1. What is the Flat Rate Catalog, and how is it different from how Lula priced jobs before?

Instead of quoting every job individually or billing hourly, Lula has pre-established flat prices for hundreds of common handyman repair and replacement services. Prices are built from real job data across Lula's markets plus supplier partnerships, so labor and material costs are standardized in advance. The goal is to remove pricing uncertainty and speed up approvals for both you and the Pro.

2. How is the price for a given service determined?

Each service in the catalog has a pre-set price based on average completion time and typical material cost for that specific repair or replacement. When a Pro diagnoses an issue, they select the matching catalog service(s), and the price is applied automatically — there's no negotiation or individual quoting for standard catalog work.

3. Will I be charged differently for the same service at different properties?

No. The price you're charged for a given catalog service is the same everywhere, regardless of market. (What varies by market is what Lula pays the Pro for that job — not what you're charged.)

4. What is a service fee?

The service fee is a one-time cost per work order that compensates the Pro for their time to go out and diagnose the job. It's charged once per job, regardless of how many trips it takes the Pro to complete it. It isn't a new or hidden cost — it's the same cost that used to be built into each Pro's hourly labor rate; it's now itemized separately for transparency. To calculate the total cost of a flat-rate handyman job, add the $75 service fee to the price of the selected service(s).

5. Can I see pricing for a service before a job is approved?

Yes, two ways: you can browse Lula's full published price list at any time to know what to expect for a given service, and once a Pro selects services for an actual job, the total builds automatically and is shown before you approve it. If the total falls within your account's pre-approved threshold, it's approved instantly; if it exceeds that threshold, you'll get a request to approve on-site.

6. What's included in a flat-rate price — labor only, or materials too?

A flat-rate price is always all-in — labor and materials both. There's no scenario where you're billed separately for materials on top of the catalog price for a standard-scope job.

7. How will a flat-rate job show up on my invoice?

Every job is itemized on your invoice so you can see the breakdown: labor, parts, and the service fee are shown as separate lines. The labor and parts lines together always add up to the fixed catalog price for that service — itemization is for transparency, not a way the total can move above the published price. For example:

8. When would I see a price that's different from the standard catalog price?

You shouldn't typically see line-item add-ons — those are an internal mechanism Pros use to account for minor, unforeseen costs, not something that shows up on your side. The only time you'd see a price other than the standard catalog price is when the actual scope is drastically different from the standard version of that service. For example, the standard toilet replacement price assumes a standard, floor-mounted toilet with like-for-like, standard-grade materials — it wouldn't apply to replacing a wall-attached, bidet-style toilet, since that's a meaningfully different scope of work.

9. What is a “Custom Service,” and why would one show up on my invoice instead of a standard catalog price?

A Pro uses a Custom Service when either (a) there's no catalog service that matches the work needed, or (b) the actual scope drastically exceeds the standard scope for the closest catalog service (see Q8 — the bidet-style toilet example).

10. Why does a Custom Service cost more than a catalog service (the 12% fee)?

Custom Service pricing carries a 12% fee that doesn't apply to standard flat-rate catalog services. This reflects that Custom Service work falls outside Lula's standardized, pre-vetted pricing — either because no catalog match exists, or because the scope is meaningfully larger or more complex than the standard job it resembles.

11. How do I know a Custom Service price is fair if it's not from the catalog?

Every Custom Service goes through a rigorous QC process before it's finalized — Lula checks that there genuinely isn't a matching catalog service, and reviews the pricing, photos, and quality of the work. This is specifically because Custom Service isn't a pre-set catalog price, so it gets extra scrutiny that standard services don't need.

12. What's the difference between a Flat-Rate Handyman job and a Flat-Price (FP) job like HVAC or water heater replacement?

Flat-Rate Handyman falls under the same overall Flat Rate Catalog — it's part of Lula's broader initiative to bring all service types under one flat-rate pricing model, so pricing is predictable and reliable regardless of job type. Larger, specialty replacements (HVAC systems, water heaters, major appliances, roofing) are currently handled as Flat-Price (FP) jobs with their own process, but they're part of the same overall direction toward consistent, upfront pricing.

13. What happens if the Pro discovers more work is needed once they're already on-site?

If it's identified before work starts, the Pro adds the additional service(s) to the job before submitting for approval, so it's reflected in the total you approve upfront. If it's discovered after work is underway or after the original approval, the Pro submits a separate quote for the additional work — this comes to you as a new approval request, not an automatic charge.

14. What if a job takes much longer than expected — does that change the price?

No — flat-rate pricing is fixed per service regardless of how long the Pro is on-site. Lula still tracks time internally to keep catalog pricing accurate over time, but that doesn't change what you're charged for the services already approved.

15. Can a job scope or price be adjusted after I've already approved it?

No — pricing can only change if you approve it again. Any adjustment to scope or price comes back to you as a new approval request rather than being added to what you already signed off on.

16. How do I know the price I'm being charged is accurate and not inflated?

Standard catalog prices are fixed and published — the same service carries the same price everywhere, so there's no room for a job to be priced differently than any other job of the same scope. The only exceptions are Custom Service line items (used only for drastically different scope or no catalog match), and those go through the QC process described in Q11.

17. Who do I contact if I think a charge is wrong?

Reach out to your Lula Account Manager or the Lula Support team — they can review the specific work order and pricing with you.

18. Is there a review process for Custom Service pricing, or is it just whatever the Pro submits?

Yes — every Custom Service goes through a rigorous QC process that confirms there isn't a matching catalog service, and separately checks the pricing, photos, and quality of the work before it's finalized (see Q11).

19. Does this pricing model apply to every market I operate in, or just some?

The Flat Rate Catalog is used across all of Lula's markets, and the price you're charged for a given service is consistent nationwide — it doesn't change based on which market your property is in.