Price Increase Letter Templates for Trades Businesses (Australia)

Writing a price increase letter for your trades business is one of those tasks that seems simple until you sit down to do it — and then you stare at a blank page for 45 minutes, write three different drafts, delete them all, and tell yourself you'll deal with it next week.

A price increase letter for a trades business in Australia needs to do three things: be direct, be confident, and give the customer enough notice to adjust without feeling blindsided. That's it. Everything else is anxiety talking.

These templates are designed specifically for trades businesses in Australia — plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning, HVAC, pest control, and similar service businesses — and they're especially useful if you've recently bought an existing business and inherited pricing that's been flat for two or three years.

This is covered in Module 8 of the Playbook alongside everything else that belongs in your first 90 days.

Why Most Trades Businesses Get This Wrong

The most common mistake I see from new owners (and from sellers who should have done this years ago) is over-explaining. A three-paragraph letter justifying why costs have gone up — wages, insurance, fuel, materials — reads defensively. It invites the customer to interrogate your cost structure and negotiate. Commercial property managers, in particular, are practiced at finding an opening when they sense hesitation.

The second mistake is apologising. "We regret to inform you..." is the written equivalent of saying sorry before asking for something reasonable. Don't regret it. You're running a business, not confessing to something.

A broker I spoke with last year told me about a landscaping business that had been underpriced for four years. The new owner spent three weeks agonising over how to communicate the rate change — wrote a letter so hedged and apologetic that two of his commercial clients actually emailed back asking if something was wrong. He rewrote the letter, made it cleaner and more direct, sent it again, and heard nothing. That's the outcome you want: silence.

For more on the underlying strategy, read the guide on how to increase prices after buying a trades business, and check the quick wins after buying a trades business for other high-return early moves.

What's in These Templates

The gated section below includes three complete, ready-to-use templates:

Template 1 — Formal letter for commercial customers. Suited for property managers, strata companies, builders, and other commercial clients who expect formal written communication with adequate lead time. Clean, professional, no apologies.

Template 2 — Email for residential customers. A warmer, more personal version for regular residential clients. Written to feel human rather than corporate, but still confident and clear.

Template 3 — On-site note for long-term clients. A short printed note your technician can leave at the end of a job for long-standing residential customers — the ones where the relationship is the reason they're still with you, and where a personal touch matters more than a formal letter.

Each template includes notes on timing, delivery method, and how to handle common responses (including the inevitable "that seems steep").

The Customer Retention Checklist is a useful companion resource if you're also thinking about how to keep customers through the transition.

Price Increase Letter Templates — Trades Businesses (Australia)

Use these as starting points. Adjust the business name, specific services, and dates. The bracketed fields are the only things that need changing for most situations.

Template 1: Formal Letter — Commercial Customers

When to use: Property managers, strata managers, builders, commercial facility managers. Send by email with a PDF attachment, or post on headed paper. Allow at least 60 days before the new rate takes effect.

[Business Name] ABN: [Your ABN] [Address] [Phone] | [Email]

[Date]

[Contact Name] [Company Name] [Address]

Re: Pricing Review — [Year] Rates

Dear [Contact Name],

I'm writing to advise you of an adjustment to our service rates, effective [Date — at least 60 days from this letter].

Following a review of our operating costs and a benchmarking of current market rates for [trade category] services in [region], our [service type] rates will change as follows:

[Service 1]: from $[old rate] to $[new rate] [per hour / per visit / per job]
[Service 2]: from $[old rate] to $[new rate]
[Service 3]: from $[old rate] to $[new rate]

All work quoted before [effective date] will be honoured at existing rates. Any ongoing contracts or agreed schedules will continue under the current pricing until their next scheduled review date, at which point we'll discuss updated terms.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss specific requirements, please feel free to contact me directly.

We appreciate your business and look forward to continuing to provide [Company Name] with reliable [trade] services.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Name] [Title] [Business Name] [Phone] [Email]

Delivery notes for Template 1:

Send to the property manager or facilities contact directly, not to a general inbox if you can help it.
Follow up by phone 2-3 days later if you haven't received an acknowledgement — not to negotiate, but to confirm receipt and answer any questions.
If a commercial client pushes back, offer a one-time extended rate period (30 extra days) rather than reducing the rate itself. This protects the new price point while showing flexibility on timing.
Do not negotiate on percentage — decide your rate in advance and hold it. Discounting for individual commercial clients creates a pricing structure you'll have to manage indefinitely.

Template 2: Email — Residential Customers

When to use: Regular residential clients who receive services on a recurring basis (lawn mowing, cleaning, pest control, pool servicing, etc.). Send by email with 30 days notice minimum.

Subject: Pricing update for [service] — from [Month Year]

Hi [First Name],

Just a quick note to let you know we're updating our pricing from [date].

Our [service description — e.g. "regular lawn maintenance"] rate for your property will move from $[old rate] to $[new rate] per visit. This brings us in line with current rates in [suburb/region] and reflects the rising costs we're seeing across labour and materials.

Everything else stays the same — same team, same schedule, same standard of work. We'll apply the updated rate from your [first/next] visit on or after [date].

If you have any questions, just reply to this email or give me a call on [phone].

Thanks for your continued support.

[Your name] [Business name] [Phone]

Delivery notes for Template 2:

If the customer has a long relationship with the previous owner, consider having the regular technician mention it in person on the visit before the letter goes out. "You'll get an email from [name] about our pricing — just heads up" removes the surprise.
Keep the email short. Resist the urge to explain further. The less you write, the less there is to question.
A 10-15 per cent increase is within normal expectations for most residential customers who've had the same service for 2-3 years. Most will not respond at all. Some will confirm by reply. A small number will ask questions — answer them briefly and confidently.
If a customer says they'll shop around, thank them and let them. Your goal is not to keep every customer at any price — it's to retain the ones for whom value matters more than cost.

Template 3: On-Site Note — Long-Term Clients (Personal Handover)

When to use: For clients who've been with the business for 5+ years and whose relationship is personal rather than transactional. Your technician leaves this at the end of the visit, in a small envelope or folded note, and mentions it verbally.

Keep this brief. Its job is to not surprise them when the next invoice arrives.

Hi [First Name],

Just wanted to give you a heads-up — we'll be updating our rates from [month]. Your [service] visits will move to $[new rate] from then.

If you have any questions, you can reach [owner/manager name] on [phone].

Thanks for your loyalty — we're glad to keep looking after [the garden / the place / your home].

[Technician name]

Delivery notes for Template 3:

This note works best when the technician also mentions it verbally: "There's a note in there about our pricing — just a small update from [month]." Verbal mention plus written notice is the combination that feels personal rather than corporate.
For very long-term clients (8+ years), consider a phone call from the new owner instead of a note. One personal call takes five minutes and almost always generates goodwill rather than resistance.
Never use this template as the only communication for commercial or high-value residential accounts. It is for personal, low-friction relationships only.

Handling Common Responses

"That seems like a big jump."

"We've kept our rates flat for [X years], which we probably held too long. This brings us to market rates for the area. Happy to chat through the specifics if that helps."

(Then stop talking. Let them respond.)

"I'll have to look at other options."

"Of course — that's always a reasonable thing to do. We'd love to keep working with you and are confident our rates reflect what you get. If you do decide to make a change, feel free to come back to us."

(Do not offer a discount. If they leave, they were probably your worst-margin account anyway.)

"Can we lock in the old rate for a bit longer?"

"I can offer [30/60] extra days at the current rate before the new pricing applies. After that, the updated rates will be in effect for all customers."

(A time-limited exception is better than a price exception — it has a clear end date and doesn't create a permanent two-tier pricing structure.)

No response at all.

This is the most common outcome, especially from commercial clients. Silence means acceptance. Continue with the new rate on the next invoice and include a one-line note: "Pricing updated as per our [Month] communication."

Timing Your Communications

A sequencing approach that works well:

Week 1 after deciding on new rates: Advise commercial clients formally (Template 1, 60+ days notice).
Week 2-3: Send residential client emails (Template 2, 30+ days notice).
Ongoing visits in this period: Technicians mention it verbally to long-term clients; leave Template 3 note at next visit.
One week before effective date: Send a brief reminder email to any customers who haven't acknowledged. Subject: "Reminder: pricing update from [date]."
Effective date: Apply new rates to all invoices. No further explanation needed.

For the full operational framework covering your first 90 days as a new trades business owner, download the First 90 Days Action Plan — it includes a pricing review section alongside customer communication, staff management, and cash flow priorities.

Price Increase Letter Templates for Trades Businesses (Australia)

Why Most Trades Businesses Get This Wrong

What's in These Templates

Get the free price increase templates