Raise them in a small, regular step, tell people plainly and in advance, and give the new price to new customers first. Most customers say nothing. A few ask why. A small number leave — and here is the part nobody tells you: you can usually afford to lose more of them than you think and still end up with more money and fewer hours. This page does that arithmetic, and gives you the words to send.
At a glance
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| The clearest signal | You are busy, working full weeks, and nothing is left over |
| How much | A few percent every year beats a big jump every five |
| Notice | Around 30 days for regulars; check any contract first |
| Who first | New customers today; existing ones follow |
| What to say | Date, new price, one line of reason, no apology |
| The maths | Losing a few of your cheapest customers often leaves you better off |
If you are reading this feeling slightly sick, that is normal. Work through the numbers first, because they usually make the decision for you.
The signs you are overdue
You are busy and still broke. A full diary and an empty bank account is not a sales problem or a hard-work problem. It is a price problem, and extra hours do not fix it.
Nobody ever says no. If you cannot remember the last time a quote came back with a flinch, you are under the market. Some people saying no is a healthy part of pricing properly.
You have not moved in years and your costs have. Materials, fuel, insurance and software have all changed since you set your price. A price that stands still is quietly falling.
You are turning work away, or you are cheaper than people you do not think are better than you. Look at what comparable businesses near you charge — not the cheapest one, the middle.
Working it through: what a price rise actually does
Take Nina, who runs a mobile dog grooming business in Nottingham. She has a book of about 200 regulars who come roughly every eight weeks, filling six appointments a day, five days a week. She charges £45 for a full groom and has not changed it in three years.
Here is her week. Thirty grooms at £45 is £1,350 of sales. Each groom costs about £12 in shampoo, blade sharpening, water, heating the van and fuel, so £360 comes straight off. Van finance, insurance, phone, booking software, advertising and her accountant come to about £250 a week. That leaves £740 a week before tax.
She works 46 weeks a year, so that is £34,040 of pay before tax, or roughly £2,370 a month in her pocket once income tax and National Insurance have gone. For a five-day week, six dogs a day and a van she pays for herself, that is thin. She is not badly run. She is underpriced.
She moves to £50 — an 11% rise, and a smaller step than it feels. Had she added 3% a year for the last three years she would already be charging £49.
If nobody leaves. Thirty grooms at £50 is £1,500 a week, with costs unchanged at £360 and £250. She is left with £890 a week instead of £740: about £6,900 more a year for the same work.
If one in ten leaves. Say three of her thirty weekly appointments go. Twenty-seven grooms at £50 is £1,350, precisely what she made before. But her costs fall, because 27 grooms use £324 instead of £360, and her bills stay at £250. So she is left with £776 a week: £36 more than before, and three hours of her week back.
How many customers you can afford to lose
Nina keeps £38 of every £50 groom once the £12 of shampoo, water and fuel is paid, and her weekly bills are £250. To end up with the same £740 a week she needs £990 of margin, and £990 divided by £38 is 26.05. So she needs 27 appointments a week instead of 30.
She can lose one customer in ten and be exactly where she started. Anything better and she is ahead. Every empty slot is one she can refill at £50, so a few months later she is likely to be at £890 a week with the diary she always had.
The arithmetic misses a second effect. The customers who leave over a £5 rise are usually the ones who were already most expensive to serve — the two who live twenty-five minutes outside her patch and pay the same as everyone else, the one who rebooks three times, the one who is never in. The ones who stay value the work.
Work out your pricing with Plan, free. Plan does the pricing maths with you — costs, margin and what to charge — one short question at a time, in your browser.
How much to put prices up by
Small and regular beats rare and dramatic. A few percent a year, in the same month each year, becomes something customers expect rather than react to. Nobody leaves a business they like over 3%.
If you are three or four years behind, closing the gap in one step is reasonable. Around 10% needs no more explanation than a single sentence. Much above 15% needs a reason you can say out loud in one line — you have added something, your costs have jumped, or you were too cheap and have decided to fix it. If the gap is very large, use two steps six months apart. Round to a sensible number: £50 is easier to say and to hear than £49.50.
Notice, and who to raise first
New enquiries get the new price today. Nothing to announce, nobody to tell. It costs you nothing and tells you within a fortnight whether the market accepts it, so by the time you reach existing customers you know the answer.
Regular customers with no contract — a weekly cleaner, a monthly gardener, a groomer's book: around 30 days, in writing, and give them one more appointment at the old price so it does not land as a surprise bill.
Monthly retainers and subscriptions: at least a full billing cycle, with 30 days the minimum most people consider fair. Send it before the invoice, never with it.
Anyone on a written contract: read it first, because it may set the notice period, the amount or the date you can change it. Business customers on annual budgets need telling before they set next year's budget.
With a long list, go in waves. Start with the customers furthest below your new price or the ones you would least mind losing, and leave your best and longest-standing until last. Do not practise on the people you cannot afford to lose.
What to actually say
Keep it short. The longer the message, the more it reads like you are asking permission. Give the date, the new price, one line of reason, and stop. Do not apologise and do not offer a discount before anyone has asked.
Here is Nina's message to a regular customer, in full:
Hi Sam — a quick note about prices. From 1 September a full groom will be £50, up from £45. It is the first change in three years and it covers what my costs have done in that time. Your appointment on the 12th is at the old price, and the new price starts from the one after. Thanks as always — Nina
A date, a number, a reason, no apology. For a monthly client, use the same shape and swap the appointment line for the billing date. Notice what it does not say: no "unfortunately", no "I'm sorry", and no question at the end, because a question invites a negotiation you did not want. Send it individually where you can.
When someone pushes back
Most people will not. Expect silence, not a row.
When someone does ask, the answer is short and does not wobble: "Costs have gone up and it is the first change in three years." Then stop talking. The urge to fill the silence is where discounts get given away.
Do not immediately offer the old price. Drop it for one person who asks and you have taught everybody that your price is a starting position.
Offer a smaller thing rather than a lower price. Nina can offer a tidy-up between full grooms at £30, or a longer gap between appointments.
If someone is struggling and you want to help, put a date on it. "I will keep you at £45 until January" is a kindness. "I will keep you at £45" is a permanent pay cut.
If they leave, let them go well. Thank them and leave the door open — a fair number come back.
Figures correct as of September 2026. Tax thresholds, fees and rates change; check the linked GOV.UK pages before acting. Prices and costs shown are indicative and vary by area and by what's included.
What is Plan?
Plan is a free business operating system for people starting or newly running a UK business. It walks you, one simple step at a time, from your elevator pitch through brand, product and pricing, to a complete business plan — then uses everything it now knows about the business to help with the basics: logo and brand, marketing, a website, a bank account, funding, insurance, company registration. You can use as much or as little as you want.
Put in your current price, what a sale costs you and your bills, and Plan shows what a rise does to your profit and how many customers you could lose before you were worse off.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice should I give before raising prices? Around 30 days for regular customers with no written contract, and at least a full billing cycle for monthly retainers. If there is a contract, read it first. New enquiries need no notice.
How do I tell customers about a price increase? Send a short individual message with the date the new price starts, the old and new price, and one line of reason. No apology, no long explanation, no question at the end.
How much should I raise my prices by? A few percent every year is easier than a large jump every five. If you have not moved in three or four years, around 10% needs no more than a sentence of explanation. Much above 15% needs a clear reason.
Will I lose customers if I put my prices up? You will probably lose a few, and you can usually afford to. Work out what you keep from each sale after its costs, then how many sales at the new price cover your bills and your old pay. Many small businesses can lose one in ten and be no worse off.
What do I say if a customer complains about the price rise? Say it once, plainly: costs have gone up and this is the first change in three years. Then stop. If you want to help, offer a smaller service or hold their old price with an end date.
Two ways to do this
Check the numbers in Plan, free. Put in your price, what each sale costs you and your monthly bills, and Plan shows what a rise would do and how much room you have. It runs in your browser — a ten-minute job on a phone.
Or do it on paper first. Work out what you keep from one sale, how many sales cover your bills, and how many you could lose before you were worse off. If your underlying price was wrong from the start, our hourly rate guide rebuilds it.