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The HVAC contractor with a well-organized price book makes more money than the one who "figures it out" on every job. When you guess on pricing, you either leave money on the table (too low) or lose jobs to competitors (too high). A price book removes the guessing.
Download the HVAC flat-rate price book (.xlsx): 41 common repairs with hours, parts, your cost and the price, worked out from your hourly rate and a sliding parts markup. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets. For equipment and materials, there's also a 200-row price book template.
This guide shows you exactly how to build an HVAC price book template that keeps your profit consistent on every job. We'll cover what to include, how to calculate markup, and how to maintain it so it stays accurate. Updated for 2026.
What you'll get: complete price book structure, equipment and labor pricing guidance, markup calculation formulas, and a free downloadable Excel template you can customize for your business.
Free HVAC price book template download. Excel, 200 rows, markups built in.
Two free files. The flat-rate price book prices 41 common service repairs (capacitors to inducer motors) from your hourly rate and your parts markup; the repairs and their hours are the starter book built into EstimateKit. The 200-row template on the free templates page covers the equipment and materials side: your cost, your markup by category, and the sell price.
Download the flat-rate price book → · Get the 200-row template →
EstimateKit is HVAC quoting software ($49/month for your whole team) with a built-in price book. Pick items from it and they land on the quote at your prices, with good-better-best options, then manage customers, jobs and invoices from the same place. Try free for 14 days →
41 HVAC flat-rate repairs, priced. Hours, parts and price at $125 an hour.
These are the repairs most residential service calls end in, from a capacitor to an ECM blower motor. Each one has the hours one tech needs (setup and cleanup included, no drive time), the parts it uses at a typical 2026 contractor cost, and a flat price: the parts on the sliding scale from our HVAC markup chart, plus the hours at $125, rounded up to a price ending in 9.
Change the rate and every price moves: in the spreadsheet the hourly rate, your tech cost and the parts scale are three cells on the Settings tab. Refrigerant is priced per pound on top of the repair that found the leak.
Checked against what homeowners are quoted
We checked 18 of the repairs against published price ranges: https://www.fixr.com/articles/ac-repair-cost-understanding-common-issues-and-when-to-replace and HomeAdvisor's https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/repair-a-furnace/ and https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/repair-an-hvac-system/ tables (both updated June 2026). With one flat 50% markup on parts, 10 of 18 land inside the range. On the sliding scale, 16 of 18 do.
The repairs that fall short with a flat markup are the cheap-part ones: a $13.50 capacitor at 50% adds under $7, so the price is almost all labor. That's why most shops use a sliding scale for parts. Two still sit outside the range: a flame sensor swap (half an hour and an $18 part, against $150-250 quoted) and a TXV (four hours of recovery, brazing and evacuation, against HomeAdvisor's $100-500, which reads like the part more than the job). Price those two by hand.
The repairs, descriptions and hours are the HVAC starter book built into EstimateKit. Part costs are typical contractor costs; R-410A is set at $18 a pound because https://www.acdirect.com/blog/r410a-cost-per-pound-2026 puts 2026 contractor cost at $16-20 after the phase-down. Use your supply house's prices; the parts columns are yours to change.
What is an HVAC price book? Your master reference for pricing.
An HVAC price book is your master reference for pricing every job consistently. It contains all your equipment costs, material prices, labor rates, and markup formulas in one place. When you need to quote a job, you look up the items, apply your formulas, and know exactly what to charge.
Why every contractor needs one
The ROI of a price book
The contractors who complain about "tight margins" are often the ones pricing from memory. Organized contractors know their numbers and protect their profit.
What to include in your HVAC price book. Six core sections.
A complete HVAC price book has six core sections. Each section builds on the others to give you complete job pricing capability. The cost and sell figures below are typical ranges; use your own distributor costs.
Section 1: Equipment pricing
This is your largest section—all the equipment you install with costs and selling prices.
Section 2: Materials and supplies
Markup on materials varies a lot by item (refrigerant runs far higher than duct). The HVAC markup chart has typical percentages for each.
Section 3: Labor rates
To turn a technician wage into a billable rate, use the HVAC labor rate calculator.
Section 4: Service packages
Pre-built packages for common jobs speed up quoting dramatically:
"Standard AC Replacement" (3-ton, 14 SEER)
"Premium System Replacement" (Furnace + AC)
Section 5: Maintenance agreements
More on plan design in the HVAC maintenance agreement template guide.
Section 6: Add-ons and upgrades
Add-ons are a good way to raise the average ticket without discounting the main system. Packages plus add-ons also give you the three tiers for good-better-best pricing.
How to calculate your HVAC markup percentages. Markup is not margin.
Selling Price = Cost × (1 + Markup Percentage)
Example: equipment cost $2,000, markup 40%: $2,000 × 1.40 = $2,800
For a fuller breakdown by item, including refrigerant and small parts, see the HVAC markup chart 2026, or run your own numbers in the HVAC markup calculator.
Calculating your markup
Step 2: Determine desired profit (target 40% margin on the total job)
Percentage added to cost. Cost $100, markup 50% = sell $150. Profit $50 = 33% margin.
Percentage of selling price. Sell $150, profit $50 = 33% profit margin. Most contractors think in markup but should think in profit margin.
How to build your HVAC price book, step by step. Four weeks, 10-15 hours.
Go through the past 6-12 months of jobs. What did you install? Furnaces, ACs, heat pumps, thermostats, air quality products.
Call your distributors. Get costs for the 20-30 most common items. Ask about price trends.
Use the template, add your items: model numbers, descriptions, costs, target markup (start with 40%).
List common materials: refrigerant, copper line sets, ductwork, registers, electrical supplies. Get costs from your supplier. Apply 30-40% markup.
What do you pay techs? ($20-30/hour) Add 30% for taxes, insurance, benefits. True cost: $26-39/hour. Sell labor at: $100-125/hour.
For common tasks, set flat rates based on typical time × your labor rate + small markup.
Build 3-5 common packages: Standard Furnace Replacement, Premium AC Replacement, Full System Replacement. Pre-calculate totals for quick quoting.
Use the price book to quote 5 past jobs. Compare to what you actually charged. Adjust if needed.
Show the price book to an experienced contractor friend or mentor for review.
Start using the price book on real quotes. Track actual costs vs estimates.
Total time investment: 10-15 hours.
Flat rate vs time & materials price books. Use both.
Flat rate pricing
Every task has a fixed price regardless of time taken. Best for: service calls, common installations, residential work.
Time & materials pricing
Charge for actual time + materials used + markup. Best for: complex installations, commercial work, custom jobs.
Use flat rate for 80% of common jobs (service calls, standard replacements, common repairs, maintenance). Use T&M for 20% of unusual jobs (custom ductwork, commercial projects, weird old houses). Your price book should have both.
In EstimateKit, the price book has a flat-rate repairs section: each repair's price is built from the labor hours, the parts it uses, your hourly rate and your parts markup, with the margin shown. A starter book of 41 common residential repairs is added in one step and priced from your rate.
How to keep your HVAC price book updated. Quarterly checks, one annual review.
Don't apologize for price increases. Confident contractors raise prices. Broke contractors compete on price.
7 HVAC price book mistakes to avoid. And the fix for each.
At $125 an hour, half an hour of labor plus a $13.50 run capacitor priced on a sliding scale comes to $109; a dual capacitor $119. Fixr puts what homeowners pay at $100-400, around $175 on average. Many shops charge more because their diagnostic fee or trip charge is separate.
Yes. The spreadsheet on this page has 41 common HVAC repairs with hours, parts and a price worked out from your hourly rate and parts markup. It opens in Excel or Google Sheets, and there's no email needed to download it.
Yes. Flat rate pricing for common repairs speeds up quotes and increases consistency. Service contractors benefit just as much from organized pricing as installation contractors.
No. Your markup and pricing strategy is proprietary business information. This is your competitive advantage—guard it carefully.
No. Customers see the quote, not your internal pricing formulas. Your price book is a tool for creating quotes, not a customer-facing document.
At minimum, have rates for installation vs service work. Ideal: rates by specific task (furnace install, AC install, thermostat replacement, etc.).
As a starting point, yes. But customize for your market, costs, and overhead. Your costs ≠ their costs. What works in Texas may not work in New York.
This is a common realization. Better to know now than after bankruptcy. Raise prices on future jobs and learn from the experience.
Yes, but not much less. A helper may cost you $20/hour but charge $75-85 (not the full $100+ you charge for a licensed tech).
"I understand it seems high. This price reflects quality equipment, expert installation, warranty, and my 15 years of experience. I'd rather explain price once than apologize for quality forever."
Build your HVAC price book today. Excel or software, just start.
A price book is the foundation of a profitable HVAC business. Without one, you're guessing on every job. With one, you're confidently pricing work that makes money.
Time investment: 10-15 hours to build. Return: consistent, accurate pricing on every quote after that.
Download the free Excel template and spend this weekend building your price book. Future you will thank present you.
EstimateKit has the price book built in, with good-better-best quotes, customers, jobs, invoices and up to 25 team members for $49/month. Start free trial →
Either path works—just commit to building and maintaining your price book. Your business's profitability depends on it.