Guides
A working review of moving company services
Moving company services defined one by one: what each includes, excludes, changes on the estimate, and where the liability sits when something goes wrong.
What to take away
- A service is not a name. It is a definition with four partswhat is included, what is excluded, what it changes on the estimate, and who is liable if the item is damaged. Sell a name without the other three and you have sold a dispute.
- Packing is the service most often sold loosely and most often argued about, because the carton the customer packed and the carton your crew packed sit on the same truck under different terms.
- A package is a bundle of defined services at a stated price, not a tier with a metal name. If a customer cannot tell from the page what changes between two packages, the packages are marketing rather than a product.
- Whatever you write on the website is a claim you must be able to support. That applies to "all-inclusive" and "no hidden fees" as much as to a price.
The service catalog
Everything a household mover sells is a combination of the services below. Define each one in your own documents before you bundle any of them.
Moving Service Catalog
Included
- Loading and unloading
- Crew hours, pads, dollies
- Transport
- Driving, securing load
- Disassembly and reassembly
- Beds, tables, doorway items
- Packing
- Cartons, materials, inventory
- Unpacking
- Cartons opened, debris removed
- Materials supply only
- Cartons, paper, tape
- Specialty handling
- Pianos, safes, artwork
Excluded
- Loading and unloading
- Items not carried
- Transport
- Storage between ends
- Disassembly and reassembly
- Appliances, wall mounts
- Packing
- Customer-packed items
- Unpacking
- Putting contents away
- Materials supply only
- Any labor
- Specialty handling
- Unlisted items
Estimate Impact
- Loading and unloading
- Crew-hour count, truck time
- Transport
- Travel time or mileage
- Disassembly and reassembly
- Crew hours, specialist
- Packing
- Separate day, materials, liability
- Unpacking
- Crew hours at destination
- Materials supply only
- Materials line with counts
- Specialty handling
- Equipment, crating
| Service | Included | Excluded unless stated | What it changes on the estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading and unloading | Crew hours, pads, dollies, truck, basic protection of the building | Anything the crew does not physically carry | The crew-hour count and the truck time |
| Transport | Driving between the addresses, securing the load | Storage between the two ends | Travel time or mileage, depending on your basis |
| Disassembly and reassembly | Beds, tables, and items that will not pass a doorway assembled | Appliances needing a technician, wall mounts, custom built-ins | Crew hours, and sometimes a specialist |
| Packing | Cartons packed by your crew, materials supplied, inventory of what went in | Anything the customer packed | A separate day, a materials line, and a different liability position |
| Unpacking | Cartons opened, contents placed on a surface, debris removed | Putting contents away in cabinets, unless you say so | Crew hours at the destination |
| Materials supply only | Cartons, paper, tape, and specialty containers delivered | Any labor | A materials line with counts, no labor |
| Specialty handling | Pianos, safes, artwork, oversized items, crating | Anything not listed by name on the estimate | Equipment, extra crew, and often a separate charge |
| Appliance service | Moving the appliance | Disconnecting and reconnecting gas, water, or electrical service | A third party and a scheduling dependency |
| Storage in transit | Warehouse handling in, storage, handling out | Access to your goods during storage, unless arranged | Two additional handling events and a recurring charge |
| Long carry and shuttle | Nothing by default | Everything | An access line, priced per unit and quantity |
| Debris and packing-material removal | Nothing by default | Everything | A return trip and a disposal cost |
Two entries on that list carry most of the trade's arguments: packing, and access. The rest are usually understood by both sides.
Packing is a separate business inside the business
Packing has its own day, its own materials list, its own crew skill, and its own claims profile. Treat it as a service with a definition rather than a favor added to a move.
Packing Responsibility Decision
Who packs the cartons?
Company packs all, inventory is ours
Customer packs all, cartons flagged and inspected
Three positions are possible, and you should choose one and write it down. You pack everything, and the inventory is yours. The customer packs everything, and the cartons are flagged as customer-packed at survey and inspected at the walkthrough. Or a split, where you pack the fragile categories you name and the customer packs the rest.
Whichever you choose, the carton the customer packed is the case that matters. Your crew did not see the contents, choose the padding, or seal it.
Whether damage inside that carton is claimable depends on the valuation terms the customer selected and the rules that govern the move. The estimate must record the customer-packed flag. The crew sheet must instruct workers to inspect and speak up before loading.
Valuation is not a service you sell, and customers think it is
When a customer asks whether packing "includes insurance," they are asking about valuation. Valuation is the level of liability you accept for their goods. The customer chooses from options the governing rules provide.
For interstate moves, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides those options and disclosures. Its Protect Your Move materials describe what a customer must be told about loss and damage. For local moves, the state moving regulator sets them, if it sets any.
Do not paraphrase the options on your service page. Use the regulator's wording, present the choices it requires, and record the selection. Explain in one plain sentence what the lower option gives up.
startup and market guide treats this as one of the five decisions that shape the whole business. It belongs on the services page because that is where the customer meets it.
Building a package that means something
A package is a named bundle with a stated inclusion list. It is worth building when it removes a decision the customer cannot make well, and it is worth avoiding when it hides a charge.
Three tests before you publish one:
Package Publishing Checklist
- Can customer tell what changes?
- Does every excluded thing appear?
- Is the estimate type stated?
A package does not remove the survey. Selling a fixed bundle without surveying the home moves the risk of the survey error entirely onto you, which is a legitimate business choice only if you have priced it that way on purpose.
What you may say about a package
Anything on the page is a claim. "All-inclusive," "no hidden charges," and "flat rate" get movers into trouble, because one access charge at delivery falsifies each. The FTC's advertising FAQs for small businesses say claims must be truthful and supportable.
If the page says all-inclusive, every possible day-of charge belongs in the package or on the page.
Pricing the labor inside the bundle
Every service in the catalog resolves to crew-hours, materials, and equipment time. The crew-hour decides whether a package works. Its cost exceeds the wage: payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and paid hours not on a job.
Check the wage component against the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage tables. They publish metropolitan-area estimates for movers, drivers, and helpers. Then add the burden your own payroll shows.
Which services to open with
Start with loading, transport, unloading, and materials supply. Add packing when the crew is trained and materials stock is real. Add storage when there is a facility and an insurance form that covers goods in it.
Service Launch Order
- Start with loading, transport, unloading, materials
- Add packing when crew trained and stock ready
- Add storage when facility and insurance cover
- Add specialty handling one item class at a time
Add specialty handling one item class at a time, only after buying the equipment for it, because a piano moved without a board is a claim waiting to be filed.
Services declined should be declined by name on the estimate, with the reason. A customer who reads "appliance disconnection: not included, arrange with a licensed technician" is better served than one who discovers it at eight in the morning.
The records each service leaves
Each service produces a document, and the documents are what let you price the service correctly next year. Loading and unloading leave actual hours by phase. Packing leaves a materials consumption record and a carton count. Storage leaves handling events in and out. Specialty handling leaves an equipment record.
The Internal Revenue Service's guidance on what kind of records should I keep leaves the system to the business provided it clearly shows income and expenses. A job file with the service documents in it does that while also telling you which services are worth keeping.
Common questions
Should I publish prices for packages on the website?
Publish the basis and the inclusions. A total without a survey is a number you may have to withdraw, and withdrawing it is worse than never showing it.
Is labor-only a service or a different business?
It can be either. Sold alongside full-service moves it is a service with its own definition. Sold alone it changes which rules apply to you, so ask the regulator rather than assuming the answer carries over.
How many packages should a small mover offer?
Two or three. Each additional one multiplies the ways your estimate, your crew sheet, and your invoice can disagree with each other.
What belongs in every package regardless of tier?
The walkthrough with pre-existing damage recorded, the inventory, and the close-out. Those are not services; they are how you avoid paying for damage you did not cause.
Can a package include valuation?
The protection level is the customer's selection under the governing rules, so it is presented, not bundled away. You can include the cost of a higher option in a package price, but the customer still makes and records the choice.
