How to quote a job as an electrician, and get more of them accepted

Quote or estimate? Know which one you are giving

A quote is a fixed price for a defined scope. If the customer accepts it, that is the price, unless the scope changes. An estimate is your best guess and can move. Customers hear the word quote and expect a fixed price, so if you are not sure of the scope yet, call it an estimate or do a site visit first.

What every electrical quote should contain

• Your business name, ABN, licence number and contact details. Most states require the licence number on electrical work documents.
• The customer's name and the site address, which is not always the same as their postal address.
• A scope of works in plain words: what you will do, where, and to what standard. Two or three sentences beats a single line.
• Itemised lines: materials with quantities, labour as hours or a fixed amount, call-out if you charge one.
• What is not included: patching and painting, asbestos removal, switchboard upgrades needed to pass inspection, after-hours rates.
• The GST amount and the total including GST.
• How long the quote is valid, usually 30 days, so a copper price rise three months later is not your problem.
• Deposit and payment terms: for example 30 percent on acceptance, balance on completion, due within 7 days.
• A place for the customer to accept, either a signature or a typed name and date.

Pricing it properly

Start from a price list, not from memory. Set your hourly rate, call-out fee and your common items once, then every quote pulls the same numbers. That is how you stop undercharging on the small jobs you quote in a hurry.

Mark up materials. You are carrying the cost, the trip to the wholesaler and the warranty risk. A markup of 15 to 30 percent on materials is common in electrical work; the right figure is the one that covers your time and leaves a margin.

Price the job you are actually doing, not the job you hope it is. If the ceiling space is tight or the switchboard is a mess, say so and price it in, or exclude it with a note.

Send it the same day

Acceptance rates fall the longer a customer waits. If you can send the quote from the van before you leave the street, do it. A quote that arrives in an hour beats a better one that arrives on Friday.

SmokoBooks builds the quote from your price list, puts your logo and licence number on it, and emails the PDF from the app, so the whole thing takes a couple of minutes on site.

Follow up once

Most tradies never follow up. One polite email three or four days later, asking whether they have any questions, is enough to pick up the jobs where the customer simply got busy. Keep it short and offer a start date.

When the customer says yes

Get the acceptance in writing, even a typed name on the PDF. Then the quote becomes the job, and the invoice should match the quote line for line, plus any variations you agreed in writing along the way. Nothing retyped means nothing to argue about.

Common questions