Most man-and-van pricing problems aren’t about rates. They’re about consistency. Drivers who undercharge don’t usually have rates that are too low — they have a quoting process that produces different answers for the same job depending on the day.
Here’s a straightforward approach to pricing that’s repeatable, defensible, and takes the guesswork out.
Start With Your Costs, Not a Competitor’s Price
Before you can price jobs accurately, you need to know what it costs you to operate — not in general terms, but in actual numbers.
Work out your monthly costs: van finance or depreciation (divide the vehicle cost or monthly payment by the number of working days), insurance, fuel averaged per mile based on your route mix, maintenance reserves for tyres and servicing, and any tools or subscriptions relevant to the business.
Add those up and divide by the number of hours you work each month. That’s your break-even rate per hour — the absolute minimum below which every job loses money. Your actual rate needs to be above that floor by a margin that accounts for unpaid time (enquiries, travel between jobs, loading, waiting) and profit.
The Time-Based Formula
The most reliable way to price individual jobs is to estimate the time they will take, then apply your hourly rate. Two inputs: route time (how long the drive takes from collection address to delivery address) and loading time (a realistic estimate of how long loading and unloading will take).
A rough guide for loading time:
- Single large item (sofa, fridge, bed): 20–30 minutes
- Studio or small 1-bed with few boxes: 45–60 minutes
- 1-bed flat, moderate amount: 60–90 minutes
- 2-bed flat or house: 90–120 minutes
- 3-bed house: 2.5–3.5 hours
These are starting points. Adjust for access (no lift means longer), packing quality (unpacked items add significant time), and complexity (disassembly adds time). Then apply the formula: route time plus loading time, multiplied by your hourly rate. Round to a sensible number — a quote of £43.75 looks like an afterthought.
Set Your Minimum Charge
Every driver needs a minimum. Without one, short local jobs will regularly produce quotes that don’t justify the time to complete them.
A 0.3-mile local move of one item might have a total job time of 45 minutes, but by the time you’ve driven to the job, handled the enquiry, confirmed the booking, done the move, and driven back — you’ve spent 90 minutes on work that paid 45 minutes of your rate.
A minimum charge of 1.5 or 2 hours is standard and easily explained. Customers who are comparing quotes understand this — it’s a normal part of how tradespeople price their time.
How to Handle Access
Access affects loading time, not the hourly rate. A rough guide for what adds time: no lift adds approximately 15 minutes per floor above ground level per trip; difficult parking adds time at both ends; long carries from a distant parking spot add minutes per journey; items requiring disassembly add 15–30 minutes per item depending on complexity.
Build these into your loading time estimate rather than adding a separate access surcharge. The final price is the same, but the customer sees it as a time charge rather than a penalty — which is a much easier conversation.
What to Include in the Quote
A good quote gives the customer enough information to say yes confidently. Include the date and job address, estimated duration, your rate, what’s covered (one driver, loading and unloading, van size), any minimum charge, and standard exclusions such as disassembly, specialist equipment, or packing materials.
What you don’t need: a line-by-line breakdown of every item. The quote is for the job, not a manifest.
Consistency Is the Goal
The purpose of having a quoting process isn’t to be precise to the minute — it’s to be consistent. A driver who quotes the same type of job for the same price every time is building a business. A driver who guesses differently each time is building uncertainty into their own operation.
Consistent pricing also protects you from undercharging repeat customers. If someone books you quarterly and your price drifts downward each time because you’re estimating loosely, you’ve quietly devalued your own rate.
Van Manager applies the time-based formula automatically — route time plus loading time, at your rate — and produces a quote you can send directly from your phone. For drivers quoting regularly, removing the arithmetic removes one more source of variation. More on how it works at Van Manager.
A Final Point on Competing on Price
If another driver quotes £60 and you quote £75, you can lose the job — or you can explain why your quote is what it is. Drivers who have a method behind their pricing tend to convert better, because the explanation sounds like knowledge, not arbitrariness. “My rate is £50 per hour and this job is estimated at 1.5 hours” is a conversation. “£75 seems right for this one” is a guess — and customers can tell the difference.
