how do you price your work?

C

chiggers

i'm nearly finished my college (2330) and have been sparking for about 5 years and the time has come for me to possibly go out on my own a do a bit of "private" work. i have the ability and the confidence now but dont have a clue where to start with pricing?!

i'm not really talking about major installs yet but what you might call "pocket" money on top of my mon-fri. it's not something they teach you at college!

any sort of pricing guide would be very helpful and even what i should be expecting the firm i work for to pay me once i'm qualified?

cheers chaps
 
As for your firm, it depends on what they pay qualified Sparks. Most pay JIB rates which are about £11 per hour. Naturally some pay more but the JIB rates should be the bare minimum.
As for pricing your 'cobbles' - all I do is guess how long the job is gonna take and then multiply it bu my hourly rate £20 per hour. I then total the job up, add 10% on top for contigency. I also mark up around 30% on any materials.
 
cheers cirrus this is just the sort of info i need;)

didn't the local councils use a schedule of rates or something of the like? i've heard the terminology but not to sure if it's correct to say a schedule of rates is a laid out set of prices to work from? also including a timeframe given for each job?
 
to be honest my prices come off the top of my head and what i think they can afford. if they want me to do the job the pay the price if they want to go somewhere else they can.

i priced for a 3 bed rewire with 6 sockets in the front room, 4 in the kitchen plus spurs and outlets, 5 in main bedroom, 2nd bedroom had 6 sockets for all his dj gear outside lights all the extras for 2600 in the end he want for a price for 1700:eek:. anyway what my point is someone will always try and undercut you.


tommorrow for instance im off to change someones cooker and wire that in and im going to do it for free............. cos ive done work for this customer before and they keep coming back to me and its good to keep people happy and onside. besides next time they call they will remeber that im a good bloke cos i did it for free but il stick 30 quid on the next price for them. ;)

if you think im wrong let me know but it think its a good way to be.
 
Are you taking the pis* alex?

"they will remeber that im a good bloke cos i did it for free but il stick 30 quid on the next price for them."
 
I do the same, a little free bee here & there but lob some of the cost onto the next visit.

Another favorite on bigger jobs is to put an extra 5% on the quoted total, then on the invoice add a note that if payment is received in 4 days they will get a 5% disscount, it never fails to amaze me how quick they pay up:D:D
 
Hi guys its intersting to see how you all do your pricing,

I Have been self employed for about 4 years now and It is hard to get it right. I used to estimate how long the job was going to take and price a daily rate + materials with 20% on top to cover your ---. but that is quite hit and miss.

for the past 6 months I have taken a more "schedule of rates approach" charging

x per socket
x per switch etc

It seems to be working ok as you can literally set a rate for anything

The other plus side is you can easily price Extras into the job, If the client asks you for an extra socket or light in the loft you know instantly how much to charge them.

I think the key is to be consistant and don't be intimidated into lowering your prices

It's better to get a reputation for being good, than a reputaion for being cheap.

"A good job for a fair price"

Mutts
 
hey cirrus!!!

No nothing technical,

I just set up a simple excell spreadsheet. It does'nt take long and its easy to add to if you come across a new "item". You can let the auto sum facility do all the maths you just type in how many of each item you want.
 
Good idea but how did you get to decide how much for say 1 socket and how much for a light fitting etc?
 
cirrus said:
Good idea but how did you get to decide how much for say 1 socket and how much for a light fitting etc?
Click to expand...

standad rate for a socket around here is £60 and £40 a fitting. Thats obviously 1st and 2nd fix and london rates. Thats kinda average what alot of people I know charge.

I tend to sometimes work out how long the job takes, so daily rate + material + 15/20% on top just to cover my arse if the job over runs, or extra profit :D.
 
Ive just set up and deciding on pricing is a nightmare
Decided to have price for everything eg. £100 per socket before entering job and reducing it depending on ease of work.
Bit concerned when 10 sockets or a new circuit with 10 socks could add upto £1000 but gonna see how it adds up at end of each quote and whether house occupied/ lots of furniture to move.
Got 1st big quote this week(mostly been wiring cookers and relacing light and sockets).- so will see how it works out in front of customer!!!
 
its all about time things take mate i think really, i installed a ring main for someone from new and only had 5 double sockets on it, but it took a while to do and cost the customer £750,
 
I tend to work to the NHF schedule of rates as I do a lot of day to day maintenance for housing associations. However I am after a more detailed version of this document if anyone has one or something similar.
 
Don't know about those rewire prices, they seem very low. Don't know what others think?
 
Good! Im not the only rogue trader here :p

only joking mr fisher.

but seriosly, potential clients read that kind of thing and then get a heart attack when they open my letter. I do warn them, "just make sure you're seated before you open the letter". Some laugh, some just look at me not amused. Ha ha. If I get the work, I get it. If not, then so be it.
 
Mr London i am the same if you get the work good if not.......... well you dont BUT all i can say is we "electricians" should not undersell ourselves.

We should charge a decent rate without having peoples pants down!!!
 
I totally agree with you mr fisher.

I just quoted for a rewire and a rewire and make good on the same property. I like to provide options for the customer. £8500 and £11500 respectively including materials, labour and VAT. A 3 floor 1960s house in Fulham. I thought that was reasonable. I worked it out again and again I just couldn't justify getting the quote anymore expensive. Other sparks in London would charge double what I did.

How the hell do they do it and get away with it?
 
parking, congestion charge (which doesn't effect some parts of Fulham) petrol and over heads. Bigger firms have bigger overheads hence bigger prices. :cool:
 
A quick one for you guys.

Any idea what would be the going rate for a periodic inspection on a student's cluster flat. ie: a flat were each student has there own bedroom (approx 8 to a flat) and they have 2 communal bathrooms, a large communal kitchen and a communal lounge area for everyone in the flat to share.

I have approx 100 to do, they are in Liverpool/Preston so that will be North of England prices.
 
Some guys use the number of circuits multiplied by going rate per circuit. £10 - £15 per circuit down here.

I don't use the 10% rule or anything similar, if you know its going to take you all day to inspect and test, then i'd charge a day rate plus a bit more cause its dirty student digs. Students would be living there now as the new academic year has started, so they'll probably be getting in the way, slowing you down, explaining to them not to plug anything in s/o with ir tests etc etc. I think you could charge a couple hundred per flat minimum.

Don't quote me and watch out for the gorgoeus blondes acting drunk, they're trouble ;).
 
simonatlondon said:
Some guys use the number of circuits multiplied by going rate per circuit. £10 - £15 per circuit down here.

I don't use the 10% rule or anything similar, if you know its going to take you all day to inspect and test, then i'd charge a day rate plus a bit more cause its dirty student digs. Students would be living there now as the new academic year has started, so they'll probably be getting in the way, slowing you down, explaining to them not to plug anything in s/o with ir tests etc etc. I think you could charge a couple hundred per flat minimum.

Don't quote me and watch out for the gorgoeus blondes acting drunk, they're trouble ;).
Click to expand...

The lads tell me all about them, some of the things that the caretakers say go on are unbelievable.

Thanks for the help, I was going to use the cost per circuit method anyway. I am trying to keep it as cheap as possible, as I can make good money doing the remdial works and by hopefuly picking up some of the other nationawide properties which they own.
 
Thanks for the help, I was going to use the cost per circuit method anyway. I am trying to keep it as cheap as possible, as I can make good money doing the remdial works and by hopefuly picking up some of the other nationawide properties which they own.[/quote]


Makes good business sense to me. Good luck with it, hope you get all the work.
 
bert1964 said:
Does this help?
Electrician Prices - Estimates of the cost of electrical jobs
Click to expand...


Try working round where i live .:(
I recently priced up a 3 bed semi detached in a house i knew was built out of engineering brick with render coating for £1900.
It was for 2 cooker circuits,(40 amp for hob 20 amp for oven) 6 double skts in kit plus ext fan.
4 double skts in living room.
2 double skts in dining room.
2 double in each bed room.
skt in hall and landing.
skt in loft plus light.
kit/living/dining room /hall/landing on two way
outside socket front and back.
extract fan in bathroom.15 min over t with light.
tv point in each room plus amp.
A ll switch back boxes to be 25mm and skt back boxes in kit to be 35 mm (flat plate sockets to be fitted)
niceic test or napit test cert plus 2 year parts and labour warranty inc with first call out free.(unless it was a nail or some such reason.)
£1900 i hear you say - thats unbelievably cheep.
I did NOT get the job.
I was UNCOMPETITIVE the cheapest quote was for £1200.00
The only thing i can think of is that there are a lot of sparks doing work on the side . (unregistered and borrowing materials for the day job)
witch i can believe as i am getting call to price jobs where work has been done with no cert. And one which was so bad I refused to touch it and told him to call building control and trading standards.

Oh I think it's time to move to a new area.
 
£1200 is ridiculous for a rewire of that nature. That's less than I was charging when I was self employed eight years ago. The thing that amazes me is that they will provide a certifcate as well. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy in this industry.
 
sparky64 said:
Try working round where i live .:(
I recently priced up a 3 bed semi detached in a house i knew was built out of engineering brick with render coating for £1900.
It was for 2 cooker circuits,(40 amp for hob 20 amp for oven) 6 double skts in kit plus ext fan.
4 double skts in living room.
2 double skts in dining room.
2 double in each bed room.
skt in hall and landing.
skt in loft plus light.
kit/living/dining room /hall/landing on two way
outside socket front and back.
extract fan in bathroom.15 min over t with light.
tv point in each room plus amp.
A ll switch back boxes to be 25mm and skt back boxes in kit to be 35 mm (flat plate sockets to be fitted)
niceic test or napit test cert plus 2 year parts and labour warranty inc with first call out free.(unless it was a nail or some such reason.)
£1900 i hear you say - thats unbelievably cheep.
I did NOT get the job.
I was UNCOMPETITIVE the cheapest quote was for £1200.00
The only thing i can think of is that there are a lot of sparks doing work on the side . (unregistered and borrowing materials for the day job)
witch i can believe as i am getting call to price jobs where work has been done with no cert. And one which was so bad I refused to touch it and told him to call building control and trading standards.

Oh I think it's time to move to a new area.
Click to expand...

That's Unbelievable!!

The prices are tight in my area but nothing compared to what you are up against. Where about are you if you don't mind me asking??
 
I work the doncaster/retford area.
Retford bawtry is not to bad but doncaster has lots of sparkys.
 
I priced work for a builder whom I have been working with for the past 3 years,I have done all his work in this time.
He was buliding 3 houses off his own back and I decided because of him giving me a serious amount of work I'd go easy with the price.
There was nothing out of the ordinary going into the house.They were small enough houses with 3 bedrooms,1 sitting room,Kitchen area and bathroom.No Ensuite and the shower was a Electric shower....
I didn't get the job in the end as he asked two other Electricans to price the work..
When he told me the other prices my jaw hit the ground I just could not believe how it was possible for someone to wire and second fix a house for such a price...

Before I tell you my price and the other prices I'd like out of a matter of interest to find out what you would charge for the job as i desribed below..
3 new wire 2 story houses all the same with about 15 twin sockets,Electric shower,Oil heating,a couple of two way switches,1 outside light, 8 penndant lights,Cooker point
Thats basically it the houses were basic enough...

What per house would you charge?
 
im often out with me pricing but id say about £3000 including materials maybe coming to 500 ish, so about £9000 for the three?

i just been to price a large bungalow reqire tonight, for a farmer (tight buggers!)
i quoted him £2820 inc materials, 4 bedrooms, dining, living, kitchen, bathroom, cooker, shower, bonding, consumer unit etc etc. he said you must be joking! dont know what planet there on but i aint working for peanuts!
 

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