Electrical service calls hide their cost in the drive and in the fifteen minutes you do not count because the device was an easy swap. A panel hides its cost in the gear and the permit. Job costing an electrical call means writing both shapes down with the same fields, so the $210 outlet and the $2,400 panel can sit next to each other without one of them being "the real work" and the other being "just a call."
The fields are the phone's, and the public calculator's. Who it was for. How long you were out. What they paid. The general version of those steps is the contractor costing guide. The numbers below are an outlet, a favor, and a panel.
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.
Who it was for
Last name, then the job type. For this first ticket tap Service call. The other chips are Panel, EV charger, Rewire, Other, and Callback. A dead outlet and a panel upgrade should not share a label. You will want them apart when you look at the week.
Time at the device, and time in the van
Forty-five minutes on site is 0.75 hours if you are in the calculator, or 45 minutes if you type it on the phone. The timer is there for the visit you are still inside. Drive is minutes there and back. This outlet is 30 minutes and 14 miles.
Onsite labor is $33.75. Travel labor is $22.50. The truck is $9.10. People who only multiply "about an hour" by a wage miss the travel line entirely. On a short call the travel line is a large share of the labor.
The outlet, with the device at your cost
They paid $210. The device cost you $22. You did not pull a permit.
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.
The verdict is solid — 35%+ net. Do more of this work. This invoice is $52.54 over the 35% price. Gross margin before overhead is 58.4%. That is the number a flat-rate book feels like. Net, after $15.00 of shop, is the number that has to fund the week. Both belong on the ticket. The result's "charge next time" line uses 35% net as the target. This invoice already cleared it.
A favor with a long drive
Half an hour on site, 45 minutes and 28 miles of driving, $8 of material, a $40 lead, $95 collected. You said you would take a look.
The reasonable price
| 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 result calls this one out: this ticket lost money. Raise the price, add a trip charge, cut the drive, or stop taking this job type from expensive leads. To hit 35% net, the invoice needed to be $211.46 (you charged $95.00). Profit per hour is -$33.96. That does not mean every favor becomes a $211.46 invoice. It means a $95 offer with this drive and this lead is a donation. Cut the radius, raise the trip, or stop buying this lead.
The panel, so the service call has a sibling
Six hours on site, including time you waited on the inspection. An hour and 24 miles of driving. Gear at your cost $680.00. Permit $150.00. Invoice $2,400.00.
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. Profit per hour is $165.06, against $86.12 on the outlet. The panel wins the dollars. The outlet wins nothing by being embarrassed about its size. If inspection waits are common, they are already inside the six hours. A shop that records "four hours of actual work" and forgets the wait will copy a labor estimate that cannot happen in that jurisdiction.
Gear goes in materials at the distributor invoice. The permit does not go in materials. When the fee changes, you want to see the line move. Electrical profit margin puts these tickets next to a company-level net so you do not confuse a 48% job with an 11% year.
Settings you should touch once
- Labor rate. Starter is $45 for a US shop. If that is not your burdened cost, change it in Settings. Until you do, the result says “This used $45/hr labor. Tap to set your real rate.”
- Truck, per mile. Starter is $0.65. Fuel-only is too low once tires and insurance are real.
- Monthly shop cost. Starter is $1,920, split across hours you log. These tables use the $12 an hour you get at 160 hours. Your month may not be 160 hours.
- Lead fee. Default zero. Type it on the jobs that came from a paid source. Do not average it onto the neighbor who called you directly.
Duplicate this type, on the result screen, is how the next outlet starts from the last one. Edit the name, the hours, and the price. Do not rebuild the rate.
Price the next call from the worst recent one
Take the favor, not the panel. If you can live with -$42.45 on that shape of work, keep the offer. If you cannot, the minimum has to cover labor both ways, the miles, a small part, the overhead on those hours, and the lead. The calculator is the place to try $150, then $210, on the same drive before you print a flat-rate card you will hate.
Cost a week, including one you were proud of and one you discounted. The proud one is usually the panel. The discounted one is usually the truth about the service-call price.
Frequently asked questions
How do you job cost an electrical service call?
Take the invoice, add burdened labor for time at the job and for the drive, add miles times a truck rate, add devices at your cost, add a permit if there was one, add overhead for the hours, and add a lead fee if you bought the call. What remains is net profit.
Should inspection time count as labor?
If you were on site waiting, yes. It is time at the job. Put it in the hours. A permit fee still goes in permits, separate from that time.
What if the homeowner supplied the device?
Materials are zero, or whatever small stock you actually used. Do not invent a material cost, and do not enter the retail price of their device. The labor and the drive are still yours.
How many calls should I cost before I change prices?
A week of real ones, including at least one long drive and one you felt you undercharged. One flattering panel is not a pricing policy.
Open the outlet ticket
Same fields as the phone: time, drive, miles, parts, and what they paid.