Help with Master Electrical Price List

[blueheels2]

I would. Lower overhead means I can offer a lower, more affordable and more competitive price point and why not capitalize on that and let the customer know? I can get you savings because I'm living modestly. I intentionally have a home based office for that reason. Otherwise my price would have to go up. I also use VOIP for my business line. Another overhead cost eliminated.

I have had customers criticize me as being "unprofessional" for "not having a real business line." Which is utter bs IMO. As if somehow having an iPhone w/ a major carrier that costs me hundreds of dollars a month makes me "more professional," lmfao. Only super privileged people think that way.

Used to be that a home-based business run out of a garage was admirable. Now it's seen as "unprofessional."

I don’t know your business but I definitely have a different philosophy than you. By living modestly you say you can charge a better price and value. But as an electrician told me on Electrician Talk told me those are YOUR advantages. Why should you pass that on to the customer? We are in this to make money and their is tons of risk. I am always trying to figure out if I can charge more. Never if I can charge less. I want to find the limit i can charge. My time and expertise is extremely valuable and I deserve to profit from it. Maybe that’s not ethical but I don’t feel that way.

 

[Jerramundi]

In the world I operate in now, if your fleet of vehicles isn’t less than 3 years old, and you don’t have a nice office, everyone starts to wonder what you’re doing wrong.

Absolutely 100% right about this. That's the world we've allowed to be created. If you're not driving a Mercedes, you must be f**kin up somewhere. It's an extremely narrow worldview that doesn't take into account the subjective nature of "success."

Maybe it’s this owners dream to have a place like that to work, and to have a place that can help recruit or keep talent, which can lead to even more success for him.

On the note of the subjective nature of success, you're right about this as well. The L/V guy sounds like he has a narrow perspective about what success is and doesn't recognize its' subjective nature. Too much locker room banter and not enough critical thinking. Kudos to you for recognizing such and having the presence of mind to think, "well, maybe this is what success is to this person."

 

[Jerramundi]

I don’t know your business but I definitely have a different philosophy than you. By living modestly you say you can charge a better price and value. But as an electrician told me on Electrician Talk told me those are YOUR advantages. Why should you pass that on to the customer? We are in this to make money and their is tons of risk. I am always trying to figure out if I can charge more. Never if I can charge less. I want to find the limit i can charge. My time and expertise is extremely valuable and I deserve to profit from it. Maybe that’s not ethical but I don’t feel that way.

Ultimately there is no "objective right answer," IMO. Morality and ethics are subjective and culturally relative... but don't mistake my rhetoric by conflating the ideas of (1) "reducing costs" and (2) "being so dirt cheap that you don't make a dime."

 

[James L]

I am a new electrical contractor. Currently, I do residential/commercial service work and I have an account with a small home remodeling contractor. By far and large I charge hourly. If I do give a bid, I do it based off of my hourly rate, material cost, etc..I recently had a meeting with an individual who owns both a remodeling/restoration construction LLC and then he also owns another property management LLC, which has 300+ properties. He is already partnered with two other electrical contractors and is looking for third. He has asked me to fill out an "Electrical Master Price List". It is alot. For some of the items, I already know what I would charge. For others, I am at a loss. Any help would be appreciated. Whether, you can share your price list, unsure if that is ok to ask, I have read people spend years building their lists. Or simply a process on how come up with a price for an item. Or maybe recommend a computer software that could help with this. I have read other posts on here pertinent to what I am asking, but nothing that can help specifically. Thanks in advance for any responses.

Those price sheets leave a lot to be desired.
Some items are too specific, and some are too vague. And some are just too redundant or outdated.

Who installs xenon under cabinet lights? Not me

A 25' home run gets priced exactly the same as a 50' home run.

All those different bath fans?

I generalize when I can, and have price groups.
A plug is a switch is a keyless. One takes slightly longer to install, one costs an extra $2.00 I don't care. If $2.00 is that important, go stand on a street corner with a cardboard sign. Someone will give you two bucks.

I price per opening, which amounts to 1 hour of my "take home" labor. In that opening price, I account for up to $10 for materials. Box, wire, staples, device, plate, connectors, wire nuts, etc. That's what I call a standard opening.

Beyond the $10 for materials, I have upgraded prices for openings, and I round to the nearest $5.00

For instance, a gfci costs $9.00-12.00 more than a duplex receptacle, so it's $10 higher than a standard opening.

A smoke detector costs $12.00-14.00 more than a duplex receptacle, so it's $15 higher than a standard opening

One thing to keep in mind with upgraded openings, is electronics. If you're assuming warranty, and you will, you cannot sell them at cost. I add $40 to upgrade to a $25.00 dimmer

Another thing is the number of openings. I have a minimum threshold for standard pricing. Anything less than 8 openings, I'm adding 40-60%

Then the hidden stuff - demo and repairs. I charge 1/2 opening for demo/repair. And count every opening you see. It may look like you're robbing them when you charge 5 openings to cut a singlw wire that has 4 receptacles and a pull-chain attached, but you'll spend that time re-feeding something you didn't see.

And also, they'll ask you to "move" an outlet, can light, etc. I say NO WAY. That wire isn't long enough, and I can't stretch wire. That openi g gets demo, and then another opening gets added.

Makes my pricing simple,

 

[kwired]

When I worked I had a GC license as well as an EC license. I used subs and I subbed to others. My insurance company would audit me every year and if I didn't have a COI with WC listed then I got a bill for the WC rate on what I paid them. That only happened to me one year (you pay for your education one way or another).

I was a sub S corp and excluded myself from WC coverage (as allowed by law at that time) so I kept my bill low. It was called a ghost policy. The people I subbed to accepted it, without it they would have withheld 10% for WC coverage they would have to provide.

I think now the insurance companies have wised up and are trying to not write ghost policies.

I have had a ghost policy for several years. I had the policy from when I had an employee. They quit I hadn't planned on hiring a replacement and cancelled the policy. Ended up I did hire someone else within about a year and wanted to restart the policy. Insurance company said you can't start and stop said policy - it needs to run all year then be audited for any adjustments. That second employee only worked for less than a year. I took his name off the policy but never cancelled it. Been paying that policy for 7-8 years now and nobody has been covered by it. Do usually get some refund after the audit, but as you mentioned is nice to be able to send a certificate to a GC or other entity that wants to know if I have WC so they won't withhold any payment amounts.

As far as "ghost policy" goes, the insurance co is still taking in some money for a policy that essentially covers nothing.

 

[blueheels2]

My worker’s compensation is paid for 2 more years due to overpayment my first year.