How do you answer the "how much do you charge" and "how long will it take" question?

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GerryB

Senior Member
How do you answer the "how much do you charge" and "how long will it take" question?

Twice this week, a small job and a good sized job, I give them a price and get those two questions. The small job is a two tripper and if she asks again I'll tell her that's a minimum for that type of job. The other job is not a clean job, a remodel with demo, wall fishing, partial kitchens and baths where you reuse what you can, and permit required. I sent a quote and he e-mails back "it's confusing to him" and could I break it down, how long for demo, how long to do stove wires, etc. I'm not doing that. I think I'll tell him a job like this is not straight forward and my experience tells me some things will go quicker then I thought and some will take longer. How have some of you answered those questions? Supposedly he got other prices but want's me to do it because I looked at it a few times.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Twice this week, a small job and a good sized job, I give them a price and get those two questions. The small job is a two tripper and if she asks again I'll tell her that's a minimum for that type of job. The other job is not a clean job, a remodel with demo, wall fishing, partial kitchens and baths where you reuse what you can, and permit required. I sent a quote and he e-mails back "it's confusing to him" and could I break it down, how long for demo, how long to do stove wires, etc. I'm not doing that. I think I'll tell him a job like this is not straight forward and my experience tells me some things will go quicker then I thought and some will take longer. How have some of you answered those questions? Supposedly he got other prices but want's me to do it because I looked at it a few times.

here' s how i answer this question when it is posed here:

add a third to the price you were going give before they asked you the question.

as to how long it will take, i just answered that question yesterday on my current job.

my trenching started three weeks later than planned, and i hit my "backbone is in and hot"
milestone two weeks before i said it would be done.

how long was that? hell if i know.. i'm an electrician, not an estimator.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Based on experience with jobs of this type the price is the price. Itemized breakdowns are $125.00 upfront.

if i give you the work, will you deduct the itemization charge off the bill?



i see that you have rough in at $1,317.00

if i help you by drilling holes in the wood, will you knock off $500?
i have my own drill, and everything.

can i help? can i?
 

cowboyjwc

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Simi Valley, CA
if i give you the work, will you deduct the itemization charge off the bill?



i see that you have rough in at $1,317.00

if i help you by drilling holes in the wood, will you knock off $500?
i have my own drill, and everything.

can i help? can i?
I'll let you drill all the holes for $500. You can either pay me in cash or check.:angel:
 

readydave8

re member
Location
Clarkesville, Georgia
Occupation
electrician
Bid complete house rewire today $10,000. I explained that the last few were around $7k, that this one would be more complicated, and this was more of a guess. I explained that fishing a lite switch could take 1/2 hr if empty wall, much longer if hit a cross brace.

I don't think I got the job, which is ok for 2 main reasons:

1. GC is customer, not homeowner

2. GC has crews laying flooring, patching walls, painting. Been there 6 weeks already. I got the call to look at job this morning. Home0wner wants it done by Thanksgiving (2014).
 

LEO2854

Esteemed Member
Location
Ma
Twice this week, a small job and a good sized job, I give them a price and get those two questions. The small job is a two tripper and if she asks again I'll tell her that's a minimum for that type of job. The other job is not a clean job, a remodel with demo, wall fishing, partial kitchens and baths where you reuse what you can, and permit required. I sent a quote and he e-mails back "it's confusing to him" and could I break it down, how long for demo, how long to do stove wires, etc. I'm not doing that. I think I'll tell him a job like this is not straight forward and my experience tells me some things will go quicker then I thought and some will take longer. How have some of you answered those questions? Supposedly he got other prices but want's me to do it because I looked at it a few times.

You need to ask yourself these questions, How would the client know how long electrical work takes? How would the client know how long each task takes?

Breaking down your quote should come out to the same grand total, therefore it is unnecessary to do so.

The quote should be well written and detailed with everything included, after all the writing at the bottom it should say The grand total for this work is $82,767.02. Payment terms of your choosing.

Once they start asking for hourly rates and how long will it take, just tell them you charge by the job and not the hour. Simply steer the the conversation away from that topic otherwise you will lose the sale, If they insist on hourly rates the simply be prepared to walk away, but do not give in.

Also, what you charge per hour is nowhere close to what you pay yourself after all of the costs involved in doing this work, so if you tell them your hourly rates they will never higher you if you are charging enough to stay in business
 

rt66electric

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
don't forget that price includes....

don't forget that price includes....

OH..
dont forget that price covers:

IRS payment,
Truck payment
Insurance payment
Workmans comp
Tag, title,and license,
Shop bills
accountant bills
vacation time
401k payment
sick time
holiday pay
gas money
Advertising
AND MORE....
 

Ponchik

Senior Member
Location
CA
Occupation
Electronologist
Q:How long will it take?
A: If you don't have the time we can always reschedule for a more convenient time. Which day and/or time will work better for you?
A: With my special training and experience I can be as efficient as possible so I am not wasting your valuable time.

Q: How much do you charge?
A: In order to be most efficient to our clients we charge by the job and your project will be $3798.45
Q: How much is it hourly?
A: Would you rather know what the price is before you buy a pair of jeans or you take ownership then find out what it takes to make the pair of jeans and get charged accordingly?
A: How much would you like me to charge per hour?
A: I can charge $385 per hour. Would you like to proceed and wait to see how many hours it take to finish the job?
 
My answer when they ask how long will something take is "how long does it take to catch a fish" and leave it at that. Get some really quisical looks but my point is that I don't have an exact time most of the time. Vould be an hour could be an all day job.
 

James L

Senior Member
Location
Kansas Cty, Mo, USA
Occupation
Electrician
At least you're being asked how much and how long, rather than being told "here's how much I'll give you. It shouldn't take you more than xx amount of hours"

If it's a repair, I won't guess. I tell them an hourly rate, then make it real clear that I'm not promising a final amount. It's an open-ended ticket, or they can call somebody else. And many do.

You don't need to bust your hump and not make money, much easier to stay at home and not make money


On a bid job, I try to give a range of time for completion. 4-5 days, week and a half to two weeks, 2-3 hours... I try to be non-committal and realistic
 

GerryB

Senior Member
You need to ask yourself these questions, How would the client know how long electrical work takes? How would the client know how long each task takes?

Breaking down your quote should come out to the same grand total, therefore it is unnecessary to do so.

The quote should be well written and detailed with everything included, after all the writing at the bottom it should say The grand total for this work is $82,767.02. Payment terms of your choosing.

Once they start asking for hourly rates and how long will it take, just tell them you charge by the job and not the hour. Simply steer the the conversation away from that topic otherwise you will lose the sale, If they insist on hourly rates the simply be prepared to walk away, but do not give in.

Also, what you charge per hour is nowhere close to what you pay yourself after all of the costs involved in doing this work, so if you tell them your hourly rates they will never higher you if you are charging enough to stay in business

You mentioned a detailed quote, good for contractors or someone who knows what you are talking about and to avoid misunderstandings at the end of a job. I have had HO's though who have no idea what you are talking about. One didn't understand that a FINAL INSPECTION meant the job was finished. She wanted to put devices on an open wall and call the inspector:huh: In this case I gave the owner a one page quote with eight items, Kitchen stove and counters, #of recess lights, smoke and co2, etc and a grand total, so it should be easy to compare with other quotes. He wants time and cost for each item. I told him I can't do that and I've done many jobs like this and know how to get them done. His last e-mail was "I sound like I don't want the job". At this point I don't, but I don't think I've heard the last from him.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
The other job is not a clean job, a remodel with demo, wall fishing, partial kitchens and baths where you reuse what you can, and permit required. I sent a quote and he e-mails back "it's confusing to him" and could I break it down, how long for demo, how long to do stove wires, etc. I'm not doing that. I think I'll tell him a job like this is not straight forward and my experience tells me some things will go quicker then I thought and some will take longer. How have some of you answered those questions? Supposedly he got other prices but want's me to do it because I looked at it a few times.


A quote is not an estimate but a confirmed price to complete a certain number of items. There is nothing confusing about a quote.

An estimate may require a bit more explaining because jobs often run over the estimated job cost.

If you have given the customer a clear description of what you are willing to do for a certain amount of money that is all that should be needed.

If he wants you to do the work then present him with a contract that explains what you will do and how and when you are to be paid.
 

mlnk

Senior Member
In Calif, working for a homeowner, we can not charge by the hour, only by a bid; unless it is service/repair work and valued at less than $750.00
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
A quote is not an estimate but a confirmed price to complete a certain number of items. There is nothing confusing about a quote.

An estimate may require a bit more explaining because jobs often run over the estimated job cost.

If you have given the customer a clear description of what you are willing to do for a certain amount of money that is all that should be needed.

If he wants you to do the work then present him with a contract that explains what you will do and how and when you are to be paid.

Quote, estimate, bid - all mean the same thing to many customers, the first number you give them is all they hear, unless you later give them a lower number, then they remember that one. Not saying you are wrong, but the discussion most of the time will be ...."you told me $XXX.XX, and now it is $YYY.YY. But if at any time you invoice them less then any quote given to them may have bee, they certainly don't pay you what the original quote was and often just pay up without saying a word.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Quote, estimate, bid - all mean the same thing to many customers, the first number you give them is all they hear, unless you later give them a lower number, then they remember that one. Not saying you are wrong, but the discussion most of the time will be ...."you told me $XXX.XX, and now it is $YYY.YY. But if at any time you invoice them less then any quote given to them may have been, they certainly don't pay you what the original quote was and often just pay up without saying a word.

Yes, if I invoice less than the price of original quote the customer would only be required to pay the amount of the invoice. Normally I would never invoice less than the quoted price. I don't see any advantage to doing so and the customer may come to expect it in the future.

I understand that many people don't know the difference between an estimate and a quote so I'm more than happy to explain it to them (up-front). In my opinion an estimate is for when all job conditions and cost are not known and it's almost impossible to give a confirmed quote.
 

iceworm

Curmudgeon still using printed IEEE Color Books
Location
North of the 65 parallel
Occupation
EE (Field - as little design as possible)
Q:How long will it take?
A: If you don't have the time we can always reschedule for a more convenient time. Which day and/or time will work better for you?
A: With my special training and experience I can be as efficient as possible so I am not wasting your valuable time. ...

My answer when they ask how long will something take is "how long does it take to catch a fish" and leave it at that. Get some really quisical looks but my point is that I don't have an exact time most of the time. Vould be an hour could be an all day job.

Let me see if I understand:
You gave them a bid. You know the hours. You know the crew.

And you can't give them an estimated completion date? And you think the customer is leaning on you when they ask for a completion date?

ice
 
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