Tool costs passed on to customer?

[monkey spanners]

Curious what you guys do if you need to buy a specialist tool to do a job do you just pay for it out of a tool budget or do you try and pay for it by adding the cost to the job you need it for?

I'm not talking about general hand tools and test gear etc which it would be expected for us to own.
Just had to spend a about £60 on a vernier caliper and c spanner to change a seal :rolleyes:

I'll probably aim to just break even on the job but will at least have some shiney new gadets...

Jon :)

[Goober]

Bit of a grey area....on contract jobs or big installations would have allowed for it in costings, but for service jobs unless really really specialized can't really pass on as you would be expected to have the 'tools for the job". However...there is always an however.. I would charge the costs as another piece of euipment/part/consumables etc.

Many ways to skin said cat.

[Magoo]

Recover as plant hire over several jobs or as Goober suggested charge as consumables, suggest at cost for one off recovery.
But would think a vernier and C spanner are standard hand tools.
A company I worked for in the past charged consumables to every service call based on 5% of cost of parts per service invoice, covered all that sort of stuff, it adds up to a sizable amount over 12 months

[r.bartlett]

Put it on the cost as an extra. Don't be afraid if you had to hire in specialist equipment it goes on the bill.

For an example many years ago -when employed- a contracts manager colleague would always charge 10 quid for vacuuming. when I asked him he said it was part of the job so should be billed for..Not everything can be covered by the labour rates.

Specialist tools = £60.00

if he argues that he's paid for them then say "fine pay the 60 quid and you can have them".

[hyperion]

More often than not, it is difficult to pass on these costs as it falsely inflates the respective repair cost. You may have to add a small token "sundries" to each of several future jobs to eventually cover your costs. If you quote for repairs, then you may be able to gradually factor this cost into your quotes. It is a very competitive market out there so be aware of overpricing as you may not get repeat custom.

[tbowes]

Those two tools were an automatic inclusion in my tool box when I was still hands on. You either recover costs by writing them down as parts or as disposables, or just claim them later.

[install monkey]

if only you had a laser level, tape measure and a set of grips- save you £60!! :o

[install monkey]

got 2 new makita batteries for me drill as i bought the drill,impact driver aand 18mth later 1 battery goosed- as the waitng for battery to charge to complete the job, i got a non chargable purchase order for 2 batteries- give it 6 mth and i'll get 2 new batteries for me 24v bosch too!!:)

[monkey spanners]

Thanks for the input guys! I had been wondering what people did about this for a while and this was a recent example that came up.

(I can see how much use a vernier will be but i have managed so far using tape measures and the scale on adjustables!!! The c spanner was for a 3" RJT threaded groove nut so i don't think this would be common in your average fridgies tool box.)

I tend to think if something costs £40 then i cost me £40 to do the job, but if i use it again then it was £20 and so on till its only pennies. Of course some things were out before their cost become insignificant so i can see how an allowance for a recovery machine or such might make sense.

[monkey spanners]

got 2 new makita batteries for me drill as i bought the drill,impact driver aand 18mth later 1 battery goosed- as the waitng for battery to charge to complete the job, i got a non chargable purchase order for 2 batteries- give it 6 mth and i'll get 2 new batteries for me 24v bosch too!!:)

Thats what i used to do at my last company, i would provide the tools but they were responsible for repairs and replacements (unless the failure was my fault!)