Updated November 5, 2026
An electrical estimate has to do two jobs: win the work and protect you when the wall is opened. This template splits labor, material, permit and inspection so the customer sees where the money goes, and the exclusions say what happens if the house is not what it looked like.
Quick answer: An electrical estimate template should list the scope in plain words, labor (hours × rate), materials by line with your markup built in, permit and inspection fees, utility coordination if the service is disconnected, what is excluded (drywall patching, painting, code corrections found behind walls), how long the price is valid, the payment schedule and an acceptance line.
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| Section | What to write |
|---|---|
| Your business | [Business name] · license # [ ] · [phone] · [email] · insured: [carrier] |
| Customer and site | [Name] · [address] · [house age] · existing service: [amps, panel brand] · access: [basement / garage / exterior] |
| Scope | [Plain-words description, e.g. 'Replace 100 A panel with 200 A panel and meter base; move 22 circuits; add whole-home surge protection'] |
| Labor | [hours] hours × $[rate] = $[ ] (crew: [n] electricians, [days] days) |
| Materials | [Panel/breakers] $[ ] · [meter base] $[ ] · [wire, conduit, fittings] $[ ] · [grounding: rods, clamps, bonding] $[ ] · [surge device] $[ ] |
| Permit and inspection | Permit $[ ] · inspection: [included / $ ] |
| Utility | Disconnect/reconnect coordination with [utility]: [included / customer arranges] |
| Not included | Drywall or plaster patching, painting, trenching, existing wiring found to be unsafe or not to code (priced as a change order before the work) |
| Price and terms | Total $[ ] · valid [30] days · deposit [ ]% to schedule, balance on passed inspection · change orders in writing before work |
| Options | Good / better / best if useful: [e.g. standard breakers / plus surge / plus EV-ready circuit] |
| Accept | [Signature or accept button] · Date |
The "Not included" line is the one that saves arguments. Old houses hide things: an ungrounded run, a buried junction box, aluminum branch wiring. Writing down in advance that those are priced as a change order before the work turns a surprise into a normal conversation.
The median electrician earned $30.38 an hour in May 2025, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, electricians (page checked November 5, 2026). Your billed rate has to cover far more than that wage: payroll tax, workers' comp, liability insurance, the truck, tools, unbilled drive and estimate time, and profit. That is why billed rates are usually two to three times the wage. Work out your own from last year's books: total costs plus target profit, divided by the hours you actually billed. For a step-by-step method, see how to price electrical work.
Every number below is an assumption chosen for the example. Swap in your own rate, your supplier's prices and your local permit fee.
| Line | Assumption | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 2 electricians × 7 hours = 14 hours at $110/hour | $1,540 |
| 200 A panel with main breaker | Supplier price $340, plus 25% markup | $425 |
| Breakers (22 circuits, 6 AFCI/GFCI) | $410 supplier, plus 25% | $513 |
| Meter base and service entrance cable | $380 supplier, plus 25% | $475 |
| Grounding and bonding | 2 rods, clamps, wire: $95 plus 25% | $119 |
| Whole-home surge protector | $120 plus 25% | $150 |
| Wire, connectors, fittings, labels | $110 plus 25% | $138 |
| Permit and inspection | Assumed local fee | $225 |
| Total | $3,585 |
On the customer's copy, show labor, materials (one line or itemized, your choice), permit and total. A single-line "Materials $1,820" is fine for most homeowners; itemize when a property manager or a commercial client asks for it. Schedule the deposit and keep the balance tied to the passed inspection, which tells the customer you finish what you start.
Options work well on panel upgrades, EV chargers and lighting jobs because the add-ons are real: surge protection, a dedicated EV circuit run while the panel is open, or extra recessed lights in the same room. Keep it to three columns and build each one fully, with its own total, so the customer chooses between finished prices rather than adding things up.
Not every job needs this template. For troubleshooting, a flat diagnostic fee plus a price for the fix once it is found is clearer than an estimate on an unknown problem. Use the full template for anything you can scope before you start: panels, rewiring a room, new circuits, generator transfer switches, EV chargers, lighting, and commercial tenant work.
An electrical estimate sent the day of the walkthrough, with one follow-up two days later, beats a better price sent a week later. Most customers asked more than one electrician; the one who answers, shows up and sends a clear number first usually gets the job.
The office side of this, answering the call while you are in a panel, booking the walkthrough, writing up the estimate from your notes, following up, then invoicing and chasing the balance after the inspection, is what Unmanually does as a 24/7 AI Office Manager. See how it works for electricians, and compare tools in electrical contractor software.
The scope in plain words, labor hours and rate, materials, permit and inspection fees, utility coordination, exclusions such as drywall patching and hidden code issues, the total, how long the price is valid, the payment schedule and an acceptance line.
They scope the work, estimate labor hours from similar past jobs, price materials from current supplier quotes with a markup, add permit and inspection fees, and set a billed hourly rate that covers wages, overhead and profit.
Many shops add somewhere around 15% to 35% to supplier cost for handling, returns and warranty risk; the right number is whatever your own books show you need. It can be built into the line prices rather than shown.
It can show labor as a total or as hours × rate. Showing the hours helps on larger jobs and commercial work; for small residential jobs a single total is often clearer.
Home service businesses answer only about half their calls (Invoca, July 2026), and owners spend about 11 to 16 hours/week on admin. Knowing what to do is the easy part; the money leaks out in the calls you can't take, the quotes nobody chases and the invoices that sit unpaid. Unmanually is a 24/7 AI Office Manager for electricians that you run by voice from your phone:
Sources: Invoca, July 2026 (52% of home-service calls answered by a person, 60M+ calls); admin hours: Time etc / Censuswide 2023 and Amex SME Barometer 2026.
Unmanually is an AI Office Manager that works 24/7 and that you run by voice from your phone. Leave your mobile number and the AI Office Manager calls you right away, the same way it would call back one of your customers. That call is the demo: it answers, books you a 15-minute time with the founder and follows up.
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