satcom said:
Nice proposal set, it can avoid a lot of problems, when either changes or you said complaints come up.
I like the unit pricing sheet it displays the unit cost not a breakdown of labor and material, very nice
Unless it’s a time and material job, the customer should not see your material and labor costs. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t generate a detailed material and labor report. I believe that an estimate should be as precise and detailed as possible. I don’t believe in guesstimating. I’ll leave that to my competitors.
Attached is a sample of my take-off detail report. It lists the material and labor for each assembly in the take-off on a per floor basis. The program that I use allows me to assign different labor units for the same assembly based on where the assembly is located. For example: If I am running Romex on the 1st floor where I have to drill through 2 x 12 floor joists, the assemblies located on the 1st floor will be assigned a “hard” labor rate. If I am running Romex on the 2nd floor where there are open roof trusses, with a guy up in the attic running the rope, the assemblies located on the 2nd floor will be assigned an “easy” labor rate. This sounds like it might be time consuming but it’s not. I just designate which floor each room is located on and then do a room by room take-off.
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Nice proposal. I might try "value engineering" as an engineer speced a hot tub run in pipe indoors. Been trying to figure out a way to bring him to romex, thx for the tip.
We all have a decision to make: Do we want to be a professional electrical contractor that provides value added services to our customers or do we want to offer the same level of service as the guy working out of the back of his car? Perception is everything. What we present and how we present it is a direct reflection of our company.
If an architect draws the electric layout on the blueprint, it is merely his opinion. Architect’s are not professional electrical contractors. We are. We need to value engineer the electrical layout to provide the most cost effective, yet code specific, layout possible. This means adding and/or deleting devices to meet the requirements of the Nation Electrical Code and all applicable local amendments in order to lower their cost while still maintaining the industry standard for electrical design.
If I am not familiar with the code requirements of a municipality, I will call the electrical inspector and go over a code checklist with him. Attached is a partial copy of the code checklist that I use.
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I always provide my customers with a “Per Plan” price as well as a “Value Engineered” price. I also include a value engineered quantity take-off that shows what was added and/or deleted on a room by room basis. This way they can see exactly what I am referring to.
Value engineering allows me to provide my customers with a value added service. Also, since value engineering usually results in a lower price, it also increases my odds of getting the job.
