How Much Should a Call-Out Fee Be in NZ? (And How to Tell Customers)
- A call-out fee simply covers your travel time and the first hour on site, not a penalty or profit grab.
- Customers accept the fee as fair only when it is mentioned before the job starts, not hidden on the invoice.
- A written one-page price list stops surprise invoices and builds the kind of trust that earns good reviews.
There is no right number for a call-out fee. There is a right method, and there is a right moment to tell the customer, and getting either one wrong is what turns a fair fee into a one-star review that says “charged me $120 just to turn up”.
What the fee is for
A call-out fee recovers the cost of getting to the job and the first block of time on site. That cost is real: the drive there, the drive back, the fuel, the van’s running cost, and the half hour or hour of your time before any work the customer would call “work” has started. If you do not charge for it, every small job loses money and every quote-only visit is a gift.
So the fee is not a penalty, and it is not a profit line. It is the price of the first hour, including the travel inside it.
How to set it
Start from your hourly charge-out rate, which should come from your overheads and wage divided by the hours you can actually bill. If you have not done that sum, the hourly rate calculator in our resource library does it from your own figures.
Then decide what the call-out covers. Most trade businesses in NZ set the call-out at somewhere between three quarters of an hour and one hour of the charge-out rate, and say that it includes the first 30 to 60 minutes on site. After that, time is charged at the hourly rate in 15- or 30-minute blocks.
Add a loading for after hours. Evenings, weekends and public holidays carry a higher call-out, typically 1.5 to 2 times the standard one, because the hour you are giving up is worth more and the customer is paying for availability. Put both numbers on the price list.
Decide whether it is waived. Some businesses waive the call-out if the customer proceeds with a quoted job above a certain value. That is a sales decision, not a cost one; if you do it, write the threshold down so it is applied the same way every time.
The moment that matters more than the number
The customer’s reaction to a call-out fee depends almost entirely on when they hear about it. Told at booking, it is a price. Discovered on the invoice, it is a trick.
Across 20,286 publicly posted reviews of NZ electricians, plumbers and painters, overcharging is the top complaint theme in negative reviews for both plumbers and electricians, at about 7% each, and vague quotes appear for electricians at about 2%. On the other side, transparent pricing is praised in 22.7% of positive plumber reviews and 22.6% for electricians. The fee is the same in both groups. What differs is whether it was said out loud before the van left the yard.
What differs is whether it was said out loud before the van left the yard.
The Fair Trading Act 1986 adds a legal edge. Prices shown or stated to a customer must be accurate and not misleading. A call-out fee that first appears on the invoice, having never been mentioned, is exactly the kind of conduct the Act is written for.
How to say it
At the booking, in one sentence: “Our call-out is $X, which covers getting there and the first 30 minutes. After that it is $Y an hour, and I will tell you before anything extra is needed.” In the confirmation text, the same two numbers. On the price list the customer can see, the same two numbers with the after-hours rate beside them.
Then, on site, say when the clock starts. “I am starting now” is enough. And say before the first hour runs out if the job will go longer.
Write it on a price list
A one-page price list with the call-out fee, the hourly rate, the after-hours rate, how parts are charged (cost plus a stated markup, or supply at list), and the common fixed-price jobs if you have them. Hand it over, email it, pin it to the website. A customer who has seen the sheet does not feel ambushed by the invoice, and a tradie who has a sheet does not have to invent a number on the phone.
The call-out fee and price list sheet in our resource library is a free PDF and Excel template: the call-out and hourly rates with the after-hours loadings, how parts are charged, and a price list for standard jobs, with a worked example of the fee built from the hourly rate.
The call-out fee is not the problem. The surprise is.
What to do on Monday
- Calculate your hourly charge-out rate from your overheads and the hours you can actually bill.
- Decide what the call-out fee covers and set the after-hours loading next to it.
- Tell every new customer the call-out fee and hourly rate before you confirm the booking.
Sources and legal references
Legislation and agency links checked on 9 October 2026. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
