Weekly service pays the bills. Repairs pay for the second truck. You are at every pool on your route every week, so you see the failing pump, the high filter pressure and the leaking valve before anyone else. Here is how to price that work so it pays.
Check the license first
In many states, cleaning and chemicals need no special license, but equipment work does. In Florida, repair and replacement of pool equipment beyond simple parts swaps can require a state pool/spa servicing contractor license, and electrical work has its own rules. Arizona and other states have their own thresholds. Know where the line is in your state before you replace a pump.
Set a labor rate
Most pool companies charge $95 to $150 per hour for repair labor, often with a minimum of one hour. Add a trip charge of $50 to $95 for repair visits outside the customer's service day. On their service day, skip the trip charge; that is one of the perks of being on your route.
Typical repair prices
These are common installed prices for residential work:
- Filter cartridge replacement: $150 to $350, depending on the filter
- Filter cleaning (cartridge): $95 to $175
- DE filter teardown and clean: $150 to $250
- Pump motor replacement: $450 to $900
- Full variable speed pump replacement: $1,200 to $2,200
- Salt cell cleaning: $85 to $125; replacement $600 to $1,200
- Leak check: $125 to $350 to locate, repair priced after
- Valve, gasket and o-ring work: one hour of labor plus parts
Mark up parts 20 to 50 percent. Your time ordering, picking up and warranting a part is real.
Keep the common parts on the truck: a few pump basket lids, o-rings, cartridge sizes you see often, a spare motor for the most common pump in your area. A repair you finish on the first visit is worth more to the customer than one that waits a week for a part, and you avoid a second trip.
Sell repairs without being pushy
The best repair sale is a fact the customer can see:
- Take a photo or a short video of the problem
- Text it with one sentence: "Your pump motor bearings are going. It will probably fail this summer. Replacement is $650 installed."
- Offer to do it on their next service day
Customers trust the tech who comes every week far more than a stranger with a van. Do not pad; one bad upsell can cost you an account worth $2,000 a year.
Variable speed pumps are an easy conversation
Many older single speed pumps run 8 or more hours a day. A variable speed pump can cut the pool's electricity use by more than half, and some utilities offer rebates. That turns a $1,500 sale into a pump that pays for itself in a few years.
Warranty and callbacks
Tell the customer what is covered: the manufacturer's warranty on the part and your own warranty on the labor, often 90 days to a year. Write it on the invoice. A callback inside the warranty is free; budget for it by keeping your labor rate honest. Register new pumps and heaters with the manufacturer for the customer; it takes five minutes and saves arguments later.
What repairs add to a route
Take a route of 70 weekly pools. If one account in ten needs a filter clean each month and one in twenty needs a repair averaging $400, that is roughly $875 to $1,000 a month in extra work, on stops you already make. Over a year, that can be $10,000 or more without adding a single new account.
Put repairs on your website
Homeowners search "pool pump repair near me" and "pool filter cleaning" separately. A page for each one on your website brings in repair work from people who are not yet customers, and many of them become weekly accounts. A calculator with a repair option, priced by labor hours and common parts, gives them a range before they call. See the pool service estimate calculator.
Bill it the same month
Add the repair to the customer's monthly invoice or send it the same day, paid online by card. A repair billed 6 weeks later is a repair you argue about. Read how to bill pool customers every month.
Frequently asked questions
How much do pool companies charge per hour for repairs?
Most charge $95 to $150 per hour, often with a one-hour minimum and a trip charge for visits outside the regular service day.
Do I need a license to replace a pool pump?
In some states, including Florida, equipment replacement can require a pool/spa servicing contractor license. Check your state and county rules before doing the work.