Electrical contractor profit margin gets quoted as one number, usually by someone selling a pricebook. A small shop has at least three: the service call, the panel, and the equipment install such as an EV charger. They do not share a margin, because they do not share a cost shape. Gear and permits pull the percentage down and the dollars up. Drive time does the opposite on a small ticket.
Use this page for those three. The cross-trade ranges stay on good profit margin for contractors. The field steps are on how to job cost an electrical service call.
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.
What the bands mean for an electrical shop
Job net is after labor, truck, materials, permits, overhead, and the lead. The result calls 35% and above solid, 20% to 35% OK, and under 20% thin. A loss is a loss. Company net, the year your accountant signs, is a smaller number because tax and anything you left out of the labor rate still have to be paid. Electrical shops that pay the owner often describe company net around 8% to 15%, and gross margin on the work around 35% to 50%. Treat those as a hallway, not a target to tattoo.
If your service calls show 50% job net and the year shows 4%, the hourly rate or the monthly shop cost is too kind. Do not lower the 35% line to match a leaky setup.
Service call
Dead outlet
| 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.
Gross margin 58.4%. Job net 51.3%. Profit per hour $86.12. The verdict is solid — 35%+ net. Do more of this work. This invoice is $52.54 over the 35% price. This is the margin a trip fee and a service-call price are supposed to protect. It assumes a moderate drive. Stretch the drive and the percentage falls faster here than on a panel, because there is less invoice to absorb the van.
The call that should scare you more than a slow panel
Long drive, low price, 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). Profit is -$42.45. One of these does not show up in a monthly sales chart. Four of them erase a decent outlet. An electrical profit margin that is computed only on completed panels will keep recommending the favor.
Panel and charger
Panel
| 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. Dollars of profit $1,155.40. Profit per hour $165.06. The permit is $150.00 and the gear is $680.00. Gross margin 51.6%.
EV charger supplied by you
| 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). Job net 28.0% on $447.75 of profit. The charger itself is $720.00. A shop that marks gear up lightly and tells itself the labor "makes the margin" needs this table. The labor did its job. The package price did not clear the solid line. That can be a conscious choice. It should not be a surprise at tax time.
A week with both shapes
Six outlet-style calls, two favor calls, one panel. Revenue $3,850.00. Profit $1,716.40. Blended job net 44.6%. The panel is $1,155.40 of that profit. The two favors contribute -$84.90. Pull the favors out and the week looks like the electrician you think you are. Leave them in and you are funding a lead source.
This blend is still a job-level net. Company net will be lower if the $45 rate skipped your own pay, or if the $1,920 shop cost skipped a truck payment. Most profitable electrical jobs is the mix. This is the scoreboard those jobs have to hit.
What to change first
- Stop averaging a panel and a service call into one margin in your head.
- Put drive on the service call every time. That is the line that makes $95 fail.
- Keep permits out of the materials number so a fee increase is visible.
- Require the solid band on repeat service work. Let gear-heavy jobs live in the OK band only when the dollars are worth the crew day.
- If the year is thin and the tickets are solid, raise the labor rate or the monthly shop cost. The tickets were using a discount rate.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good profit margin for a small electrical contractor?
Treat 35% job-level net as solid, the band from 20% to 35% as acceptable, and anything under 20% as thin. Gross margin on electrical work is often talked about around 35% to 50%, and company net closer to 8% to 15% when the owner is paid. Use the job bands to price. Use the company figure to see if the year agrees.
Why do panels and service calls show different margins?
A panel carries gear and a permit, so more of each dollar is material. A service call is mostly labor and drive. A high percentage on an outlet and a high dollar profit on a panel can both be the right outcome. Averaging them into one electrical margin hides which price to change.
Does an EV charger install usually have a higher margin than a panel?
Only if you are not supplying an expensive charger at a thin markup. In the example on this page the charger ticket is a lower percentage than the panel because the equipment is a large share of a smaller contract. Cost your actual invoice, not the category.
Should I include drive time in electrician profit margin?
Yes. A short call with a long drive can lose money at a price that looks fine across town. Margin that ignores the van is a shop-rate fantasy.
Check a service call at your rate
The outlet below is filled in. Swap the labor rate before you trust the percent.