How to build a garage door price book that makes money
A price book is a list of every job you do with a set price for each. Customers get a clear price before work starts. Techs stop guessing. And you know every job covers its costs. Here is how to build one for a garage door business.
1. Start with your hourly rate
Every price in the book comes from one number: your target rate per billable hour. If you don't know it, start with our guide to the break-even labour rate, or run the free shop rate check.
2. List your jobs with a time and a parts list
Each job (a "task") needs two things: how long it takes on site, and what parts it uses. A residential book usually covers:
- Springs: pairs and singles by cycle rating, extension springs, 1-to-2 conversions
- Cables, rollers, hinges, drums and bearings
- Tracks: off-track resets, track replacement
- Seals: bottom seals, retainers, perimeter weatherstrip
- Tune-ups and safety checks
- Openers: chain, belt and wall-mount installs, plus accessories
- Sections and new doors
- Add-ons done with another repair, priced lower because you're already on site
3. Mark up parts on a sliding scale
A flat markup doesn't work. Triple a $5 part and it is still only $15. Triple a $900 door and nobody buys it. Use a bigger multiplier on cheap parts and a smaller one on expensive parts. DoorBot's starting scale looks like this (you can change it):
- Up to $5: 4.0×
- $5 to $15: 3.0×
- $15 to $40: 2.5×
- $40 to $100: 2.2×
- $100 to $250: 1.8×
- $250 to $500: 1.55×
- $500 to $1,000: 1.4×
- Over $1,000: 1.3×
Watch the edges. A part that costs $101 should never sell for less than one that costs $99. A good tool keeps the price from dropping when a part crosses into a lower tier.
4. Price each task
Task price = (hours × your rate) + (parts at cost × markup), then round up to a clean number such as the next $5.
5. Check the margin on every line
Gross margin is the price minus labour and parts cost, divided by price. Industry sources put the garage door target at 55% to 65% for service work. New door installs run lower, since the door itself is a big part of the price. Flag any task below your floor and fix it.
6. Bundle tasks into good, better, best
Your price book is the building block for options. A spring call might offer standard springs (Good), high-cycle springs and cables (Better), or long-life springs with cables, rollers and a tune-up (Best). Customers choose more often when they see honest choices, and the first option is always a complete, safe repair.
7. Load it where your techs work
Jobber and Housecall Pro can both import a price book from a CSV file. When your costs change, update the book and import it again. Print a price sheet for any truck that works on paper.
8. Update it when costs change
Door and opener prices changed several times in the last two years. A price book is only useful if it keeps up. Update part costs when your supplier changes prices, and recheck your rate every year.
Or start with one that's already built
DoorBot comes with 86 residential garage door jobs, each with a time and parts list and typical 2026 dealer costs for Canada and the US. Enter your own numbers and every price updates. Export straight to Jobber or Housecall Pro. Try it free for 14 days, no card needed.