Wire by the foot

[Fred B]

How do you all calculate the length to charge for wire by the foot? You have a meter to pull it through as you unspool? Use an simple ohm reading and calculate? Or read before /after on the spool of wire maybe with a greenlee cable length meter like this? Or just guesstimate?

 

[Buck Parrish]

I make an educated guess. If it's in conduit, you can count the ten foot sticks.

 

[mtnelect]

I have QuickBooks, so I have on a daily basis entered all my material & labor descriptions with prices. And yearly or monthly as needed, update them all with one click at a percentage point. I guess you could call it a "Pricing Book".

 

[curt swartz]

I have QuickBooks, so I have on a daily basis entered all my material & labor descriptions with prices. And yearly or monthly as needed, update them all with one click at a percentage point. I guess you could call it a "Pricing Book".

Please tell me how to use the wire length needed feature in Quickbooks. I have an underground project (raceways and pull wire) tomorrow. I would like to ask Quickbooks how much wire will be needed.

 

[mtnelect]

Please tell me how to use the wire length needed feature in Quickbooks. I have an underground project (raceways and pull wire) tomorrow. I would like to ask Quickbooks how much wire will be needed.

This is not a feature of QuickBooks itself ... This is something you create overtime; it becomes a historical document. Under "Products & Services" you are entering one item at a time. In essence you are creating your own "Price Book". So, when I am creating an Invoice, I refer to my "Product & Servies" listings and select what I need to complete the Invoice or Estimate.

 

[Little Bill]

This is not a feature of QuickBooks itself ... This is something you create overtime; it becomes a historical document. Under "Products & Services" you are entering one item at a time. In essence you are creating your own "Price Book". So, when I am creating an Invoice, I refer to my "Product & Servies" listings and select what I need to complete the Invoice or Estimate.

The question was, how do you determine how much wire you used on a project? I'm guessing the OP was talking about not having exactly measured it. Unless your "price book" had the exact job and/or same amount of wire, the book is useless for this question.

 

[mtnelect]

The question was, how do you determine how much wire you used on a project? I'm guessing the OP was talking about not having exactly measured it. Unless your "price book" had the exact job and/or same amount of wire, the book is useless for this question.

Sorry, I misunderstood the question.

 

[Little Bill]

Sorry, I misunderstood the question.

 

[Fred B]

The question was, how do you determine how much wire you used on a project? I'm guessing the OP was talking about not having exactly measured it. Unless your "price book" had the exact job and/or same amount of wire, the book is useless for this question.

Right, the $/ft not issue, just how to get the footage used at a job is. Currently use guesstimate, but on a given job maybe over or under. Would like a more accurate means (but cost effective) so as to not short change myself or be over charging the customer. Historically it seems I've been shorting myself overall, but with markup kind of break even on my cost of a roll, but would like to keep more of the markup that I built to help cover smalls that customers complain if I list separately as "nickle and diming".

 

[ptonsparky]

Not a good example of how to:

We charged by the SEWAG/ft. Most of our jobs were smaller and rarely any of any size, bid. Larger were billed per delivered qty, say 5000 feet. Significant returns were weighed & credited back.

eta: We had a TDR but I don't think it was any more accurate than the SEWAG/ft, plus it took more time.

 

[rambojoe]

Pull tape.

 

[Little Bill]

I usually try to remember to measure, at least as good as I can. If I forget that, I go to the "guesstimate". I try to mark wire up enough to cover any mis-measurements. If I've used most of a roll, I just charge them out a full roll with a lesser mark-up.

 

[Fred B]

Anybody ever use one of those meters like the greenlee I pictured in the first post?
Been buying NM by the 1000ft role as I get a better deal but if I'm not able to charge for every foot installed not getting full benefit of the bulk pricing.

 

[ptonsparky]

Are your 1000 footers marked in feet?

 

[Fred B]

Are your 1000 footers marked in feet?

No marking on the NM as far as ft. I only seen that on ethernet cable spools

 

[Little Bill]

My SH has one that they will check partial spools for me/customers. It has been within a few inches of actual wire the few times I've had them check for me.

 

[Buck Parrish]

Talking about counting conduit and wire. I worked for Watson Electric many years ago. They ask you to provide a conduit and wire count that you installed every day.
One day the field supervisor said to me. Y'all have ran 20,000 more feet then we even bought for the job.

 

[2Broke2Sleep]

Ive always wanted to ohm wire out but doubt it eoild be accurate enough to be practical

 

[ppsh]

There's about 400 billable feet in a 250 foot roll of Romex doing service work.

 

[Another C10]

sometimes I use my measure wheel for large warehouse runs or trenching work.