Electrical contractors shop for software the way homeowners shop for a panel: the expensive option is obvious, and the thing that actually fails is smaller and easier to skip. For a one-truck or few-truck shop, the failure is a service call that looked fine at $95 and a panel that looked like the whole month. Job costing software for an electrical contractor has to hold both, with permits in their own field.
This is the electrical cut of the job costing software roundup. Job types worth separating are the ones the log already offers: Service call, Panel, EV charger, Rewire, Other, and Callback. Those labels are how you read a month later.
Rates in every table here. Labor is $45 an hour, the truck is $0.65 a mile, and overhead is $12 an hour. That $12 is a $1,920 monthly shop cost spread across 160 hours on the job. Lead cost is $0 unless the table says otherwise. These are the public calculator's starter numbers, so you can rerun every ticket. On the phone, overhead is the monthly shop cost split across hours you actually log that month, and the month stays a draft until it closes.
A service call that should be the bread
Dead outlet, 45 minutes on site, 30 minutes and 14 miles of driving, a $22 device at your cost, $210 collected.
Dead outlet, device included
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| What they paid | $210.00 | |
| Onsite labor | 0.75 h × $45.00 | $33.75 |
| Travel labor | 0.5 h × $45.00 | $22.50 |
| Vehicle | 14 mi × $0.65 | $9.10 |
| Materials, your cost | $22.00 | |
| Overhead | 1.25 h × $12.00 | $15.00 |
| Lead | $0.00 | |
| Total job cost | $102.35 | |
| Net profit | $210.00 − $102.35 | $107.65 |
| Net margin | $107.65 ÷ $210.00 | 51.3% |
| Profit per hour | $107.65 ÷ 1.25 h | $86.12 / h |
Open this ticket in the calculator. Change one number and the margin moves with it.
The verdict is solid — 35%+ net. Do more of this work. This invoice is $52.54 over the 35% price. If your software cannot separate 45 minutes at the device from 30 minutes in the van, this ticket will look even better than it is, right up until the drives get longer. The line-by-line version is how to job cost an electrical service call.
The favor that loses money
A lead service sends a "quick look." You drive 45 minutes and 28 miles, spend half an hour, use $8 of material, pay a $40 lead, and collect $95 because you said you would be reasonable.
Cheap call, long drive, paid lead
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| What they paid | $95.00 | |
| Onsite labor | 0.5 h × $45.00 | $22.50 |
| Travel labor | 0.75 h × $45.00 | $33.75 |
| Vehicle | 28 mi × $0.65 | $18.20 |
| Materials, your cost | $8.00 | |
| Overhead | 1.25 h × $12.00 | $15.00 |
| Lead | $40.00 | |
| Total job cost | $137.45 | |
| Net profit | $95.00 − $137.45 | -$42.45 |
| Net margin | -$42.45 ÷ $95.00 | -44.7% |
| Profit per hour | -$42.45 ÷ 1.25 h | -$33.96 / h |
Open this ticket in the calculator. Change one number and the margin moves with it.
The verdict on this ticket is a loss. Raise the price, add a trip charge, cut the drive, or stop taking this job type from expensive leads. To hit 35% net with this cost stack, the invoice needed to be $211.46 (you charged $95.00). No schedule-and-invoice suite will save this price. The costing tool's job is to show the loss before the next "quick look" gets the same number. Which electrical jobs pay starts from tickets like these, not from the gross on the panel.
Panels and EV chargers, with the permit visible
Panel upgrade
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| What they paid | $2,400.00 | |
| Onsite labor | 6 h × $45.00 | $270.00 |
| Travel labor | 1 h × $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Vehicle | 24 mi × $0.65 | $15.60 |
| Materials, your cost | $680.00 | |
| Permits and fees | $150.00 | |
| Overhead | 7 h × $12.00 | $84.00 |
| Lead | $0.00 | |
| Total job cost | $1,244.60 | |
| Net profit | $2,400.00 − $1,244.60 | $1,155.40 |
| Net margin | $1,155.40 ÷ $2,400.00 | 48.1% |
| Profit per hour | $1,155.40 ÷ 7 h | $165.06 / h |
Open this ticket in the calculator. Change one number and the margin moves with it.
The verdict is solid — 35%+ net. Do more of this work. This invoice is $485.23 over the 35% price. Gear is $680.00 and the permit is $150.00. Fold the permit into materials and you will not notice when the jurisdiction fee moves. Six hours on site plus an hour of driving is the labor. Time standing around for an inspection is part of those six hours if you were there. Do not leave it off the ticket and then wonder why the day ran long.
EV charger you supplied
| Line | Math | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| What they paid | $1,600.00 | |
| Onsite labor | 5 h × $45.00 | $225.00 |
| Travel labor | 0.75 h × $45.00 | $33.75 |
| Vehicle | 30 mi × $0.65 | $19.50 |
| Materials, your cost | $720.00 | |
| Permits and fees | $85.00 | |
| Overhead | 5.75 h × $12.00 | $69.00 |
| Lead | $0.00 | |
| Total job cost | $1,152.25 | |
| Net profit | $1,600.00 − $1,152.25 | $447.75 |
| Net margin | $447.75 ÷ $1,600.00 | 28.0% |
| Profit per hour | $447.75 ÷ 5.75 h | $77.87 / h |
Open this ticket in the calculator. Change one number and the margin moves with it.
The verdict is OK, not a winner. Fine if this is filler between high-margin installs. To hit 35% net with this cost stack, the invoice needed to be $1,772.69 (you charged $1,600.00). The charger at your cost is $720.00 of a $1,600.00 invoice. The percentage is ordinary. Profit per hour is $77.87. A shop that only watches the contract price will treat this like a panel. It is a material-heavy ticket with a permit, closer to a replacement than to a service call. If the homeowner buys the charger, materials drop and the margin picture changes. Cost the job you actually did.
What to compare
| Need | A good answer |
|---|---|
| Service call vs panel vs EV charger | A job type you tap, then a week you can sort. |
| Permit and inspection | A permits field, and onsite time that includes the wait. |
| Gear you supplied | Materials at your cost, never at the proposal price. |
| Drive | Minutes and miles, separate from time at the panel. |
| The books | Still QuickBooks. The log does not file the return. |
| The board and the invoice | Jobber, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge, or ServiceTitan if you do not have them. Costing inside them still needs the inputs above. |
MarginMate records the ticket. It does not send the invoice, build the day's board, or sync a journal entry into QuickBooks. One labor rate applies to the job. If a second person is on the tools, put their pay in other direct costs or use a blended rate and say so in the note you keep for yourself. An optional phone number can sit on the job. Sending texts is not part of this costing loop.
Trial it on the favor call first. If the software cannot show a loss on a $95 trip with a long drive, it will not tell you the truth about a $2,400 panel either. It will only show a larger number.
A pick for a small electrical shop
Buy scheduling and invoicing if you are still texting addresses from a personal phone. Buy a costing log if those tools are in place and the service-call price is still a habit. Keep the panel, the charger, and the outlet as different types. The month's sales will not do that sorting for you.
Frequently asked questions
What should electrical job costing software track that a generic app misses?
Permits and inspection time, a separate materials cost for gear you supplied, drive time, and the difference between a service call and a panel. Waiting on an inspector is time at the job. It belongs in onsite hours, not in a story you tell later.
Is ServiceTitan or Jobber enough for an electrical contractor's job costs?
Enough for the schedule and the invoice, if that is the hole. Enough for margin only when someone records drive, a burdened rate, permits, and the lead. A small shop that already invoices can add a costing log without replacing that system.
How should an EV charger be costed?
If you supply the charger, materials are what you paid for it, not the price on the proposal. The permit is its own line. Labor includes the drive and the time on site, including time spent waiting on the inspection if that wait is yours.
Cost an electrical call on the same formula
The service-call walk-through uses the calculator's fields, including permits.