Double my cost to get material markup

petersonra said:
Your pricing should be at whatever the market will bear.
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You find that by tapping your price up until you consistently have slack hours every week. Then, you back it off a bit until your hours are fully booked, or whatever level leaves you time to do the business minutia that can't be done during off hours.
 
blueheels2 said:
I don’t think 150 is enough. I back that up with running my own business at 150 for 2 years and it wasn’t enough. Just went to 250$ an hour about 2 months ago. Still getting jobs. But I think it needs to be at 300.
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You only do flat pricing? Or t and m so customers actually know what your rate is?

What’s your competitors rates?
 
AC\DC said:
You only do flat pricing? Or t and m so customers actually know what your rate is?

What’s your competitors rates?
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I only do flat rate. I’ve been in business 4 years and I’ve never given a breakdown. I walk if they want it.

As far as competitors I live in Raleigh NC and it seems to be all over the place. Pretty sure ther are still guys running around doing service at 100-125$ an hour. And on the high end some companies like Michael and Son are in the 3-500 range.

As far as remodels I’ll give this example. I base my unit pricing off 150 an hour.

Just finished a project where the previous electrician for a builder was 55-95 per opening. I’m 160-200. Just did a custom 200 square foot remodel that was 72k. I think his previous guy might have been 40.
In remodels I do think I’m near the top of what the market will bear. Also tells me service should be double that.
 
What flat rate program do you use. I am at 150 per hour when I use my program ussaly works out to 200-350 per hour.
Service work I have not felt comfortable to just through a number out just because I don’t know what I may find. Would like to just use a flat rate price
 
AC\DC said:
What flat rate program do you use. I am at 150 per hour when I use my program ussaly works out to 200-350 per hour.
Service work I have not felt comfortable to just through a number out just because I don’t know what I may find. Would like to just use a flat rate price
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I found one online and used it to build my own. Doesn’t have everything but has most of what I do. I think I posted on this site or ET within the past year.
 
I see the numbers everyone is saying they’re charging and I don’t get how they’re getting clients. A couple weeks ago I had someone who was putting cabinets in his dinning room. He needed an outlet demoed because a sink was going there, he wanted the outlet moved a couple feet for a mini fridge and 2 countertop outlets. I told him $530. The look on his face told me he didn’t like the price.

I did an estimate for an EV charger. Come out of main panel on second floor, conduit down the house and around the side , disconnect to EV charger. 75 feet of conduit. $2,000. Price includes permit fees excludes EV charger. Haven’t heard back.

I do not think my prices are high but I can go on about estimates I’ve done and never heard back from.
 
MiamiValleyelec said:
I see the numbers everyone is saying they’re charging and I don’t get how they’re getting clients. A couple weeks ago I had someone who was putting cabinets in his dinning room. He needed an outlet demoed because a sink was going there, he wanted the outlet moved a couple feet for a mini fridge and 2 countertop outlets. I told him $530. The look on his face told me he didn’t like the price.

I did an estimate for an EV charger. Come out of main panel on second floor, conduit down the house and around the side , disconnect to EV charger. 75 feet of conduit. $2,000. Price includes permit fees excludes EV charger. Haven’t heard back.

I do not think my prices are high but I can go on about estimates I’ve done and never heard back from.
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It really does depend on your market area. Typical material markup for me was 60% and half or less than the labor rate we are seeing here. Almost all T&M & service work. Larger projects got discounts on materials. Rarely labor.
I was not low priced in the area .

In hindsight, flat rate would have been better for me.
 
MiamiValleyelec said:
I see the numbers everyone is saying they’re charging and I don’t get how they’re getting clients. A couple weeks ago I had someone who was putting cabinets in his dinning room. He needed an outlet demoed because a sink was going there, he wanted the outlet moved a couple feet for a mini fridge and 2 countertop outlets. I told him $530. The look on his face told me he didn’t like the price.

I did an estimate for an EV charger. Come out of main panel on second floor, conduit down the house and around the side , disconnect to EV charger. 75 feet of conduit. $2,000. Price includes permit fees excludes EV charger. Haven’t heard back.

I do not think my prices are high but I can go on about estimates I’ve done and never heard back from.
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Completely area dependent and market driven as far as I can tell. Some places also cost more to live in.
 
I have QuickBooks and have created my own "Flat Rate" book under products & services. At the end of the year, I globally raise all prices a minimum of 5%.
 
JoeNorm said:
Completely area dependent and market driven as far as I can tell. Some places also cost more to live in.
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I have also noticed it may be how a contractor presents himself and his / her business. Some look like they just got out of bed, their truck is falling apart, wear a t-shirt with anything written on it, shoes laces untied, grunt instead of speaking clearly and expect to get jobs at the same prices as those contractors who make an effort to present themselves and their business in a professional manner. I've seen this in many different trades.
 
AC\DC said:
Now days that average
1mil and up is wealthy to me
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How many million dollar homes are there? I’ve done work in million dollar homes, but most people don’t live in million dollar homes.

Every referral I get I pretty much name my price but my price usually only adds up to 100 an hour. I think that’s pretty fair. Recently I’ve been trying to advertise on Angi and I’m very disappointed with the referrals I get from there. Im trying to grow but having problems with the people on the internet.
 
Amps said:
I have also noticed it may be how a contractor presents himself and his / her business. Some look like they just got out of bed, their truck is falling apart, wear a t-shirt with anything written on it, shoes laces untied, grunt instead of speaking clearly and expect to get jobs at the same prices as those contractors who make an effort to present themselves and their business in a professional manner. I've seen this in many different trades.
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Personally I have a non rusted out 250 transit van. I show up presentable but dressed to work. I wear booties when I go in peoples homes. I even bring a little vacuum cleaner with me to clean up any mess I might make. If for some reason I’m not in my van I’m showing up in a 2022 2500. I don’t look like a slouch and I believe I communicate well. I can even engage in small talk. I don’t try and push any upsells, I tell the customer what it’s going to take to get the job done and what to expect. Maybe I should just blow rainbows and sunshine and then do whatever needs to be done.
 
MiamiValleyelec said:
Recently I’ve been trying to advertise on Angi and I’m very disappointed with the referrals I get from there. Im trying to grow but having problems with the people on the internet.
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IMO, people that look for contractors through third parties are looking for how cheap it can be done, just like when they shop for airlines and hotels. I would only use a contractor from one of these sites as my last resort.
 
MiamiValleyelec said:
How many million dollar homes are there? I’ve done work in million dollar homes, but most people don’t live in million dollar homes.

Every referral I get I pretty much name my price but my price usually only adds up to 100 an hour. I think that’s pretty fair. Recently I’ve been trying to advertise on Angi and I’m very disappointed with the referrals I get from there. Im trying to grow but having problems with the people on the internet.
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Stay away from the current Angie is what I've seen. I used the free Yelp page and that got quite a bit of business but be prepared for them trying to sell you ads.
 
we ussually go two hours max on service work hourly charge. We can almost always fix it or diagnose it in less then two hours. If it is going to be alot of work we'll give them a flat rate cost.
 
letgomywago said:
Stay away from the current Angie is what I've seen. I used the free Yelp page and that got quite a bit of business but be prepared for them trying to sell you ads.
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It's a hard not to believe this is the way to go. Angie List, and the rest of the online advertising. They will suck you dry with advertising rates. Stay local, advertise in local directories, and newspapers. It takes time, overnight success will not happen. The USPS has advertising programs, that mail your post card to zip codes. Slowly but surely, you will grow, I did it and you can too.
 
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