HVAC/R Pricing Terms
HVAC Price Book Glossary
Short, plain definitions of the HVAC price book and pricebook terms contractors use every day. Each term links to the page on this site that covers it in more depth.
Price Book and Pricing Terms
Price Book
The pricing and selling structure a contractor uses to quote work. It organizes tasks, labor assumptions, markup rules, and customer-facing prices. Its prices depend on the item costs underneath it.
Master item list vs. price book →Pricebook
The one-word spelling of price book, common in field-service software. It means the same thing: the structure that turns item costs and markup rules into the prices your team quotes.
Why price books need current cost inputs →Flat-Rate Pricing
Quoting a task at one fixed price instead of billing time and materials separately. A flat-rate price still includes material cost, so it relies on that cost being current.
Price book software vs. vendor cost maintenance →Materials Markup
The amount added on top of a part's cost to set its selling price, usually stated as a percentage of cost. If the cost is out of date, the markup is applied to the wrong number.
Why HVAC price books lose margin →Margin vs. Markup
Markup is measured against cost; margin is measured against the selling price. A part that costs $20 and sells for $40 carries a 100% markup but a 50% gross margin. The two numbers describe the same sale from different directions.
Why HVAC price books lose margin →Vendor and Cost Maintenance Terms
Supply House
A distributor that sells HVAC/R parts and equipment to contractors. Supply house costs can vary by account and change over time, which is why the cost on file needs review.
How contractors keep vendor material costs current →Vendor Cost Update
A change to the cost recorded for an item, based on reviewed vendor or supply house pricing. A pricebook cost update only helps when it is matched to the correct active item record.
Vendor price book maintenance →Price Book Audit
A review of the item costs, part numbers, and records behind a price book, checking for stale costs, duplicates, superseded parts, and obsolete items. An audit is a starting point; costs keep changing after it ends.
Master item list maintenance →Keep the Costs Behind Your Price Book Current
Margin Defense provides recurring, manual vendor-cost maintenance for commercial HVAC/R contractors.