There are many factors that affect the success of any plumbing company. Aside from proper marketing strategies, you need to make sure that you are paying your plumbers well. Remember that your plumbers are the heart of your plumbing company. They work so hard to keep your business thriving and thus deserve fair pay. In this article, Tony Gee will discuss the various ways multi-million dollar plumbing companies pay their plumbers, laborers, salesmen, managers and almost everyone inside their plumbing company.
How To Pay the Plumbers Hourly
The amount you should pay your plumbers hourly depends on factors such as, their skill set, years of experience and State. For example, in California, the large hourly range is $15 – $52 an hour. The hourly rate highly depends on the skillset a plumber has. Take the following into consideration; is the plumber running the service calls themselves or are they running behind the guy that’s doing the service call and doing more for the job? For example, if it is a repipe, is the plumber doing all the labor on their own? Some plumbers have more skillsets than others, which is why the range is so big. The average hourly rate is between $20/hour to $30, hour in California and may vary in different states.
How To Pay Plumbers on Commission
There are two ways you can pay your plumbers on commission:
- Sliding Commission Scale
A sliding commission is a payment to plumbers at varying percentages, depending on the amount of sales. “Amount” here means the dollar amount. For example, the percent paid for a sliding commission to a given plumber varies with the total dollar amount of their total sales. In California, the range of a sliding commission wage varies between 20% to 30% of the dollar amount.
- Fixed Commission Scale
A fixed commission scale, on the other hand, depends on whether the plumber is an employee or a subcontractor. For employees, the commission range is 20% to 30% of the total sales. Subcontractors attract a higher rate of 30% to 50% of the total sales.
Hourly VS Commission
As a plumber business owner, you may be wondering whether to pay your plumbers an hourly rate or a given amount of commission. To make a good decision, compare the number of worked hours at minimum wage ($13.50 minimum wage in California) versus the amount of commission. If a plumber had a bad week and the commission doesn’t surpass the minimum wage amount, then the plumber will be paid the minimum wage number for that week.
Should you pay weekly or every two weeks?
This mainly depends on how you manage your business internally and what is convenient for your plumbing company. Click here
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How to give Bonuses to the plumbers
If a plumber has worked over 5 years, they should get an extra 1-2% commission. Similarly, if a plumber has a Journeyman’s License they should get an extra 1-2% commission.
How to Pay your plumbing Salesman
A salesman should get at least 8% of the total sales on a regular basis. If they hit their sales goal (Total dollar amount of Sales a month) then they get a 10% commission. You can set the sales goals: 50k – 100k of sales a month depending on the size and culture of your company.
How much to pay the Laborers
This depends on State Minimum Wage. When Tony started, he got a $12/hr rate when the minimum was $10/hr (+$2/hr above the minimum wage of state).
Are you a plumbing business owner looking for better ways to run your plumbing company? Do you want to get more plumbing leads and increase your revenue? Click Here
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