Paint/Decorating.. hourly rate?

Hourly rates for an Experienced Painter/Decorator

I need a little guidance for a friend… newly setting up… all above board, siret number etc.

The difficulty is to know a rough guide of how much to charge… please don’t simply say… test the water… this person is serious, but has a family to support.

As always, back in UK… we know where we stand… but here, in France, especially rural France… that’s a different matter.

Bearing in mind the various percentages which get taken left right and centre… a little gentle guidance on a resaonable hourly rate… would be much appreciated…

For example


and

the first suggests 20-40€/h, the second 30-40€/h.

Also he needs to think about what regime to register on. Paint is expensive and he’s going to use a lot of it, so I suspect micro entreprise (can’t offset the cost of materials) isn’t going to be a cost-effective option for a painter decorator. Unless he can persuade all his customers to buy all the paint etc themselves, which risks making him look not very professional if he’s competing with other decorators that do a turnkey job. And if he does that it would obviously have to be reflected in his quotes.

I suggest you encourage him to come with enough savings in the bank to last while he gets himself known and builds up a customer base, obviously this will depend a lot on location but probably at least a year, especially if that’s the only source of income to support a family. Good luck to him.

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