How to estimate residential electrical work
- Estimate total
- $4,356.64
- Your cost
- $3,520
- Subtotal before tax
- $4,192
Every figure on this page is computed from the inputs you enter, by the method stated below it. BreakerDesk publishes no market averages and quotes no survey: the defaults are a worked example to replace with your own.
How to estimate residential electrical work: count what the plans or the walk show, the circuits by type, the fixtures, the service size, the runs and the access; price the labor at the loaded hourly cost times your standard times; add materials at markup and the permit; and write the assumptions beside the number so a correction moves the price visibly instead of at the invoice. The electrician estimate calculator on this site runs that arithmetic, free and without an account; BreakerDesk Pro turns the estimate into the proposal and the job.
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Count first
Circuits by type, receptacles, switches, fixtures, the panel and its service size, the home runs, the access, slab or attic or finished walls. The counts are the estimate; everything after is arithmetic.
Price at the loaded cost
The rate under every price is the loaded hourly cost: the wage plus the taxes, the insurance, the truck, the tools and the office, divided by the billable hours rather than the paid hours; the electrician cost calculator on this site produces it from your figures. Labor per circuit and per fixture at that rate times your standard times; a wage-based estimate produces a number the job cannot be done for.
Materials, permit, conditions
Materials at cost with your markup, the permit and inspection as their own lines, and the conditions as multipliers: finished walls, aluminium branch wiring found, a panel with no spare ways.
Write the assumptions down
Attic access assumed, existing grounding adequate, drywall patching excluded: each a line the customer can correct before the work rather than dispute after it. Pro carries them onto the proposal. From the vendors' own pricing pages: Tradify lists Lite at $47, Pro at $51 and Plus at $61 per user per month; Jobber lists Core at $49 per month for one user with additional users at $29 each; Housecall Pro lists Basic at $59 per month billed annually or $79 monthly. BreakerDesk Pro is $47 per month for the whole crew.
How to estimate residential electrical work: common questions
Is the estimate calculator free?
Yes, with no account. Pro turns the estimate into the proposal and files it against the property.
What is the most common estimating mistake?
Pricing labor at the wage instead of the loaded cost, and leaving the assumptions unwritten.
Should I estimate per fixture or per hour?
Per fixture and per circuit at standard times; the hours are inside the times, not on the quote.
Will it do what you need for How to estimate residential electrical work?
Tell us what your business needs and we will tell you straight whether BreakerDesk Pro does it today, whether it is coming, or whether you are better off with something else. A person reads these and replies.