A rate card is the business's standard prices, written down, for the work it does repeatedly.
What it fixes
Speed. A price that has to be worked out each time is slow, and slow quotes lose work — see improving close rate.
Consistency. Without one, two people quote the same job differently and the customer eventually notices.
Reviewability. Prices held in one document can be raised in one action. Held in judgement, they are raised for new customers and quietly not for old ones, which is how the least profitable work ends up being the oldest.
Building one
From the jobs actually done, ranked by how often. The top handful usually covers most of the work.
Each price built from the true average time at full labour cost, materials, a share of overhead, and profit — see pricing adequacy.
The average matters more than the best case. A price set on how long the job takes when everything goes right loses money over a year.
Where it does not reach
Genuinely variable work still needs estimating. A rate card covers the repeatable portion and is not a reason to force unusual work into a standard price.
Reviewing it
At least annually, and whenever material or wage costs move. A card is a price set on the day it was written, and it decays exactly like any other price — see raising prices.
In the platform
Standard pricing is held and applied in the pricing calculator.