in 2019. This calculator works it out from your actual numbers: what a truck roll really costs you in drive time, fuel, and overhead, plus the margin you're in business to earn. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Break-even math: overhead ÷ calls + miles × cost/mile + minutes ÷ 60 × loaded tech cost, then divided by (1 − margin). Round to a number that sounds like a price: $89, not $87.42. Estimates only; not financial advice.
For calibration, here's what's commonly cited across the US as of 2026, ranges vary a lot by market, and big metros run higher:
| Trade | Commonly cited service call fee range (2026) |
|---|---|
| HVAC | $75–200 (after-hours often 1.5–2×) |
| Plumbing | $50–150 |
| Electrical | $50–150 |
| Appliance repair | $50–130 |
| Garage door | $50–125 |
Ranges compiled from public sources and consumer guides as of mid-2026, treat as calibration, not gospel.
The reason your own math matters more: two shops in the same zip code can have wildly different truck-roll costs. A one-man operation running a paid-off van 8 miles between calls has half the per-visit cost of a shop covering three counties. If the calculator says $95 and your competitors charge $75, your choice isn't "match them". It's tighten your service area, raise your repair pricing to absorb the difference, or accept that every diagnostic visit that doesn't sell loses you twenty dollars.
The most effective fee policy in residential service is also the simplest: charge a real diagnostic fee, and waive it when the customer approves the repair. The fee filters out price-shoppers who were never going to buy; the waiver removes the last objection at the kitchen table ("that $89 comes off the repair"). Two rules make it work: disclose the fee when booking (never at the door) and make sure your repair pricing genuinely absorbs the truck-roll cost you're forgiving, which is exactly the number this calculator just gave you.
A fee policy only works if every caller hears it. That's the part that breaks in a one-truck shop: the phone rings, you're elbow-deep in an air handler, and the caller books whoever answered. FieldForge's Front Desk, an AI receptionist built into the same app that does your invoicing, answers those calls, quotes your service call fee word-for-word (including your waived-with-repair policy), and books the visit into your schedule. The fee you calculated above becomes the fee every caller actually hears.
Commonly cited: $75–200 HVAC, $50–150 plumbing and electrical, $50–130 appliance repair, but your fee needs to come from your own truck-roll cost, not the average.
It's a strong policy (filter with the fee, close with the waiver) as long as your repair pricing absorbs the forgiven cost.
The round trip (vehicle + paid tech time), on-site diagnostic time, and a share of monthly overhead. Anything less and no-sale visits lose money.
Yes, throughout the US, disclose it when booking, note whether it's waived with repair, and put it on the invoice as its own line.