Well that was depre$$ing

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CHWflorida said:
I'm not gonna be much help to you because I'm in florida, but our hourly rate on t and m work is 60.00 (130.00 first hour) per man, and as low as 50.00 per man on our large commercial maintenance contracts.
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Commercial is a different animal, and extremely competitive for new construction especially. The name of the game there is quite similar to new residential - cheap help and speed.

Even that said, the rates you quoted make me want to barf.
 
peter d said:
I think than an EC should be paying himself a minimum of $65 or more an hour, not billing out at that rate!
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I agree. The owner's salary as well as the salaries of non-billable personell must be taken into consideration when figuring O/H.
 
I'm not sure what part of Florida you are in CHW but I am in South Florida and get $125 for first hour and $90/hour after that (Per Man). Even at this rate it is almost impossible to make a profit.

I avoid T&M whenever possible and try to give set prices based on $160/hr

This is for service work Comercial and Residential. I do not work for GC's at all.

I'm actually thinking about becoming a tree trimmer since they seem to get $400 plus to trim a tree and takes them less than an hour to do. Nobody even thinks twice about paying them that. My only concern would be making sure my chainsaw is oiled up and that my truck and grinder machine had plenty of gas
 
Rich R said:
I'm actually thinking about becoming a tree trimmer since they seem to get $400 plus to trim a tree and takes them less than an hour to do. Nobody even thinks twice about paying them that. My only concern would be making sure my chainsaw is oiled up and that my truck and grinder machine had plenty of gas
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Sounds good until you do the numbers....if you want to do any kind of real tree work you need a bucket truck, a chip truck, a chipper, a crane, a stump grinder, and a pickup truck.

Or you can do everything the old fashioned way and climb everything. Hardly any overhead there.
 
Rich R said:
I'm not sure what part of Florida you are in CHW but I am in South Florida and get $125 for first hour and $90/hour after that (Per Man). Even at this rate it is almost impossible to make a profit.

I avoid T&M whenever possible and try to give set prices based on $160/hr

This is for service work Comercial and Residential. I do not work for GC's at all.

I'm actually thinking about becoming a tree trimmer since they seem to get $400 plus to trim a tree and takes them less than an hour to do. Nobody even thinks twice about paying them that. My only concern would be making sure my chainsaw is oiled up and that my truck and grinder machine had plenty of gas
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And bucket truck. I wonder what those guys pay for insurance.
 
peter d said:
I think than an EC should be paying himself a minimum of $65 or more an hour, not billing out at that rate!
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I never stated that I was the EC. The EC that I work for pays himself several times that amount (I imagine).
 
peter d said:
Commercial is a different animal, and extremely competitive for new construction especially. The name of the game there is quite similar to new residential - cheap help and speed.

Even that said, the rates you quoted make me want to barf.
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The rates you qouted make me want to barf. Oh, wait a minute, you didn't quote any.

I guess that makes me cheap help?
 
CHWflorida said:
I guess that makes me cheap help?
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I have no idea what you are. I'm not an EC so I don't have any rates. But I don't need to be an EC to know when an EC is selling himself short. I've done the research and I know that many (not all) EC's do not charge enough for all the time, money, risk, investment and training it takes to be an EC.

You stated that your company's T&M rate is $60 an hour. If I was an EC and only charged a T&M rate of $60 an hour, I would seriously consider finding another line of work. However, we don't know the whole story. There very well may be other charges that are added on to that, so that $60 an hour is not accurate.
 
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Rich R said:
I'm not sure what part of Florida you are in CHW but I am in South Florida and get $125 for first hour and $90/hour after that (Per Man). Even at this rate it is almost impossible to make a profit.

I avoid T&M whenever possible and try to give set prices based on $160/hr

This is for service work Comercial and Residential. I do not work for GC's at all.

I'm actually thinking about becoming a tree trimmer since they seem to get $400 plus to trim a tree and takes them less than an hour to do. Nobody even thinks twice about paying them that. My only concern would be making sure my chainsaw is oiled up and that my truck and grinder machine had plenty of gas
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Thank you for sharing. I'm in central Florida. I'm employed by an EC. I don't see the books but I know we make big profits and we have for many years. Company size and structure probably makes the biggest difference in this case.
 
peter d said:
I have no idea what you are. I'm not an EC so I don't have any rates. But I don't need to be an EC to know when an EC is selling himself short. I've done the research and I know that many (not all) EC's do not charge enough for all the time, money, risk, investment and training it takes to be an EC.

You stated that your company's T&M rate is $60 an hour. If I was an EC and only charged a T&M rate of $60 an hour, I would seriously consider finding another line of work.
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Why don't we introduce ourselves. I am clearly an electrician. I am employed by a very wealthy EC. I happen to work in the service department of this company and I regularly bill customers so I obviously know our rates (these are only service work rates, not new construction or contracts). So I assume you are not an electrician, or you do not bill customers for electrical work.
 
CHWflorida said:
Why don't we introduce ourselves. I am clearly an electrician. I am employed by a very wealthy EC. I happen to work in the service department of this company and I regularly bill customers so I obviously know our rates (these are only service work rates, not new construction or contracts). So I assume you are not an electrician, or you do not bill customers for electrical work.
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Then the EC you work for must have lots of guys and lots of billable hours per man in a day to make him rich. Not only are you guys covering your salaries and benefits but also the cost to run the company and profit and all non-billable personell salaries and benefits. And again, your non-billable time (time working in the shop, safety meetings, etc....)

I mean, just do the numbers.

Your boss may appear to be rich but maybe he has other irons in the fire (i.e. other business dealings?)
 
It is funny reading all of this when how many people in this country are "unemployed" and wish they had a job and here a few are bickering of how much to charge someone. I know i am just glad i have a job and a lot of sidework to keep me busy. The rate i charge personally is my business and what the company charges is their,s. So why don,t everyone be happy you have a job.
 
sidework

sidework

Texhunter7 said:
It is funny reading all of this when how many people in this country are "unemployed" and wish they had a job and here a few are bickering of how much to charge someone. I know i am just glad i have a job and a lot of sidework to keep me busy. The rate i charge personally is my business and what the company charges is their,s. So why don,t everyone be happy you have a job.
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Hey Tex, I would be careful how you mention sidework here!:roll:
 
Texhunter7 said:
It is funny reading all of this when how many people in this country are "unemployed" and wish they had a job and here a few are bickering of how much to charge someone. I know i am just glad i have a job and a lot of sidework to keep me busy. The rate i charge personally is my business and what the company charges is their,s. So why don,t everyone be happy you have a job.
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You can't help but bicker when your livelihood is threatened by others who charge too little and upset the market. This affects me, in a way, as much as an EC, being that I'm employed by one. Of course, he has much more to lose. Unfortunately, my boss is only interested in seeing his company succeed, and if others are bankrupted, I guess that means a little more work for him. Now, all that said, I was just asking for going rates around the country (I doubt this is the first time it's been asked) and I revealed ours. It might seem low but we make money.
 
CHWflorida said:
I am clearly an electrician.
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You don't say? ;)

I was responding to your rhetorical question "I guess that makes me cheap help?" to which I replied "I have no idea what you are," meaning "I have no idea if you're cheap help or not."
 
powerslave said:
Then the EC you work for must have lots of guys and lots of billable hours per man in a day to make him rich. Not only are you guys covering your salaries and benefits but also the cost to run the company and profit and all non-billable personell salaries and benefits. And again, your non-billable time (time working in the shop, safety meetings, etc....)

I mean, just do the numbers.

Your boss may appear to be rich but maybe he has other irons in the fire (i.e. other business dealings?)
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I don't want to do the numbers. Are you an electrician? This conversation will make alot more sense if you state your occupation (it's not in your profile). I have to go back and check who originally asked the question but I'm basically just asking for hourly rates as billed to customers. My boss is an electrical contractor. The size of the company might be irrlelevant.
 
CHWflorida said:
I don't want to do the numbers. Are you an electrician? This conversation will make alot more sense if you state your occupation (it's not in your profile). I have to go back and check who originally asked the question but I'm basically just asking for hourly rates as billed to customers. My boss is an electrical contractor. The size of the company might be irrlelevant.
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I own a flower shop.

Just kidding.

I am an EC and it is in my profile. Click on my name and you will see my profile.
 
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