What Should a Home Inspection Business Charge for Service Fees? A CRO's Take

I've been in this game for 25 years, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: the money is in the add-ons, not the base inspection. Let me walk you through how I'd set up service fees if I were starting a home inspection business today — no fluff, just the numbers that actually move the needle.

The Big Idea: Fees That Fund Growth (Without Booking One Extra Inspection)

Here's the truth I wish someone had told me early on: you should charge tangible, value-added service fees — a trip/mileage fee, re-inspection fee, specialty add-ons (radon, mold, sewer scope, thermal imaging), a rush-report fee, and a large-home surcharge. These aren't junk surcharges; they're fees the client can clearly tie to extra work.

And here's the kicker: they carry an 85–95% contribution margin because your base inspection price already covers the inspector's time and overhead. Nearly every fee dollar becomes pure gross profit — money that can fund a scheduler, a report QA reviewer, or a second inspector without booking a single additional inspection.

The formula is dead simple: Monthly fee revenue = (attach rate %) × (monthly inspections) × ($ fee), and fee gross profit ≈ fee revenue × 0.90.

Let me show you what that looks like in the real world.

A Real-World Example: 80 Inspections Per Month

Imagine you're doing 80 inspections/month. Here's how the fees stack up:

• $150 radon test at a 35% attach rate → $150 × 28 = $4,200/mo
• $175 sewer-scope add-on at 25% attach → $175 × 20 = $3,500/mo
• $40 trip/mileage fee at 30% attach → $40 × 24 = $960/mo
• $95 large-home surcharge at 20% attach → $95 × 16 = $1,520/mo

That's $10,180/mo in fee revenue, roughly $9,160/mo of gross profit — enough to fund a part-time scheduler and a report reviewer while lifting your average ticket by about $127/inspection.

*By the way, PULSE has a free Service Fees Calculator that models this in your browser in seconds — no login, no spreadsheet.*

The 2027 Benchmark Prices

Here's what the market is bearing right now:

• Radon test: $135–$185
• Sewer scope: $150–$225
• Mold screen: $125–$175
• Thermal-imaging add-on: $75–$150
• Large-home surcharge: $75–$125 per additional 1,000 sq ft above ~3,000 sq ft

These aren't guesses; they're what successful shops are actually charging.

The Top 10 Tools to Set and Collect These Fees

Let me walk you through the tools I'd use — starting with the one that helps you decide *what* to charge, then the ones that help you *collect* it.

1. PULSE Service Fees Calculator 🏆 BEST OVERALL

This free Service Fees Calculator runs the math in your browser in seconds. You enter your monthly inspection count, the add-on fees you're considering (radon, mold, sewer scope, thermal, trip, re-inspection, rush-report, large-home), and an attach rate for each.

It spits out monthly fee revenue, blended gross-profit dollars, and the lift to your average ticket. It also flags when a fee is large enough to read as a junk surcharge versus a defensible add-on.

For a home inspection business, this is the right first step because it answers the only question that matters before you change pricing: "What does this actually add to my month, and can it fund a hire?" It's free, instant, and models the 85–95% contribution margin directly.

2. Spectora

Spectora is the most popular modern home-inspection reporting platform, and its services-and-add-ons engine is purpose-built for exactly this. You configure radon, mold, sewer-scope, and thermal add-ons as bookable services with their own prices, attach a large-home surcharge by square footage, and let the online scheduler upsell them at booking — which is where add-on attach rates climb the most.

Pricing in 2027 is about $99/mo (Single inspector) and roughly $129–$199/mo for multi-inspector teams.

3. ISN (Inspection Support Network) 💎 BEST VALUE

ISN is the back-office workhorse of the inspection industry. It automates fees, agreements, scheduling, and collections in one system priced per inspection — not a flat seat fee. You can attach mileage/trip fees by distance, set rush-report fees, and bill re-inspection fees automatically.

Pricing is usage-based — roughly $8–$12 per completed inspection with no per-seat charge. For shops that live and die on add-on attach and clean collections, that pay-as-you-go model is the best value here.

4. Horizon (Carson Dunlop)

Horizon by Carson Dunlop is a long-standing inspection software with strong report quality and fee-line controls. It handles specialty add-ons and ancillary services as discrete line items and is favored by inspectors who want a polished, defensible report to justify premium add-on fees like thermal imaging and sewer scopes.

Pricing runs about $69–$129/mo depending on tier and volume.

5. HomeGauge

HomeGauge is a widely used inspection platform whose Create Request List (CRL) feature is loved by agents — and that goodwill makes it easier to attach specialty add-ons at booking. You can build radon, mold, and sewer-scope services into the order form and apply a large-home or distance-based fee automatically.

Pricing is roughly $49–$99/mo across tiers.

6. Jobber

Jobber, the general field-service platform, works well for inspection businesses that also do re-inspections and recurring commercial work. You can build a default re-inspection fee, a trip/mileage line item, and a rush-report add-on into every quote.

Pricing in 2027 is about $39/mo (Core), $119/mo (Connect), and $199/mo (Grow), billed annually.

7. QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is where most inspection businesses verify that fees actually reach the bottom line. Create separate income accounts for "Radon," "Sewer Scope," "Trip Fee," and "Rush Report," then run a profit-and-loss that isolates fee revenue from base inspection income.

Pricing is about $38/mo (Simple Start), $75/mo (Essentials), and $115/mo (Plus).

8. Square

Square is the simplest way to collect add-on fees on-site or at booking with a tap. Build radon, mold, sewer-scope, and rush-report fees as saved catalog items, ring them up alongside the base inspection, and take same-day deposits.

Processing is 2.6% + 15¢ in-person and 2.9% + 30¢ for invoices, with a free POS tier.

9. Stripe Billing

Stripe Billing fits inspection businesses adding recurring builder contracts, warranty re-inspection programs, or maintenance-inspection memberships that bundle a standing fee. Attach a monthly program fee, meter per-visit specialty charges, and automate dunning.

Pricing is 0.7% on recurring invoiced volume on top of 2.9% + 30¢ card processing.

10. RepairShopr (Syncro)

RepairShopr, now part of Syncro, is useful for inspectors who subcontract specialty services (radon labs, sewer-scope crews) and need to mark up and bill the pass-through cleanly.

Pricing runs about $59.99/mo (Basic) up to $149.99/mo+.

The Bottom Line

Here's what I know after 25 years: the difference between a home inspection business that's scraping by and one that's funding growth is rarely about booking more inspections. It's about attaching the right fees at the right price to every inspection you already have. That $127/inspection lift I showed you?

That's the difference between running in place and building something that can scale.

If you want to see exactly what your numbers look like, grab that free Service Fees Calculator from PULSE. And if you ever want to talk strategy with someone who's been in the trenches, swing by the CRO Syndicate — that's where we geek out on this stuff.

Now go charge what you're worth.

*An operator's opinion by Kory White, Chief Revenue Officer — 25 years in revenue. More at PULSE · CRO Syndicate*