Finer details of starting a Computer Repair shop?

[berderder]

Hi all,

 

I'm really just toying with the idea of what it would be like to start a little PC Repair Shop or being an independent contractor who travels to clients and services IT related problems.

 

Anybody here own a PC Repair shop or do something similar to that?

 

What kind of prices and services do you offer?

 

How big is your shop?

 

What kind of overhead do you have?

 

Is it working out well for you?

[Illumination]

protip: dont do that

[berderder]

1 minute ago, Illumination said:

protip: dont do that

Do elaborate

[airdeano]

a piece of advice i learned years ago:

 

once you charge money for your services, you will be doing hardware/software support 27/10/425days.

 

accepting money from strangers to do a service is easy, the expectations of said stranger usually are understood, but that call " remember that graphics card you installed for $25, my machine no longer comes on and i have to get my work emails, when can you fix this?" at 2:31am. then you make it a simple fix, then 2days later the system doesn't boot and now their in house monitoring no longer works and it was something you had done (not really) they exclaim, "it never did that until you installed that card thing" and this ball of wax is melting before your eyes. you'll try and explain who, what, where, why and they just want it fixed (for free) which usually means some hardware issues/damage and they will not buy any other reason than you fixing it for free or get sued. if have that temperament dealing with people/situations, you might be cut out for PC repair. otherwise stick to fixing friends/family PCs.

 

also, consult your local area laws and statutes as you might be required to have/display a business license. thus means sales tax collection/distribution.

 

similar threads:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/585878-pc-repair-business-owner-thoughts-on-subscription-repair-plans/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/513982-what-does-it-take-to-be-a-computer-repair-person/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/429575-qualifications-for-a-computer-repair-technician/

[berderder]

3 minutes ago, airdeano said:

a piece of advice i learned years ago:

 

once you charge money for your services, you will be doing hardware/software support 27/10/425days.

 

accepting money from strangers to do a service is easy, the expectations of said stranger usually are understood, but that call " remember that graphics card you installed for $25, my machine no longer comes on and i have to get my work emails, when can you fix this?" at 2:31am. then you make it a simple fix, then 2days later the system doesn't boot and now their in house monitoring no longer works and it was something you had done (not really) they exclaim, "it never did that until you installed that card thing" and this ball of wax is melting before your eyes. you'll try and explain who, what, where, why and they just want it fixed (for free) which usually means some hardware issues/damage and they will not buy any other reason than you fixing it for free or get sued. if have that temperament dealing with people/situations, you might be cut out for PC repair. otherwise stick to fixing friends/family PCs.

 

also, consult your local area laws and statutes as you might be required to have/display a business license. thus means sales tax collection/distribution.

I can definitely see there being sticky situations but I think that usually comes with the territory of customer service related jobs. I see your point though.

 

Yes, I would have to put money in savings towards tax season. I'd probably put away 10% of my income and then see what my tax bill comes out to 

[airdeano]

i am speaking of federal, state, county, and city tax collection on services rendered. the sales tax charged to the customer has to be collected and in most states a quarterly/monthly report and check needs to be sent to the tax collection for redistribution.

[berderder]

On 6/18/2016 at 1:55 PM, airdeano said:

a piece of advice i learned years ago:

 

once you charge money for your services, you will be doing hardware/software support 27/10/425days.

 

accepting money from strangers to do a service is easy, the expectations of said stranger usually are understood, but that call " remember that graphics card you installed for $25, my machine no longer comes on and i have to get my work emails, when can you fix this?" at 2:31am. then you make it a simple fix, then 2days later the system doesn't boot and now their in house monitoring no longer works and it was something you had done (not really) they exclaim, "it never did that until you installed that card thing" and this ball of wax is melting before your eyes. you'll try and explain who, what, where, why and they just want it fixed (for free) which usually means some hardware issues/damage and they will not buy any other reason than you fixing it for free or get sued. if have that temperament dealing with people/situations, you might be cut out for PC repair. otherwise stick to fixing friends/family PCs.

 

also, consult your local area laws and statutes as you might be required to have/display a business license. thus means sales tax collection/distribution.

 

similar threads:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/585878-pc-repair-business-owner-thoughts-on-subscription-repair-plans/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/513982-what-does-it-take-to-be-a-computer-repair-person/

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/429575-qualifications-for-a-computer-repair-technician/

Reading the threads you linked now. Thanks.

 

 

On 6/18/2016 at 2:02 PM, airdeano said:

i am speaking of federal, state, county, and city tax collection on services rendered. the sales tax charged to the customer as to be collected and in most states a quarterly/monthly report and check needs to be sent to the tax collection for redistribution.

What would be the downside of charging a flat rate of $50 an hour and the customer is responsible for the cost of new parts?

 

Also, I'd like to do by appointment only. I have a dedicated workspace that wouldn't be a 9 - 5 shop.  

[airdeano]

would be a fine rate, but if doing a home install, d/l of latest drivers (500MB file) on their 5Mb connection runs the clock up. what 'cha gunna do?

 

i ran a mobile PC repair for years (dr chips mobile PCR) and a flat-rate is for only cut-and-dry (10% figuratively) jobs.

the machines are easy to deal with, it is their owners that are the genuine PITA.

[berderder]

7 minutes ago, airdeano said:

would be a fine rate, but if doing a home install, d/l of latest drivers (500MB file) on their 5Mb connection runs the clock up. what 'cha gunna do?

 

i ran a mobile PC repair for years (dr chips mobile PCR) and a flat-rate is for only cut-and-dry (10% figuratively) jobs.

the machines are easy to deal with, it is their owners that are the genuine PITA.

All fair points

[Lolucoca]

It's not going to be fun Customer expectations are frustratingly high and you have to fix everything within 10 minutes, give customers a detailed explanation why CPUs are as expensive as they are, don't do it An example would be: 

*Customer walks in*

Customer: "Hi. I'd like to get my MacBook fixed. It doesn't have any backlight. How much is it gonna cost?"

Me: "I can't tell you exactly how much you're gonna have to pay for that since I don't know what's wrong with it. It could be a thousand different things."

Customer: "Okay, you can take it. As I said, it doesn't have backlight. Call me when it's fixed."

Me: "I will start working on it straight away."

*10 Minutes later, my phone rings, it's that guy again*

Customer: "Have you fixed it yet?"

Me: "I'm working on it, as I said, I will call you when it's fixed."

*I'm trying to boot the machine up, nothing. Not even a green light on the charger. I open this thing up and there's cat pee all over it. I'm calling the Customer*

Me: "Hey. I just wanted to say that it's going to take longer and that I have to charge more since it's not a no-backlight-repair."

Customer: "But it doesn't have any backlight."

Me: "It's full of disgusting stuff that's shorting the whole thing out. No backlight means you can see an image on the screen but it's not lit."

Customer: "Just repair it."

*I'm throwing the board in the ultrasonic cleaner, just to get rid of the cat pee and those gross bits of junk, I'm testing power rails and luckily, CPU and GPU seem to work fine.

But U6915 is blown. I'm calling the Customer to inform him that it's going to take a few days since I don't have that part in stock*

Me: "Hello, I just wanted to inform you that the repair is going to take a few days. I have already identified the dead component, but it's going to take a few days for the component to arrive."

Customer: "I thought you were gonna give it back to me right away! F*** you! I'm gonna come to pick it up and repair it myself!"

*Customer comes to pick the broken MacBook up, refuses to talk to me, comes a week later with the same board, just with a DIE literally broken into pieces, I'm sending him to Apple to replace the MLB (main logic board).* 

 

And that's how you lose 15 minutes of your life for nothing. 

 

[berderder]

2 minutes ago, Lolucoca said:

It's not going to be fun Customer expectations are frustratingly high and you have to fix everything within 10 minutes, give customers a detailed explanation why CPUs are as expensive as they are, don't do it An example would be: 

*Customer walks in*

Customer: "Hi. I'd like to get my MacBook fixed. It doesn't have any backlight. How much is it gonna cost?"

Me: "I can't tell you exactly how much you're gonna have to pay for that since I don't know what's wrong with it. It could be a thousand different things."

Customer: "Okay, you can take it. As I said, it doesn't have backlight. Call me when it's fixed."

Me: "I will start working on it straight away."

*10 Minutes later, my phone rings, it's that guy again*

Customer: "Have you fixed it yet?"

Me: "I'm working on it, as I said, I will call you when it's fixed."

*I'm trying to boot the machine up, nothing. Not even a green light on the charger. I open this thing up and there's cat pee all over it. I'm calling the Customer*

Me: "Hey. I just wanted to say that it's going to take longer and that I have to charge more since it's not a no-backlight-repair."

Customer: "But it doesn't have any backlight."

Me: "It's full of disgusting stuff that's shorting the whole thing out. No backlight means you can see an image on the screen but it's not lit."

Customer: "Just repair it."

*I'm throwing the board in the ultrasonic cleaner, just to get rid of the cat pee and those gross bits of junk, I'm testing power rails and luckily, CPU and GPU seem to work fine.

But U6915 is blown. I'm calling the Customer to inform him that it's going to take a few days since I don't have that part in stock*

Me: "Hello, I just wanted to inform you that the repair is going to take a few days. I have already identified the dead component, but it's going to take a few days for the component to arrive."

Customer: "I thought you were gonna give it back to me right away! F*** you! I'm gonna come to pick it up and repair it myself!"

*Customer comes to pick the broken MacBook up, refuses to talk to me, comes a week later with the same board, just with a DIE literally broken into pieces, I'm sending him to Apple to replace the MLB (main logic board).* 

 

And that's how you lose 15 minutes of your life for nothing. 

 

Yeah, but every business venture and job has nightmare stories

[dalekphalm]

42 minutes ago, Lolucoca said:

It's not going to be fun Customer expectations are frustratingly high and you have to fix everything within 10 minutes, give customers a detailed explanation why CPUs are as expensive as they are, don't do it An example would be: 

*Customer walks in*

Customer: "Hi. I'd like to get my MacBook fixed. It doesn't have any backlight. How much is it gonna cost?"

Me: "I can't tell you exactly how much you're gonna have to pay for that since I don't know what's wrong with it. It could be a thousand different things."

Customer: "Okay, you can take it. As I said, it doesn't have backlight. Call me when it's fixed."

Me: "I will start working on it straight away."

*10 Minutes later, my phone rings, it's that guy again*

Customer: "Have you fixed it yet?"

Me: "I'm working on it, as I said, I will call you when it's fixed."

*I'm trying to boot the machine up, nothing. Not even a green light on the charger. I open this thing up and there's cat pee all over it. I'm calling the Customer*

Me: "Hey. I just wanted to say that it's going to take longer and that I have to charge more since it's not a no-backlight-repair."

Customer: "But it doesn't have any backlight."

Me: "It's full of disgusting stuff that's shorting the whole thing out. No backlight means you can see an image on the screen but it's not lit."

Customer: "Just repair it."

*I'm throwing the board in the ultrasonic cleaner, just to get rid of the cat pee and those gross bits of junk, I'm testing power rails and luckily, CPU and GPU seem to work fine.

But U6915 is blown. I'm calling the Customer to inform him that it's going to take a few days since I don't have that part in stock*

Me: "Hello, I just wanted to inform you that the repair is going to take a few days. I have already identified the dead component, but it's going to take a few days for the component to arrive."

Customer: "I thought you were gonna give it back to me right away! F*** you! I'm gonna come to pick it up and repair it myself!"

*Customer comes to pick the broken MacBook up, refuses to talk to me, comes a week later with the same board, just with a DIE literally broken into pieces, I'm sending him to Apple to replace the MLB (main logic board).* 

 

And that's how you lose 15 minutes of your life for nothing. 

 

Well in this hypothetical scenario, the first mistake is "fixing" it right away.

 

Never agree to "just fix something" in the PC Repair business. ALWAYS do a diagnostic first. Make sure the diagnostic is clearly priced (Usually $50 or so, but you could do them for free and lose an unknown amount of time for each job), and that diagnostics can take up to x amount of time (eg: 48 hours).

 

Inform the customer that you will do a diagnostics and give them a quote, and you cannot give them any more information until you complete the diagnostic.

That way, the customer would not be expecting it fixed 10 minutes later. They would have to explicitly agree to the repair, of which you've already quoted them the full price.

 

The problem with PC Repair shops is you either have to have a ton of known-good spare parts on hand to do testing, or a ton of pretty expensive equipment, or you can't necessarily fully diagnose a problem.

 

We had that issue when I worked for staples. We were NOT allowed to use parts off the shelf for testing, and we were not given a budget or allowance to keep or acquire spare parts in general (even old equipment people wanted to get rid of had to be disposed of), so in many cases, we had to guess, for example, was it a dead CPU or a dead motherboard? We didn't have a Multimeter or anything. We had a PC-Doctor basic PC Repair kit, which includes a basic PSU tester (tests voltage but not stability), and the PC-Doctor software that would do basic hardware testing, but even this wasn't a foolproof piece of software.

[airdeano]

i'd always charged an upfront diagnostic fee $65 (i was a mobile service - fuel was extra high) and if the repair was agreed to, then the diagnosis fee was applied to the final bill.

 

if the customer did not want the repair, then the diagnosis fee (plus tax) was charged. sometimes the item was not worth the $65 fee and they'd forfeit the item (after 30days of non-payment). but those details are only if local laws allow (check your city/county statues).

[berderder]

23 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Well in this hypothetical scenario, the first mistake is "fixing" it right away.

 

Never agree to "just fix something" in the PC Repair business. ALWAYS do a diagnostic first. Make sure the diagnostic is clearly priced (Usually $50 or so, but you could do them for free and lose an unknown amount of time for each job), and that diagnostics can take up to x amount of time (eg: 48 hours).

 

Inform the customer that you will do a diagnostics and give them a quote, and you cannot give them any more information until you complete the diagnostic.

That way, the customer would not be expecting it fixed 10 minutes later. They would have to explicitly agree to the repair, of which you've already quoted them the full price.

 

The problem with PC Repair shops is you either have to have a ton of known-good spare parts on hand to do testing, or a ton of pretty expensive equipment, or you can't necessarily fully diagnose a problem.

 

We had that issue when I worked for staples. We were NOT allowed to use parts off the shelf for testing, and we were not given a budget or allowance to keep or acquire spare parts in general (even old equipment people wanted to get rid of had to be disposed of), so in many cases, we had to guess, for example, was it a dead CPU or a dead motherboard? We didn't have a Multimeter or anything. We had a PC-Doctor basic PC Repair kit, which includes a basic PSU tester (tests voltage but not stability), and the PC-Doctor software that would do basic hardware testing, but even this wasn't a foolproof piece of software.

Sorry, accidentally marked you as best answer, meant to mark as informative 

 

22 hours ago, airdeano said:

i'd always charged an upfront diagnostic fee $65 (i was a mobile service - fuel was extra high) and if the repair was agreed to, then the diagnosis fee was applied to the final bill.

 

if the customer did not want the repair, then the diagnosis fee (plus tax) was charged. sometimes the item was not worth the $65 fee and they'd forfeit the item (after 30days of non-payment). but those details are only if local laws allow (check your city/county statues).

I think I'd want a stationary site that was appointment only. The thing going for me is that I'm not necessarily looking to make a ton of money. My goal is $40k a year

[dalekphalm]

20 hours ago, berderder said:

I think I'd want a stationary site that was appointment only. The thing going for me is that I'm not necessarily looking to make a ton of money. My goal is $40k a year

40K a year of revenue or 40K a year of profit?

 

Because you could probably make $40K a year in revenue with a PC Repair business, but that doesn't count all your business expenses, taxes, any bills for things like an office (if you need one), etc.

 

Not sure about doing it part time though - you'd likely need to dedicate a lot of time into the business to get up to that kind of income.

 

22 hours ago, airdeano said:

i'd always charged an upfront diagnostic fee $65 (i was a mobile service - fuel was extra high) and if the repair was agreed to, then the diagnosis fee was applied to the final bill.

 

if the customer did not want the repair, then the diagnosis fee (plus tax) was charged. sometimes the item was not worth the $65 fee and they'd forfeit the item (after 30days of non-payment). but those details are only if local laws allow (check your city/county statues).

I agree - this is the best system. I would sometimes simply not bill them and fix the issue if it was something super simple (Eg: All I needed to do was reset their keyboard language from French to US English) to fix. I would include it as part of the diagnostics, and call it a day.

 

However, some of the bigger chains are pretty strict. Staples was pretty bad for that. I would have to charge them the diagnostics fee $49. Then if the issue was easy to fix, I could charge them for 15-minutes of work, which was $25. So if it literally took 5 minutes to diagnose and 5 minutes to fix, I was forced to charge the customer a whopping $74. And of course, I couldn't even call them back to tell them how much it would cost until like a day or two after taking the computer in.

 

I had a manager was so aggressive with sales that he basically said "Sell them the Total Repair bundle" to everyone, regardless of if they needed it or not. (The total repair bundle was a $179 service that would cover any repair - parts not included - but a backup was on top of that - A Total Repair w/ Backup bundle was also available for $239, which was a $20 "discount" over the $179 + the standard $80 backup fee).

 

And to top it off, we were often only given a few hours to actually work on any system, so in most cases, we were pushed by management to Backup the PC and Format the HDD + fresh install of Windows as basically the solution to every problem. They didn't really want us to diagnose the actual issue if it was software side, since it could take longer to diagnose and fix the issue then it would to just backup the PC and format Windows.

[berderder]

3 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

40K a year of revenue or 40K a year of profit?

 

Because you could probably make $40K a year in revenue with a PC Repair business, but that doesn't count all your business expenses, taxes, any bills for things like an office (if you need one), etc.

 

Not sure about doing it part time though - you'd likely need to dedicate a lot of time into the business to get up to that kind of income.

Yes, my goal would be $40k in revenue after expenses and taxes

 

I'd probably be part time at first until I graduate in a few months and finish some certifications. 

 

Does anyone have perspective on a $50 an hour flat rate no matter what the problem was? Not including costs of new parts. 

[Unimportant]

My experience:

-Taxes kill you. No-one puts in a dime when you start-up, no one helps when you lose money, but when all your work finally pays off and you turn a profit the tax-man is there. They want you to share in the reward but not in the risks, this alone is enough for me to recommend not starting your own business, EVER.

 

-Customers think it's normal to take up hours of your time for information about a 10$ product with a 50 cent margin and then end up not buying it.

 

-Realize your prices will have to include extra margin to pay for the mistakes you make and damages you have to pay when you break something completely. (Sometimes you pull that laptop apart to solder on that new CMOS battery and when you put it back together the damn thing is dead). With this margin included your prices won't be as competitive as you might've thought.

 

-Ppl these days can't miss their computers. Prepare for a 24/7 nagfest by phone asking when their pc is ready, even if you clearly told them it was going to take 3 days.

 

And for the love of god, please, NEVER EVER hire someone. Countries are divided in 2 groups, employers and employees. And the employees are by far the bigger group so politicians cater to them. Once you become an employer you are public enemy number 1.

 

As for your questions:

 

What kind of prices and services do you offer?

-We offered repairing electronics, laptops and pc's - both soft and hardware, including board level repair. Designing and building of custom electronics. Prices can't be compared between countries so irrelevant.

 

How big is your shop?

-Our location was about 200 square meter, 3 ppl.

 

What kind of overhead do you have?

-Taxes (property taxes, profit taxes, etc...)

-Paying the loans

-Paying the bills (insurance, electricity, water, wages, etc...)

-Maintaining/replacing worn tools and equipment.

-Buying new hardware/equipment regularly to keep yourself up to date.

 

Is it working out well for you?

-As you probably guessed, no, and I sold the lot.