Fixed price or time and materials? How to choose per job

The rule of thumb: a fixed price when the scope is well defined and you can judge the risks — time and materials when the conditions are unknown, as in renovating old houses where nobody knows what is behind the wall. A fixed price rewards your efficiency; time and materials moves the risk to the customer but requires trust and transparency.

When a fixed price is right

Well-defined jobs with known conditions: a deck on level ground, replacing a water heater, repainting newly renovated rooms. You can work out the scope, add a reasonable risk margin and stand behind the price. If you work faster than the costing, the gain is yours — a fixed price rewards skill and experience.

The catch: everything not written in the quote is included in the customer’s head. On a fixed price, a clear scope description and a watertight variation routine are not nice-to-haves — they are the business model itself.

When time and materials is right

Jobs where nobody can know the scope in advance: damp damage, renovating a turn-of-the-century house, fault finding. Putting a fixed price on the unknown means either a risk premium the customer does not want to pay or a loss you do not want to take.

Time and materials requires transparency to feel safe for the customer: state the hourly rate, estimate a range, and keep the customer updated when the forecast changes. A customer surprised by the final invoice is a customer you never see again — and under the Swedish Consumer Services Act the final price may normally not considerably exceed an approximate price estimate.

Always count the hours — whichever model you use

Even when you sell a fixed price you need to know your real hours — otherwise you do not know which types of job are profitable. The sharpest firms cost internally in hours and materials, sell a fixed price where they can, and keep the efficiency gain. In Bliqat you choose the billing type per quote: the customer sees a clean fixed price while your internal basis with the hours stays available for costing and follow-up.

Common questions

Can I combine a fixed price and time and materials in the same quote?

Yes, and it is often sensible: a fixed price on the well-defined part and time and materials on the risky parts — for example a fixed price on the bathroom but time and materials on any damp damage found during the strip-out. Make the boundary clear in the quote.

What is a "capped price"?

Time and materials with a maximum amount — the customer pays for the actual time up to the cap. It gives the customer security and you all the risk; set the cap with the same care as a fixed price.

Updated 2026-06-10. This guide is general information — for the current tax rules, see Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency.