Electrician estimates
- Estimate total
- $4,356.64
- Your cost
- $3,520
- Subtotal before tax
- $4,192
- Sales tax
- $164.64
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.
The figures above start from a worked example ($4,356.64). Change any input and the answer updates as you type.
Download the Electrician estimates worked example (CSV)
This builds the electrician estimates a job is actually costed from. It takes the panel, charger or fixtures at your cost, the wire, conduit and devices, your labor at your rate for the hours you expect, and the permit, then applies your markup to the equipment and materials, adds sales tax where your state charges it on materials, and gives the estimate total, the deposit to collect at signing and the gross profit on the job. Every figure is yours: change the rate, the hours or the markup and the estimate moves with them.
Estimate the hours from the walls, not the fixture count
The fixture is the visible part of the job; the hours are in getting the wire to it. A receptacle on an open stud wall is twenty minutes; the same receptacle fished through a finished plaster wall is a morning. Walk the job, count the access problems and the attic and crawlspace runs, and put the hours in as you expect them, because labor is the line that decides whether the estimate makes money.
Mark up equipment and materials, not labor
The markup on this page applies to what you buy, because that is what carries the risk: the wrong breaker, the return, the warranty replacement fitted for nothing. Labor is priced through the rate, which already carries burden, overhead and profit if you built it with the cost calculator on this site. Marking labor up twice is how an estimate loses the job.
The deposit is a term of the estimate, not an afterthought
A deposit at signing covers the panel or the charger you have to order before the job starts, and it is the customer's commitment. State it on the estimate as a percentage and a figure, collect it before ordering, and net it off the final invoice. The page computes it so the customer sees it before they sign.
Electrician estimates: common questions
Is this estimating tool free for electricians?
Yes: the costing, markup, tax and deposit are computed here for free with no account, and you can print the estimate. BreakerDesk Pro adds your logo and license number, a clean PDF, saving it against the customer and turning it into the work order and the invoice.
What markup should an electrician use on materials?
That is your decision and the page asks for it. Devices and small parts usually carry a higher percentage than a panel or a charger, because the handling cost is the same for both and the equipment's price is larger. The worked example uses 40% on equipment and materials.
Should the permit be marked up?
No. Pass it through at cost as its own line, as the page does, and charge the time to pull it and meet the inspector as labor. A marked-up permit is the line customers query first.