A flat rate fall menu is 10 to 15 small jobs with one fixed price each, saved in your price book, so you can quote any of them by text in under a minute instead of driving out to look.
The most expensive sentence in the handyman business is “let me swing by and take a look.” That free visit costs you an hour, a gallon of gas, and usually the job, because while you drove over the homeowner texted two other people and one answered with a number. Fall is small job season: door sweeps, weatherstrip, gutter guards, smoke alarms, the stuff people notice when the first cold draft hits the kitchen floor. Every one can be priced before you see the house. Here is the menu, what to charge in 2026, and how to send it from your phone.
Why Flat Rate Wins on Small Fall Jobs
Hourly pricing punishes you for being good. The faster you install a door sweep, the less you make, and the homeowner still does not know the final bill. A flat rate flips both problems. The customer sees one number and says yes or no by text, and you keep the reward for being efficient. It also makes you easy to compare, which only sounds scary until you remember the alternative is never answering with a price.
Flat rates fit fall jobs because the scope barely changes from house to house. A door is a door. Save hourly for the mystery jobs and put everything predictable on the menu.
The Fall Menu: Ten Jobs, Prices, and Your Time
Typical 2026 flat rates for a solo handyman in most US metros, materials included. Adjust for your market.
| Job | Flat rate 2026 | Your time on site |
| Install a door sweep | $75 to $110 | 30 minutes |
| Weatherstrip an exterior door | $90 to $140 | 45 minutes |
| Caulk exterior windows, up to 5 | $120 to $180 | 1 hour |
| Gutter guards, per 20 feet | $150 to $250 | 1 hour |
| Gutter cleaning, single story | $120 to $200 | 1 to 2 hours |
| Replace smoke and CO alarms, up to 3 | $120 to $180 | 45 minutes |
| Dryer vent cleaning | $110 to $170 | 1 hour |
| Outdoor faucet covers and pipe insulation | $80 to $130 | 30 minutes |
| Attic hatch insulation and seal | $90 to $150 | 45 minutes |
| Programmable thermostat swap | $110 to $170 | 45 minutes |
How to set your own numbers
Take your target hourly rate, say $85, and multiply by the realistic time including unloading and small talk. Add materials at your cost plus a markup, then add a 15 to 20 percent buffer for the screw that strips or the door that was never square. Round up to a number that ends in 0 or 5. A door sweep at 30 minutes is about $43 in labor, $20 in materials with markup, and $12 of buffer, so $75 is honest and $95 is fair in a bigger city.
Bundles that sell themselves
- Draft Stopper: door sweep, weatherstrip and window caulk on one visit, around $275 to $400.
- Safety Sweep: smoke and CO alarms plus dryer vent cleaning, around $220 to $330.
- Winter Ready: faucet covers, attic hatch seal and thermostat swap, around $260 to $420.
Bundles raise the ticket and fill a whole morning at one address. The ENERGY STAR seal and insulate guide is a good link to send with the Draft Stopper bundle, because it explains in plain language why those three jobs matter before the first freeze.
Quote It by Text in Under a Minute
A menu only helps if you can send it faster than the homeowner can call the next person. In House Fly Pro it lives in your price book and goes out like this.
- Load the ten jobs and three bundles into your price book once, with a flat price on each.
- Star your favorites so the fall menu sits at the top of the list through November.
- When a text comes in asking about a drafty door, open the quote screen, tap Draft Stopper, tap send.
- The customer gets a text or email with the itemized price and a pay link.
- They pay by card, Apple Pay or PayPal, and the job lands on your calendar.
Pick a payment choice per job: full up front, half up front, or on completion. For menu jobs with materials, half up front covers the supply run and proves the customer is serious. The whole flow is faster than typing “I can come look Thursday.”
Turn the Menu Into a Route
Ten small jobs scattered across town are a bad week. Ten grouped by neighborhood and bundled per house are a great one.
- Schedule menu jobs in geographic blocks: north side Tuesday, east side Thursday.
- Automatic reminders go out the day before, so 30 minute jobs do not become 30 minute no shows.
- On my way texts with a live ETA let you run a tight route without a single “are you close” call.
- The digital job checklist lists every item in the bundle, so nothing gets skipped and the invoice matches the quote.
- Photo proof of work, especially for gutters and attic hatches the homeowner will never climb up to see.
- Send the invoice from the driveway with a pay link, and 100 percent of any tip goes to you.
One extra note on smoke alarms. NFPA smoke alarm guidance says to replace them every 10 years, and most homes you walk into are past that. Check the date on the back while you are on the ladder and quote the swap on the spot.
What the Menu Earns Compared to “Let Me Come Look”
| A Saturday | Four “come look” visits | Four bundle visits from the menu |
| Jobs closed | 1 or 2, the rest shop around | 4, paid before you arrive |
| Revenue | $150 to $300 | $1,100 to $1,500 |
| Unpaid driving | 2 to 3 hours | About 1 hour, routed |
| Invoices to chase Monday | 1 or 2 | None |
The menu does not make you a better handyman. It makes the homeowner say yes faster, and it puts the yes on your calendar with money attached.
What It Costs to Run
House Fly Pro Silver is $19 a month for solo handymen and small crews, with 3 team members included, unlimited quotes and appointments, one chat inbox, invoices with a pay link, scheduling, reminders, on my way texts, and free payouts to your bank. Gold is $49 a month for growing companies: 20 team members, dispatch with live GPS, automatic review requests, a website booking form and QuickBooks sync. Both are month to month with a 14 day free trial, and yearly plans give you 2 months free. Jobber publishes $49 to $499 a month and Housecall Pro $79 to $329, before extra team members at about $29 and $35 a month each. Our full price comparison has the crew math. To be clear, House Fly Pro is software. It does not send you jobs. You bring the customers; the software keeps you from losing one to a slow quote.
Send the Menu Out This Week
Text your last 50 customers one line: “Fall menu is up, door sweeps, weatherstrip, gutter guards and smoke alarms at flat prices, reply for a quote.” Then send the quote from the price book the second anyone answers. Homeowners are already reading lists like our fall handyman punch list, so they know what they need. Be the one with a price. And if you still invoice after the fact and wait, read our post on getting paid faster with deposits before the holiday rush.
Price the door sweep once, quote it a hundred times. Price book, starred favorites, instant quotes by text, pay links and scheduling, all on Silver for $19 a month with 3 team members included. Start your 14 day free trial and send your first fall quote today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a handyman charge to install a door sweep or weatherstripping in 2026?
Most handymen charge a flat $75 to $110 to install a door sweep and $90 to $140 to weatherstrip a full exterior door, materials included, in 2026. Bundled on one visit the pair usually lands around $150 to $200. Price it as a fixed number so you can quote it by text without a site visit.
How do I build a flat rate price list for small handyman jobs?
Start with the 10 to 15 jobs you get asked for most each season. For each one, multiply your target hourly rate by the realistic time including setup, add materials, add a 15 to 20 percent buffer for surprises, and round up to a clean number. Save each one in your price book so every quote comes from one list.
Can I send a handyman quote by text with House Fly Pro?
Yes. Every item in your price book can be sent as an instant quote by text or email, and starred favorites keep the fall menu at the top. The customer taps the link, sees the itemized price, and pays by card, Apple Pay or PayPal to book. Quotes, scheduling and payments come with Silver at $19 a month.
Does House Fly Pro send handymen jobs or leads?
No. House Fly Pro is software only. It does not sell leads or send you customers. You bring the homeowners you already know, and the software turns your price book into text quotes, books the visit, sends reminders and on my way texts, and collects payment with a pay link. Silver is $19 a month with no contract.
