Pricing & Accounting Changes for Flooring Inspections & Consulting
There is a lot of misconception & misunderstanding in professional services, including the floor inspection industry. All attorneys are not charging the same hourly or flat fee, nor do all mechanics, physicians, builders, plumbers, electricians, or any other professional. There are many factors that play into how a professional charges for their time. This is also why I do not list a pricing schedule for floor inspections on my website since no two floors are the same.
Pricing inspections is more than just placing an arbitrary number on a process; too many variables can affect the cost of a complete, professional inspection in order to write a comprehensive report. No two floors are alike; each will require a unique level of time involved, even if the floors are in same neighborhood, same floor plan, or same size. I price each inspection individually based on criteria such as:
• Type of floor covering (factory finished wood requires less time than site finished wood; ceramic tile requires more time to inspect & research than carpet, laminate, or vinyl).
• Total size of installation & total % of installed flooring involved.
• Type of concerns or number of concerns involved (more concerns requires more time).
• Age of flooring (problems occurring months or years later require more time to inspect).
• Purpose of the inspection report (one going to retailer, builder, or manufacturer requires a different report than one that may go to litigation).
• Commissioning party (the nature of the report & purpose will affect pricing).
• Volume discount (manufacturers get lower prices due to volume).
• Nature of the report (manufacturers only need to know if the concerns are their problems in part or full or notso they can correct anything that is manufacturing related).
• How fast does inspection need to be done (variables such as travel time/distance, urgency, etc can affect pricing. Inspections done when on route with other inspections get split travel costs which will help lower overall pricing).
Even McDonalds, with more than 13,000 restaurants do not charge the same for all menu items across the country, in a state, or even in the same city. Sometimes the same franchise owner sets different prices in their own stores for whatever reason. This is why I can not place an arbitrary price on an inspection without knowing what will be involved.
I am NOT the highest priced inspector in my area, but I am also not the cheapest. My purpose is to provide a client with an honest, timely, unbiased comprehensive report of my inspection to help them come to a resolution with other parties involved. In other words, I am hired because someone has a flooring problem they can not get resolved; my goal is to help them get to the proper resolution.
Other than manufacturers, I will require payment in full at time of inspection. If payment is not rendered at time of service, I will send the findings C.O.D. & add on the handling fees before a report will be delivered.
I am no different than a doctor, attorney, retailer, builder, or any other professional; I want to be paid at time services are rendered. I will price each inspection based on what you want to hire us to do. Additional services are requested will be billed accordingly if they were not priced in the initial request.
Thank you for your understanding in this matter.
