Electrical Estimate Calculator — Price at Your Margin

Three common models. Hourly plus materials suits diagnostics and unpredictable work, usually with a one-hour minimum or a flat service-call fee. Flat rate per task suits standard installs — outlets, fans, EV chargers — where the time is known. Bid or contract pricing suits new construction and remodels, built from a takeoff and labor units. All three should arrive at the same place: total cost divided by one minus your target margin.

Residential service work commonly targets 30–50% gross margin; new-construction and bid work runs thinner, often 15–25%, because volume and predictability offset it. Gross margin is what remains after direct job costs and must still cover office overhead, vehicles, insurance, licensing, unbillable time, and owner profit. A 20% gross margin on service work is usually a business losing money slowly.

Not your wage, and not your competitor's number. Start from the loaded cost of an hour: wage plus payroll taxes, insurance, workers' comp, vehicle, tools, and phone — typically 1.5 to 2 times base wage — then divide by billable hours, not paid hours. A tech paid 40 hours a week who bills 28 has a loaded cost per billable hour far above their wage. 2026 US market rates run roughly $50–$130 per hour with a $100–$200 service-call fee for the first hour.

Margin, always, when you are setting price. Markup is cost multiplied by a factor; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. They are not the same number, and confusing them silently underprices every job. A 25% margin requires a 33% markup. This calculator shows both figures side by side so the gap is visible — on the default job it is over $240.

Build it from parts rather than guessing at a total: panel and breakers, service conductors, meter socket if it changes, grounding materials, permit and inspection fees, then labor hours including utility coordination and circuit re-termination. 2026 market data puts residential panel and service upgrades at roughly $1,300 to $5,000 installed, with most 100 A to 200 A jobs near $3,000. Use the Service Size Calculator first to confirm the upgrade is actually needed.

Flat rate wherever the work is repeatable. It rewards efficiency, removes the customer's fear of an open-ended bill, and makes your pricing defensible — but it requires knowing your real times, which means tracking them. Time and materials is honest for troubleshooting, old-work rewiring, and anything where opening a wall changes the scope. Most successful shops run flat rate for their catalogue and T&M for diagnostics.

As explicit line items, never absorbed into overhead. Permit fees are a direct pass-through cost, so put them in the material or fixtures field. The time — pulling the permit, meeting the inspector, waiting, and any re-inspection — is billable labor and belongs in your hours. Shops that forget the inspection visit lose two to four hours on every permitted job, which on a $3,000 panel upgrade is most of the profit.