Guides
Electrical contractor services: the version that survives contact with reality
Seventeen electrical contractor service packages, what each one needs to run, and the capacity and cash checks that decide which ones you keep.
What to take away
- A package is a repeatable unit of work with a fixed scope, a price you can quote from a template, and a crew that already knows the steps.
- The 17 packages below split into four familiesservice calls, installed packages, builder and facility contracts, and recurring plans.
- Each one needs a named owner, a labor hour figure, a materials list, and a review date.
- The EV charger worked example lands on three installs a week, not the seven the available hours would allow.
- Anything touching live conductors, permits, or inspection goes to a licensed electrician and the authority having jurisdiction.
The 17 packages, grouped by how they sell
Service calls. Diagnostic service call, safety inspection package, emergency-response plan. One truck, one journeyperson, one hour minimum. These fill gaps between projects and carry almost no materials.
Installed packages. This covers several upgrades:
- EV charger
- Lighting retrofit
- Surge protection
- Smoke alarms
- Smart controls
- Whole-home rewire
- Generator readiness These are quoted from a scope sheet, and each one has a permit question attached.
Builder and facility contracts. New-home electrical, tenant improvement, builder subcontract, facility electrical audit. Priced per plan set or per square foot, invoiced against a schedule.
Recurring plans. Maintenance agreement, commercial service plan. Monthly or quarterly, priced from a site walk and a listed task sheet.
Build the list on one page. If a package needs a paragraph to explain, it is not a package yet.
What each package needs before you sell it
What each package needs
| Package | Labor driver | Materials and permit | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagnostic service call | 1 to 2 hours, one van | Test gear only | Residential and small commercial |
| Safety inspection package | 2 to 3 hours, one electrician | Test gear, report template | Rental turnover, insurance, resale |
| Emergency-response plan | 4 hour callout window | Test gear, spare breakers | Restaurants, property managers, plants |
| Panel upgrade | 1 day, two electricians | Panel, breakers, permit, utility disconnect | Older housing stock |
| EV charger | Half day per unit | Charger, circuit, load calculation | Homeowners and fleets |
| Lighting retrofit | Per fixture count | Fixtures, controls, disposal | Retail, warehouse, offices |
| Generator readiness | 1 to 2 days | Transfer switch, permit, gas or fuel coordination | Rural and outage-prone areas |
| Whole-home rewire | 1 to 3 weeks | Cable, boxes, patch coordination | Pre-1950 housing |
| Smoke alarm package | 2 to 4 hours | Interconnected alarms, permit where required | Rental turnover, resale |
| Surge protection | 1 to 2 hours | SPD at panel, ground check | Any service with electronics |
| Smart controls | Half day to 2 days | Hubs, dimmers, commissioning | Renovations and custom homes |
| New-home electrical | Per plan set, rough-in to trim | Cable, boxes, devices, permit | Production and custom builders |
| Tenant improvement | Per plan set, phased by suite | Circuits, lighting, permit, inspection | Landlords, retail, offices |
| Builder subcontract | Per plan set | Rough-in and trim materials | Production and custom builders |
| Facility electrical audit | 1 to 3 days | Report, thermal camera, panel schedule | Property managers, plants |
| Commercial service plan | Monthly visit hours | Consumables, priority dispatch | Restaurants, retail chains |
| Maintenance agreement | Quarterly visits | Test and torque records | Industrial and institutional |
Fill the labor column with your own hours and your own burdened rate. The table is a template, not a price list.
Package Requirements at a Glance
Labour
- Diagnostic service call
- 1-2 hrs, one van
- Panel upgrade
- 1 day, two electricians
- EV charger
- Half day per unit
- Lighting retrofit
- Per fixture count
- Generator readiness
- 1-2 days
- Whole-home rewire
- 1-3 weeks
Materials & Permit
- Diagnostic service call
- Test gear only
- Panel upgrade
- Panel, breakers, permit
- EV charger
- Charger, circuit, load calc
- Lighting retrofit
- Fixtures, controls, disposal
- Generator readiness
- Transfer switch, permit
- Whole-home rewire
- Cable, boxes, patch coordination
Best For
- Diagnostic service call
- Residential, small commercial
- Panel upgrade
- Older housing stock
- EV charger
- Homeowners and fleets
- Lighting retrofit
- Retail, warehouse, offices
- Generator readiness
- Rural, outage-prone areas
- Whole-home rewire
- Pre-1950 housing
Scope sheet example, EV charger. Included: load calculation, one 40 or 50 amp circuit, a run up to 30 feet from the panel, permit, one hardwired connection, testing, and a walkthrough. Not included: panel upgrade, trenching, drywall repair, and other trades. Assumptions: the service has capacity after the load calculation.
Scope sheet example, tenant improvement. Included: branch circuits per the plan set, lighting, devices, permit, and inspection for one suite. Not included: fire alarm, data cabling, and base building work. Assumptions: the base building service is adequate and the suite is vacant.
Capacity is the constraint, not the idea
Count your licensed hours for the next quarter. Subtract committed project hours. What remains is what you can sell as new packages.
A package that needs 40 hours a week and has 12 available will miss dates. Missed dates cost more than the margin the package adds.
Track three numbers per package: labor hours per job, callbacks per ten jobs, and days from quote to payment. Any package with rising callbacks or slowing payment gets a review date, not a defence.
Pricing without inventing numbers
Price each package as materials plus labor hours times your burdened rate, plus permit fees, plus travel, plus a margin you set deliberately.
Burdened rate is the journeyperson wage plus payroll burden plus non-billable time. In the United States that means the employer share of FICA, federal and state unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and paid time off.
CRA payroll rules and GST/HST registration thresholds apply in Canada. Both sets of figures change, so check the current numbers rather than carrying last year's.
Take a 16 hour panel upgrade. Journeyperson wages in the United States typically run from the mid $20s to the low $40s an hour, and payroll burden usually lands at 1.3 to 1.6 times the wage. At a burdened $45 an hour, that job carries about $720 of labor before materials and permit.
Margin on installed work commonly sits in the 30 to 40 percent range. Short service calls often run higher per hour, because the overhead of the visit is spread over less time.
For builder work, add retainage. US retainage terms come from the contract and your state's prompt payment and lien statutes. Provincial construction holdback rules differ, and holdback sits in your receivables for months. Price the wait.
Records that survive an audit
Keep quotes, change orders, permits, inspection results, and photos per job. The IRS recordkeeping guidance explains what supports income and expense claims.
Advertising claims about your packages must be truthful and supported. The FTC advertising guide covers claims and endorsements.
Crew safety on any of these packages sits with the authority having jurisdiction and the applicable standards. OSHA's electrical contractor resources list the hazards and the standards that apply.
Worked example: adding the EV charger package
A shop with two vans has 30 uncommitted licensed hours a week. An EV charger install runs about four hours plus a load calculation. That is roughly seven jobs a week at full take-up, which is more than the shop can sell at first.
Sell three a week. That is 12 hours, leaving 18 for service calls. Track callbacks and payment days for a quarter before raising the number.
Common questions
How many packages should one contractor offer?
Start with the ones your current crew can deliver without new tools or training. Add a package when you have the hours, a written scope, and a price template. Seventeen is a menu, not a target.
Do I need a permit for every package?
Permit requirements vary by province, state, and municipality, and by the scope of work. Confirm with your local authority having jurisdiction before quoting. Never promise a customer that a job needs no permit.
What if I cannot name a price for a package?
Give the customer the arithmetic instead: materials at cost plus labor hours times your rate plus permit and travel. If you cannot estimate the hours, you are not ready to sell the package.
Can I offer packages outside my license class?
No. Work outside your license class goes to a licensed electrician or a subcontractor who holds it. In the United States, licensing runs through state or local boards, and their registers list who holds a license in your class. In Canada, check your provincial regulator, such as ESA, Technical Safety BC, Alberta Municipal Affairs, or the CCQ in Quebec.
The scope sheets above cover the packages in this article; the wider list is in the electrical contractor services and packages guide. When you are ready to write customer-facing descriptions, use the packaging guide for customers.
