How can I accurately quote electrical jobs as a new tradie?

S

SoulDaehpo

New Member
Hey blokes, I just finished my apprenticeship at 33.
Got kids, a mortgage, the whole lot. I wish I'd started my electrical apprenticeship earlier, but a few things got in the way.

I'm not bad on the tools, and I'm pretty quick and neat. But my biggest downfall is knowing how to quote jobs. Is there anyone who can give me advice or a formula on how other people quote their jobs?

Right now I'm charging per points. I've tried ChatGPT, but sometimes I feel the numbers are a bit off.
 
My advice is not to charge per hour.
Charge per job.

Charging per hour means working quickly punishes you.

Work out your materials.
Work out how much you want on top.

Go from there.
 
Man, you ain't meant to know it all when you finish your trade. More experience? That'll sort itself out. I fully get where you're coming from life, the struggles. I had similar struggles leaving my trade. One thing I did: pick an experienced electrician's brain. Someone competent at quoting. I also got my head around material pricing. But labour timing? That was a hard one. I always added an extra hour and a bit. Just be realistic. Don't price to win jobs. You'll stress yourself out.

Good luck, mate. Hope this helps.
 
Estimate how long a job will take you. Decide how much you want per hour or day, considering all factors, including tax, tools needed, experience, logistics, admin, etc. Add materials, plus 15% procurement. Add 10% provisional for unforeseen to cover your bases. Add GST.

If you're not winning quotes, you're too high. If you're winning too many, up your rates. Know your worth. If you back your skills, stick to your price. Good luck.
 
Not an electrician. In my trade, double materials cost. Add estimated labour. Example: Materials $100 x 2. Plus 2 hours labour @ $110. Sell at $420. Then try to do it faster than 2 hours. Your profit is better. Obviously, each job is different. But that’s a basic way of doing it.
 
Simplify it so you’re pricing for your needs, not based on what anyone else is charging.

Estimate:
Labour & cost of goods +10%. (If you’re a solo operator, charge for two blokes.)
Once you’ve got that figure, divide it by .7 to add a 30% GP margin for the business.

If you’re not adding 30% for the business profit margin, you might as well go get a job.
 
Happy to help just DM me. I did things the hard way for years, but now I’ve got a system down pat. You need to work out your wage/super plus all running costs for the year, divide by months, then days, then how many billable hours a day you want then add profit. That gives you your hourly rate for quoting. Add materials and markup. Of course, you also need to be experienced enough to know how long jobs will take and wht material costs will be.
 
There’s a book called “The Profitable Tradie” I’d give that a read!

When I started, I charged hourly, but then I changed it up. Figure out your running costs, including vehicle costs and wear and tear, what you want to make per year, and how many hours you need to work to make that amount achievable. Factor in non billable hours like bookkeeping and travel, then have your 15% markup on materials, have a difficulty factor worked out for when you need one, and have your 30% margin on the total. It’ll probably seem too high, but back yourself and see what sticks.

ChatGPT can be a useful tool tto help get your thoughts in order too, and help you figure out your costs to run.
 
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