How to Raise Your Prices Without Losing Clients

If your costs have gone up and your prices haven't, you're paying the difference yourself. Raising prices feels risky, but handled well it's a normal part of running a business.

Signs you should raise them

• Your materials or wages have gone up since you last changed prices.
• You're booked out far ahead.
• Nobody ever questions your price.
• You're busy, yet there's little left at the end of the month.

Decide how much

Review your costs and your margin first. Small, regular increases are usually easier for clients than a large rise after years of no change.

Start with new clients

New clients have no old price to compare with. Use your new rates on fresh quotations immediately, and see how they respond before changing prices for existing clients.

Tell existing clients early

Give them notice, and keep it short:

"From 1 January, our rates will increase by 8% due to higher material costs. Any quotation issued before then will keep its current price. Thank you for your continued business."

No long apology is necessary. Giving a reason and a date is usually enough.

Honour what you've quoted

Keep to quotations that are still valid. That's why validity dates matter: they let you change prices without breaking a promise.

Expect some pushback

You may lose a client who only ever chose you for the low price. In many cases that's acceptable, because higher margins mean you need fewer jobs to earn the same. Track your results for a few months to see how the change really affected you.

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