When I'm called for a job to a new customer, one of the first thing I mention is my hourly rate, trip cost and CoC cost. It puts people at ease. If it's about a consequent job then I provide a quote to help them with their budget. Of course you don't provide a quote to hang a chandelier or replace a faulty switch...
Jordan, a brilliant Vlog!! I’ve made the mistake of low pricing to get the work, especially in the early days of starting my business, but you end up running yourself into the ground for very little reward. Don’t be afraid of walking away if the customer doesn’t like your price is my advice to everyone.👍👍
As someone with some experience with sourcing contractors, you actually end up losing jobs by either being the cheapest or by lowering the quoted price. You either look lower quality or you look like you were just trying to rinse money out of the customer.
We made the same mistake in our business. I just wish we had this guidance a while back. Jordan posted some very good points that we have now implemented in our business model. The result: more customers, better customers and less dealing with ‘tyre kickers’.
Excellent video Jordon quite shocked at the pricing but really opens my eyes a little. I've ran my own business since 2009 and don't charge anywhere near half what you do. Really great to see the money is out there just need the right business plan and ditch all the builders I work for lol :)
Few tips: 1. There is no jobs under one hour (resetting tripped rcd = 1 hour, "call out fee"). 2. You charge off site hours as well as onsite hours (picking up materials 0.5h, travel to job site 0.5h, actual job, 2.5h, travel back 0.5h = charge for 4 hours. 3. You charge separately for using van for example 1£/€ per 1km.
Charging these rates is good for the industry. It creates a precedent and ensures that electricians are respected within the building trade. Some people don’t understand what it’s like to be an electrician. It can be highly stressful, require extensive knowledge and holds much responsibility, just as much as a doctor or a pilot. Thank you for charging £80.00 per hour.
"Yeah, but my mate says it's easy to do that little job, there's videos on TH-cam showing you how to do it. He's coming to help me do it at the weekend" How many times have you heard that? (And forget trying to explain the law, Part P, blah blah, we all know that counts for nothing.) I hear it all the time, along with people TELLING me how much cable/fittings etc are - from Screwfix, of course. The fact I would rather use a known industry standard brand than some cheap Chinese tut is beyond them. I have to say too, that I've been left having to agree that the cheap Screwfix consumer unit I poo-poo'd actually did all line up, didn't break when fitted and was perfectly fine, and really was 1/3 of the price of the Hager unit I wanted to use.
@Lister Smeg Oh, silly me, of course, everyone is well up on working out volt-drop on cable, power factor correction, earth loop impedance, safe disconnection times, etc etc, aren't they? I'm sure most people would know exactly how to use a Multi-function tester and what the readings tell them. How hard can it be, right? Hint, that test equipment doesn't give you a little tick, if you don't know what you are reading, you aren't any the wiser - even if I give you my meters for free (which, of course, I have regularly calibrated - something else to be paid for) You are mistaking doing something like running a cable from A to B - which indeed, any monkey can do - with the SKILLED part of the job, the bit you go to college to learn, and sit exams to show you do know ie. What is safe to do, and why you can or cannot "just" do these easy jobs. That's what the customer is paying for - my guarantee that they aren't going to be killed, or have their house burned down, by anything I do to their electrical installation. I might even find something terrible that is waiting to happen and prevent it. It's a guarantee I put my signature on and assume responsibility for. Sure, most jobs don't take a lot of calculations, and are easy to carry out, but you'd be surprised how many horrors lurk within work carried out by DIYers who clearly have no inkling of why we do certain things. Some will never cause a serious problem, but then there's always that ONE chance you might find yourself in the dock trying to explain how you managed to burn down that orphanage full of screaming infants...
In the old days mark up on materials was simple - you got your 20% trade discount and you charged the client at the non trade price. There didn't feel ripped off because they couldn't get cheaper and you made a bit to cover your time picking up, returns etc . The internet has basically killed the trade discount on small items which can fit in the back of a car. You can make some on cable by buying big reals (you know you are always going to using 2.5 T&E so buy in bulk when it's cheap) and bulk packs of wagos / boxes etc then charge at a per unit price but it's the pricy one-off items which it's hard to defend. If you ask the customer to get it themselves and they get the wrong one then it also comes back to you
Well ultimately, the so called cream work of commercial and industrial doesn’t pay aswell as domestic add the fact domestic work is far easier ( technically) !
I commend this approach to pricing. Hopefully these sparky tubers get the word about so these prices are the norm. The problem is not Jordon, it’s the ones that don’t charge their worth to get the work and cut corners to make a profit.
This is where the pricing all comes unstuck, especially in the summer when demand is down, I charge lower for a nice dust free standing job like replacing down lights ,up the price for knee damaging work like chopping in sockets, lifting boards etc, also have to consider how near the job is to the van ... blocks of flats etc!
Being a self employed electrical contractor like you Jordan, I completely agree with you. I've been in business for almost 10 years an I also offer a high level of quality workmanship people recognize. Consequently they never argue with my pricing, paid overnight! Post Covid though I offered a little discount to everyone on my hourly rate of about 7%, just to help out. I'm quite surprised with the hourly rate in England, here in NZ I do charge up $65.00 + GST. Cheers mate
That's not the normal hourly rate in England... Average hourly rate for an electrician is around £40 an hour, some areas (guessing obviously Cambridge included) are more expensive than others. I mean fair play if you can charge £96 an hour and still get plenty of work, some areas have more competition than others.
I cant see a problem with filming while he works as long as the job gets done. If the job doesnt get done and he is charging a day rate then yeah... Thats going to be an issue for the customer and will likely piss him/her off.
Absolutely great video I’ve been in the trade for 16 years had an business on the side of being employed but I’m thinking of going by myself full time and must say I can relate and learn from your videos. Thanks
Hi Jordan, Let me say from the start that I'm not an electrician. However I am very technically minded and enjoy doing many DIY activities including , and don't shoot me down in flames some electrical work. I am a qualified person and consider myself to be a competent person. I watch many and varied TH-cam channels covering a multitude of personal interests. I do subscribe to your channel and have found all your videos very professional and informative. This video impressed me considerably , good presentation, clarity of information and execution of subject matter excellent . You have obviously built up considerable experience with running your own business's. Well done and I look forward to many more excellent videos.
Hi Jordan, Here in the USA our Accountants recommend that we pay the Sales Tax (VAT) when we purchase the material from the wholesaler. That amount varies. The we add our mark-up and material profit. The Shipping and Handling. Including an amount if we are going back and forth to the wholesalers. Then labor and job profit and then an amount for the Warranty. Even if the Manufacturer has a warranty, it is the Electrician that has to go back out to the jobsite, remove the defective part and return it to the Manufacturer plus postage back and forth. My minimum amount is 65% of wholesale to cover all of the above.
Nearly fell over when you said your hourly/daily rate. I think it very much depends on your working area. In the midlands even half that cost would be seen as expensive. Fair play for charging that and still getting the work
Why would midlands be cheaper than anywhere else is materials fuel half price in the midlands. People who are afraid to charge are weak and shouldn't be in business.....
@@lilynugent what a daft comment. Prices vary dramatically across the UK. For example, A 3 bed semi rewire in Kent is going to cost alot more than the same property in Hull. Then there is the type of customer you are working for. If you are rewiring mrs Jones 3 bed with just an extra socket in each room then that will generally demand a lower rate than the customers who want to be at the forefront of smart tech and demand high quality equipment, knowledge and design. I'm still shocked at the cost pr hour this guy is charging but considering the factors mentioned above then maybe it's justifiable. He obviously hasn't scared away the custom.
Jordan, I am really impressed with your channel and how you use it to demonstrate the standard of your work. It must be one of the best marketing strategies. I'm not surprised you are so successful in Cambridge, you deserve it. Well done.
Tip on calculating quickly just 12,50 per move, drilling wall socket 12,50, hanging a lamp, 12,50, installing extra fuse 12,50, connecting cable in distribution cabinet 12,50, point a to b 12,50, if its hanging a fan or connecting a switch, 12,50 excl material costs ofcourse try it. I think its accurate and fair, some prices are per meter and some are more expensive depending on the job
Regarding material costs, when I worked at a big company in the 1970's and 1980's a purchase order was about 500 dollars per line item just for the processing time (buyer, receiving, QA, billing, accounting, etc.), the cost of the item was in addition to that. So, material is far more than the cost at the hardware store.
Don't forget everyone, there's waiting clients out there who are least and last affected by recession and pandemics etc price is not an obstacle for them. It's one thing to be excellent at what you do, it's another things to be excellent at what you do and to be excellent at marketing what you do, and to stand out these days you have to nail both those areas.
16:46 Don't forget, also, the value of your professional expertise in knowing what materials to get and where to get them inexpensively and efficiently.
Can I just throw a question out there to see what the response is? Back in 2015 I was predominantly using JCC LED6 downlights. This is mainly because they came with a 7 year warranty. They weren't cheap but appeared well made. These downlight have failed miserably. I have complained to JCC and Rexel over the years. In the early days Rexel would give me a replacement to go and fit. I tried to get compensation from JCC or Rexel for my time. At first JCC were very good and gave me a £300 pay out but Rexel explained that it is only the light that's under warranty and not my time and that I should still charge the customer for my time for replacing it. My question to you all is - Would you?
I would feel very uncomfortable charging customer, especially if I'd suggested the JCC fittings. Nowadays I just don't use JCC, because of the way they wriggled out of honouring some downlight warranties a couple of years ago. Customer should have registered them online, didn't, so JCC just said "tough luck" - not cool when you've sold them on the back of their warranty period. I believe I am not alone in boycotting JCC, and that they are suffering an ongoing slump from the whole episode of that particular unreliable model (the LED6, strangely enough). Tough luck, I say!
Excellent video bud. I’ve Got to put my hands upto you mate, for someone who has told you their daily running cost of their own business. That’s amazing, I don’t even charge half of that and it’s a major eye opener.
Excellent, I’m from US and we run the business very similar. Now joining the Service Titan Network running our business from home and trough a group of licensed Electricians that share the same prices nationwide. So the competition is fare and equal for everyone.
I work as stubby gas engineer for a high end kitchen company in North Yorkshire. They was grumbling at £30 per hour.. when they charge £2000 for an hours job swapping like for like extraction fan. Realy piss me off when people grumble and I know its not alot of money that I charge at all!
@@ChrisTheSparky Thing is that often Joe from the pub DOESN'T burn the house down, he does a perfectly safe though unlawful job. He may even be using TH-cam as a guide how to do the job!
Well done like yourself I have never undervalued myself , once your good at what you do you should expect the rewards ..respect your work and your customers .. and you will never go far wrong.. one thing I learned as a young man was do not be a jack of all trades but a master of one .. not to say you cannot or will not pick up other bits of trades I can do plumbing as well but I am not a plumber I can fit kitchens etc but I am not a carpenter etc ... master your own trade. I learned that many years ago ..
You might get those rates in Cambridge but if i tried that in the midlands i wouldnt have any customer's . Every area no matter how good a tradesman you are has a price ceiling , even the leafiest areas you would be pushing it if you charged out £60.00 an hour if its several days work you would need to knock off 10% off those rates to be in with a look in , on the inner cities you wouldnt get £30.00 an hour , infact a local sparks i know charges £150 a day and he's still told he's to expensive .
Agreed. I can charge commercial customers in my area whatever I feel is fair, but round here domestic customers feel robbed for charging them £25 an hour.
I know a spark in Belfast charging £80/h. Your location it's not the problem. The problem is how much value you put to yourself and how ready is to stop listening to all the nay sayers and charge your value
i charge £100 a day i been a spark for over a year now (have been a 3ph meter engineer for over 4 years) and im always getting told im ripping people of as theres sparks in my area that are doing work for peanuts, blows my mind🤯
@@shubz4699 I was making more as a subcontractor 5 years ago. Next to nothing overheads and 0 responsibilities. You need to pick up your customers better.
@@EruElectrics Its not how much you value you put on yourself its the value customers equate to the work your doing . In the Midlands too many cash in hand bandits driving prices down , had a punter other day saying only prepared to pay £80.00 for a days work. i walked away but you can gaurentee someone will do it .
A huge factor now is the legal basis for performing electrical work leading to high insurance costs and the risk of having to rectify work later on. You find that cashflow is critical in compiling and controlling stock and supplies. In Ireland anything that is installed in a building becomes the property of the buildings owner and cannot be removed after the install in the event of non-payment. This differs from wet trades where material costs are much smaller in relation to overall costs sucj as labour.
I’ve been in business for 40yrs in the plumbing and heating business I could never get away with charging that I only do price work make more on boiler changes ime gasafe and oftec and have to renew them every 5yrs at £2,000 a piece I wonder how you can afford to run around in a Tesla
He said in other videos that he has two other vans working and theres no reason to believe he hasn't, also he will be hiring another person to solely install EV Chargers.
Basically you never got the memo that you're a business, not an employee. If you're happy with the money you're on, save the headaches and work for somebody, if you're working your ring out for 40 years and a tesla is out of reach, fix your pricing.
Great man for sharing this it’s what all new electricians want to know. I became an Electrician at the age of 40 whilst still working as a firefighter got my City & Guilds started my own business at 43, a one man band Retired now living in Thailand now but 10 years ago I was earning £125 per day. I do the odd Electrical jobs in Thailand for £40 per day. I do not do much but friends mostly. A Thai sparky charges £40 a day but trying to find a qualified one, that is a lucky dip. I still like to watch Sparkies in the U.K. being a Electrician is a great job. Well done young man.
I actually found I could charge a high daily rate for big jobs, because the customer saw the value. For smaller jobs, say to fix a CPC/RCD fault, fixed in an hour, they expected it to be cheap.
It is always refreshing to watch your videos Jordan. Honest, candid and so very well presented. I just wish you were based closer to SA73 postcode! You would be the electrician of choice. Your work is always so tidy, fixings made good, wiring dressed in tidily and glands, grommets et al loaded in. Love it! Pricing does reflect this no doubt. We run a small business restoring vintage valve amps and speakers and customers just do not appreciate how the final invoice is made up, “Bill will repair the amp in his shed for fifty quid...” So send it to Bill then!! We have a complex system in our house and actually getting a competent electrician in is a battle! Solar PV with storage and a backup diesel generator all feature in a grid tie system. That scares most electricians away around here! An EV charge point will soon be added. I just wish there was a way for me to mail in pix so you could comment (positive and negative). 20 years in power delivery for cellular operators has taught me a lot but life is still one big learning curve. And your videos contribute greatly, not just with the practical front end work but the back end work too. Thank you.
Loving the videos mate. I'm a maintenance technician with a predominantly mechanical background. I have a level 2 2330 and hoping to get fully qualified in the next few years. Your videos are pushing me to crack on with it
Nice video. I agree with most you said. Except I charge zero markup on parts and straight hourly to get them . Less paperwork. So customers benefit from a big parts order and less so from a small one. I hate paper work
I'm a self employed painter and decorator I don't charge day rate often as most jobs go over 2 days, most prices are templated as I do alot of 1 and 2 bed flats for a larger company , just standard magnolia walls and white ceilings , no woodwork often . As long as in a week I hit my "target " I'll find my bills are paid and I can still live a nice life with some money being put away, I'd expect to hit my target in 3 days so the other 2 days are just bonuses , not everyone agrees with pricing this way but I find working like this im not mega mega busy but I'm just flowing along week to week nice and steady
So often I see other painters in my area pricing low to beat others but in my opinion once you start doing this your automatically creating a more stressful way of working
I figure the "cheaper for one day" idea is basically the thought that you're only travelling once, vs smaller jobs where they should cover more overhead for mileage and time. Eg if you do 1hr jobs all day, you'll probably only manage 6 or 7 jobs due to the extra travel, and you'll pay more for fuel doing it, whereas for a single all-day job you're getting a full 8 hours. So some people (rightly or wrongly) expect that some of those savings should be passed on to the customer I'm not saying I do/don't agree with that, just expanding on the idea
Most of you guys in the comments make me chuckle. A sparkle charges you nearly 100 quid per hour and its bang on. Your car breaks down at the garage and after vat its 45 quid an hour on average, it's like your world has ended 🤣🤣🤣🤣
when we had the 2008 downturn in the economy , many in my area (epsom surrey) were reducing their prices per hour to silly money, i would rather stay at home than give away my skills in that way. i actually increased my hourly rate from £40 to £55 pph, and never looked back, managing to keep myself , my electricians mate and my apprentice , plus another electrician in work , right up until i retired in 2017.
Also there are all the off the van materials that you may use screws , rail plugs etc even if cheap individually they still add up!! How I see it Ive trained to be in a trade that is very dangerous. Why does no one look at a dentist when they get 100k + per year for pulling a tooth when I'm risking my life.
@@paulrattray8121 There is always one. Why would you need to step in with that comment. Can a risk assessment see when if an isolator switch is damaged to an extent that operating it leads to a bang? well that's happened to me and luckily I was not blinded. Ive had an old wooden back DB explode on me taking the cover off. because it was so knackered and somehow the previous electrician stuffed all the guts back in and got the lid on.
Thank you! Great, helpful information. I've got a couple of questions: 1. I wonder what would be increased percentage in London, like everything in this city, is pricier than the rest of the UK. 2. How about if you hire/contract a Mate to help you for 8 hrs? What would be the daily increase in pricing the job? Many thanks! Look forward for your reply :)
32 bloke here. I know it's kind of late in the game to get into this kind of trade. I did my level 3 about 2 years ago but had a really bad experience working for a guy. Kind of knocked my confidence and I never went back, wish I have it more of a chance now.
Well,i have other feelings about it.I mainly work via Workspot.(I know there is one in the UK!)If i ask such high prise for my work,then i dont get that work!Simple as that!So there must be others who even do the work cheaper than me!So there is always times that i dont get work,because others are cheaper and i am sitting home without.Because the people expect to get the work done via workspot cheaply.And Workspot has rissen there prise also,so its hard to get work.
Does that £96 an hour cover whatever you are doing for example do you charge an EICR per hour or is that charged per circuit or anything else? Keep up the great work and I’ve found all your help great.
Wow! £600+ for a days work. That's a month's pay to a lot people after paying bills out. Shouldn't be charging more than £200 a day (10hrs) on a single job. No wonder people don't want to pay crazy fees
It's not what you do it's what you now,if you are busy the price will be higher then if you was quite,if a job is going to take 6 hours charge a day,it's not what you earn in a week it's what you earn a year .£300 a day!no wonder you drive a Tesla ,especially if you do domestic work
If a job is gonna take 6 hours charge the full day? Dont think so. 300 a day? Hes on more than that if hes doing the full day at the same site. Did you watch any part of the video?
Also; expectation management is the most important part of pricing and estimating as far as I can tell. Not shock and awe but just a clear guideline of cost.
10:50 about "reassuringly expensive" -- One thing I look for, actually, is that the tradesman is charging enough that he can afford to amortize the risk of things going wrong -- that is, if he damages something and has to take a loss fixing it at his own expense, he can do so. Computer repair is like this. I can do my own computer repairs, but often, I'd rather pay somebody, because there's a small chance of ruining a $1000 motherboard when doing a $100 job. A professional can spread this risk over many jobs. If I do it myself and have bad luck, I'm out $1000 -- there is no risk management.
totally understand, as I'm self employed sole trader.. you charge £80/hr only because you know customers don't want to shop around, not because you NEED to earn £600/day to live on. To me this is almost like running a cartel . Pure greed, How do you sleep at night.
But the company Jordan subbed to was charging £100 plus vat. The eye opener, don’t undervalue yourself. My old boss once said to me, “just because you can’t afford it doesn’t mean to say the customer can’t “
I assuming your accountant must be very good, I looked your company on companies house and either your accountant is very good or you aren’t charging £80 an hour...
same as the 250 mugs thats joined his course @ £995 or nett 829 = £248750 , the only thing artisan electric said with some merot is, and i agree "An Electrician is worth more then you think". i degress if you are earning £80 + a margin on materials you would be earning more than the company hse return. Example 229 Days of possible work per Yr @ £80.00 = £146,560 In earnings take out the list of expences, Grand Nett off £132,000 or in your case. share holders £4663.00 + £12000.00 Pre Tax. @goughKid got it spot on. i can add WINDOW SALESMAN
I have had a look on the Net and a lot of the price you see are very similar to this vlog. I am at the moment raising my prices but imay increase them a little further after watching this. I may of been undercharging.
You’ve missed some massive factors in your pricing including but not limited to holiday and sick pay, rework and warranty repairs, non productive time travelling between jobs etc.
@@artisanelectrics Hi, good video. Could I ask you if you charge a call out fee and if so do you mind me asking you how much? Just trying to gage different prices. Thanks
@@grahamlush7140 As Jordan I'm sure would elaborate on in his course, you should never base your pricing on what your competitors charge. If you do, you'll just become 'another' electrician who's competing on price. You'll only attract 'price shopper' customers, the ones who only choose based on price (not the customers you want) Start with the formula shown in this video and have confidence in the value you place on your workmanship and professionalism. The customers who you lose because your too expensive aren't the ones you want anyway and you'll hopefully be left with the 'best, no hassle' customers.
@@MrWeddingPhotography Your so right, I couldn’t agree more. I’m just trying to work out if there is much of a difference between Irish and UK prices and the standard of work for these prices.
This explains how you managed to buy an electric van for 55K. £640 per day is huge. I expect overheads in Cambridge are high but even so no wonder you're smiling.
Great job Jordan. Huge lesson for me watching this video to never under value my time and my job. After this video I'm more self-confident that helps become successful. And respect for being honest.
Very Agree with you. Great point that you got a goal and were successful. Most important on time and good professional work hourly and schedule. I love your brilliant Vlog!! Thumb up!!! Cheer!
This was a good lecture. I think a lot of electricians fail to take their expenses into consideration when working out their charges. However most guys would never be able to charge £80:an hour. You live in a prosperous part of the country and because you are articulate and well spoken and very good at what you do, you are able to charge a premium rate to customers who have well above average incomes or are wealthy. Most people are not in the position to be able to pay £80 an hour, for an electrician to attend and you have to compare this to other services that a householder buys. I pay £30 an hour for a tutor for my children, in central London you might pay £60 for the service. If you are a woman, you can go to an upscale hairdresser ans pay £50 an hour for cut and blow dry and these places have expensive premises to pay for. I’m sure a lot of people would benefit from your business course, you obviously know what you are doing and over a 10 or 20 year career, even a few tips picked up could be well worth the money. However you seem to be using your stated charge rate, which is really at the very top end to lure people into buying it. At your rate most houses would still have 3036 boards.
20 percent mark up is reasonable, small things like waiting in queues, driving to and from suppliers etc etc.. so £50 for cable, I'd be happy being charged £60 ...
From the very start, Jordan had a plan to make a profitable business, the key word being PROFITABLE, yes some traders charge less, but i guess they are not after profits. If he charged any less, he would still have a sucessfull business, but without profits.
Nice lesson. People tend to forget, that the cost of living changes depending upon where you live. So if someone "up north" says you're charging way too much, it is because their cost of living maybe a lot lower and their target market is different.
Great video! However, your calculation for the amount of tax seems very low: you will be taxed on any income above the threshold value for your total earnings (after legit expenses), so you'd need to calculate tax AFTER you have incorporated many of the additional costs such as paying professional accreditation fees and relevant training courses, repayment of bank loans used to buy equipment and tools etc. Other costs including health insurance, loss of earnings insurance, time off for holidays etc will need to be included. Sympathise with your OCD of course: tidying-up other peoples' work can take a lot of (unpaid) time!
When you price a job how much should you allow in terms of time per job for example if a job takes 1 hour how do you allow the time for potential problems that’ll set you back etc also do you work on a price like if you charged someone a set amount do you then have to work as fast as possible in order to earn money ?
I'm also certified electrician but in my country there is lot of competitors who are uncertified and do work in very cheap price so this formula not work here.
How much 😩😩 fair play to ya! I’ve been running my own electrical business since I was 20yrs old.... Still lose jobs if I put myself in for anymore than £200 a day 🤷🏻♂️
Solid video; thinking about going alone just now and I’d done all these sums just before finding this video! Reassured me that I might know something! I’d planned for £240-300 per day. Covers costs of £20k p/a and up to £40k per year pay before tax. EDITED - this wasn’t allowing for time off and sick pay which would take total to closer to yours.
Liked your vlog. What about building in you holidays when you calculate your hourly rate. You build up your overhead annual rate then divide by 48 weeks not 52 weeks unless you don’t take any !! Keep up the great show.
If buying materials where the customer otherwise couldn't and at cheaper prices, it's only fair to add a markup exactly for the reasons you have mentioned.
I looked at Tradify, but it's extremely limited. It's effectively a black box with little to no integration with 3rd party software. Yes, it integrates with a couple of online accounting packages, but that's pretty much it. e.g. all emails are sent from Tradify, not your own custom domain, which IMO looks unprofessional... None of the packages do it all: in the US there's House Call Pro and Jobber, and then there's ServiceM8 and Tradify...
Yeah, Tradify is very limited for sparks - I took their monthly trial and it was harsh - they don't even have presets for services or proper way of inputting services, no way to calculate or invoice CIS out of the box, reduced VAT rates are pain, invoice templates are plain and basic like free web stuff, customer database requires days of manual labour, before you can utilise it for daily invoices it would require months of customisation, creating your own inputs and re-jigging sales based templates for everything. And if you're willing to reprogram beta software that far - then hey - you can program in your own stuff in MS Office including payment reminders. It's clear they didn't have UK tradesmen in mind when they created the software.
@@v0nreagan Glad I’m not the only one. House Call Pro is US/Canada only, Jobber is way too expensive for a small business, and ServiceM8 feels like early 2000s software... I’m currently using a mash up of HubSpot, Office 365, Zapier, PieSync, and FreeAgent. Grrrr...
Not sure where you are from Josh but if your down south near london these prices are realistic. Anywhere north of that your not going to be able to charge anywhere near these prices. Cant really charge more than £200 a day up north.
@@strongerandwiser2023 it was slightly tongue in cheek, I'm an Electronic Engineer so retraining as an Electrician would be a sideways move really. I'm also further North than AE so wouldn't get the rates
So for example if you was doing a re-wire would you still do your price as in Materials and hourly rate? Or would you do it by per point? Thanks P.s im going to sign up for your course!! Just started my own business and need to push it to the next step
I calculate it by how arsed I am to do the job , how difficult it may be , Travel , materials and if the customer is mental. If all the above a 2 bed semi rewire will be in the region on 10k if they have it then great if not Owell on to the next one
Must say excellent content, presented very well. All to often we are faced with a race to the bottom or other people trying to tell you what you are worth, well done for keeping standards high and charging a fair price for services rendered! I don't think everyone should charge that but at least hopefully it gets people thinking of how to get to your hourly rate methodically. I don't win every job but the ones I do win are customers for life 👍🏻.
Pimlico plumbers cowboys are charged at £800 plus VAT a day and they seem to want 400-500 % profit on all materials even if they where never really needed !
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What a guy sharing this. So
Much respect for you Jordan. Especially willing to state the hourly fee.
Well why should it be a secret. ?
When I'm called for a job to a new customer, one of the first thing I mention is my hourly rate, trip cost and CoC cost. It puts people at ease. If it's about a consequent job then I provide a quote to help them with their budget. Of course you don't provide a quote to hang a chandelier or replace a faulty switch...
Well done Mate for being honest and great to see someone charging their worth.
I am a Gas Engineer / Plumber and this video is amazing. Thank you so much.
Thanks! Glad it helped you.
Jordan, a brilliant Vlog!! I’ve made the mistake of low pricing to get the work, especially in the early days of starting my business, but you end up running yourself into the ground for very little reward. Don’t be afraid of walking away if the customer doesn’t like your price is my advice to everyone.👍👍
I totally agree! Great comment.
As someone with some experience with sourcing contractors, you actually end up losing jobs by either being the cheapest or by lowering the quoted price. You either look lower quality or you look like you were just trying to rinse money out of the customer.
Totally agree
We made the same mistake in our business. I just wish we had this guidance a while back. Jordan posted some very good points that we have now implemented in our business model. The result: more customers, better customers and less dealing with ‘tyre kickers’.
👍👍👍
Excellent video Jordon quite shocked at the pricing but really opens my eyes a little. I've ran my own business since 2009 and don't charge anywhere near half what you do. Really great to see the money is out there just need the right business plan and ditch all the builders I work for lol :)
Few tips:
1. There is no jobs under one hour (resetting tripped rcd = 1 hour, "call out fee").
2. You charge off site hours as well as onsite hours (picking up materials 0.5h, travel to job site 0.5h, actual job, 2.5h, travel back 0.5h = charge for 4 hours.
3. You charge separately for using van for example 1£/€ per 1km.
Or at least charge workshop hours, there will are jobs when it's easier putting things together at home then just installing them on site.
Charging these rates is good for the industry. It creates a precedent and ensures that electricians are respected within the building trade. Some people don’t understand what it’s like to be an electrician. It can be highly stressful, require extensive knowledge and holds much responsibility, just as much as a doctor or a pilot. Thank you for charging £80.00 per hour.
Well said!
I agree
"Yeah, but my mate says it's easy to do that little job, there's videos on TH-cam showing you how to do it. He's coming to help me do it at the weekend"
How many times have you heard that? (And forget trying to explain the law, Part P, blah blah, we all know that counts for nothing.)
I hear it all the time, along with people TELLING me how much cable/fittings etc are - from Screwfix, of course. The fact I would rather use a known industry standard brand than some cheap Chinese tut is beyond them. I have to say too, that I've been left having to agree that the cheap Screwfix consumer unit I poo-poo'd actually did all line up, didn't break when fitted and was perfectly fine, and really was 1/3 of the price of the Hager unit I wanted to use.
@@Mr.MFuckingYTchangedmyname what you said in your first paragraph is not the customer you want anyway.
@Lister Smeg Oh, silly me, of course, everyone is well up on working out volt-drop on cable, power factor correction, earth loop impedance, safe disconnection times, etc etc, aren't they? I'm sure most people would know exactly how to use a Multi-function tester and what the readings tell them. How hard can it be, right?
Hint, that test equipment doesn't give you a little tick, if you don't know what you are reading, you aren't any the wiser - even if I give you my meters for free (which, of course, I have regularly calibrated - something else to be paid for)
You are mistaking doing something like running a cable from A to B - which indeed, any monkey can do - with the SKILLED part of the job, the bit you go to college to learn, and sit exams to show you do know ie. What is safe to do, and why you can or cannot "just" do these easy jobs.
That's what the customer is paying for - my guarantee that they aren't going to be killed, or have their house burned down, by anything I do to their electrical installation. I might even find something terrible that is waiting to happen and prevent it. It's a guarantee I put my signature on and assume responsibility for.
Sure, most jobs don't take a lot of calculations, and are easy to carry out, but you'd be surprised how many horrors lurk within work carried out by DIYers who clearly have no inkling of why we do certain things. Some will never cause a serious problem, but then there's always that ONE chance you might find yourself in the dock trying to explain how you managed to burn down that orphanage full of screaming infants...
In the old days mark up on materials was simple - you got your 20% trade discount and you charged the client at the non trade price. There didn't feel ripped off because they couldn't get cheaper and you made a bit to cover your time picking up, returns etc . The internet has basically killed the trade discount on small items which can fit in the back of a car. You can make some on cable by buying big reals (you know you are always going to using 2.5 T&E so buy in bulk when it's cheap) and bulk packs of wagos / boxes etc then charge at a per unit price but it's the pricy one-off items which it's hard to defend. If you ask the customer to get it themselves and they get the wrong one then it also comes back to you
I’ve been self employed for 25 years, but still enjoyed this vid. Great advice for anyone new to the self employed game.
How long is an electrician course in your country ? University fee ?
A great electrician, AND, a fantastic presenter! No wonder he's so sucessful
£80 an hour for house bashing! Jesus im in the wrong sector of electrical engineering!
That's the reality. And much more customers. You can feel you are smarter knowing more. But knowing more doesn't put more in your pocket.
@@ivanblazhenko99 I don't understand your comment pal?
Well ultimately, the so called cream work of commercial and industrial doesn’t pay aswell as domestic add the fact domestic work is far easier ( technically) !
I commend this approach to pricing. Hopefully these sparky tubers get the word about so these prices are the norm. The problem is not Jordon, it’s the ones that don’t charge their worth to get the work and cut corners to make a profit.
Great comment thanks
This is where the pricing all comes unstuck, especially in the summer when demand is down, I charge lower for a nice dust free standing job like replacing down lights ,up the price for knee damaging work like chopping in sockets, lifting boards etc, also have to consider how near the job is to the van ... blocks of flats etc!
Being a self employed electrical contractor like you Jordan, I completely agree with you. I've been in business for almost 10 years an I also offer a high level of quality workmanship people recognize. Consequently they never argue with my pricing, paid overnight! Post Covid though I offered a little discount to everyone on my hourly rate of about 7%, just to help out.
I'm quite surprised with the hourly rate in England, here in NZ I do charge up $65.00 + GST. Cheers mate
That's not the normal hourly rate in England... Average hourly rate for an electrician is around £40 an hour, some areas (guessing obviously Cambridge included) are more expensive than others. I mean fair play if you can charge £96 an hour and still get plenty of work, some areas have more competition than others.
Does the customer get a discount if you're filming for half the day? or do you charge them extra for that?
Hi great Channel.
Regarding the course is it possible to pay per topic so that it's a form of Pay As You Go / learn to spread the cost out?
I cant see a problem with filming while he works as long as the job gets done. If the job doesnt get done and he is charging a day rate then yeah... Thats going to be an issue for the customer and will likely piss him/her off.
@@strongerandwiser2023 he makes more money from TH-cam than some jobs.
Absolutely great video I’ve been in the trade for 16 years had an business on the side of being employed but I’m thinking of going by myself full time and must say I can relate and learn from your videos.
Thanks
Hi Jordan, Let me say from the start that I'm not an electrician. However I am very technically minded and enjoy doing many DIY activities including , and don't shoot me down in flames some electrical work. I am a qualified person and consider myself to be a competent person. I watch many and varied TH-cam channels covering a multitude of personal interests. I do subscribe to your channel and have found all your videos very professional and informative. This video impressed me considerably , good presentation, clarity of information and execution of subject matter excellent . You have obviously built up considerable experience with running your own business's. Well done and I look forward to many more excellent videos.
Thanks very much!
Hi Jordan, Here in the USA our Accountants recommend that we pay the Sales Tax (VAT) when we purchase the material from the wholesaler. That amount varies. The we add our mark-up and material profit. The Shipping and Handling. Including an amount if we are going back and forth to the wholesalers. Then labor and job profit and then an amount for the Warranty. Even if the Manufacturer has a warranty, it is the Electrician that has to go back out to the jobsite, remove the defective part and return it to the Manufacturer plus postage back and forth. My minimum amount is 65% of wholesale to cover all of the above.
The company I sub to occasionally, charge 100% on parts.
Zero chance off charging that in the North east. You'd go very hungry and out of business quick up here.
Well cambridge is a far more expensive area to live in so he's gonna need to charge more than an electrician that lives in the NE
Nearly fell over when you said your hourly/daily rate. I think it very much depends on your working area. In the midlands even half that cost would be seen as expensive. Fair play for charging that and still getting the work
Why would midlands be cheaper than anywhere else is materials fuel half price in the midlands. People who are afraid to charge are weak and shouldn't be in business.....
@@lilynugent what a daft comment. Prices vary dramatically across the UK. For example, A 3 bed semi rewire in Kent is going to cost alot more than the same property in Hull. Then there is the type of customer you are working for. If you are rewiring mrs Jones 3 bed with just an extra socket in each room then that will generally demand a lower rate than the customers who want to be at the forefront of smart tech and demand high quality equipment, knowledge and design. I'm still shocked at the cost pr hour this guy is charging but considering the factors mentioned above then maybe it's justifiable. He obviously hasn't scared away the custom.
It’s a business, not a subbies rate.
Jordan, I am really impressed with your channel and how you use it to demonstrate the standard of your work. It must be one of the best marketing strategies. I'm not surprised you are so successful in Cambridge, you deserve it. Well done.
Thanks very much
Tip on calculating quickly just 12,50 per move, drilling wall socket 12,50, hanging a lamp, 12,50, installing extra fuse 12,50, connecting cable in distribution cabinet 12,50, point a to b 12,50, if its hanging a fan or connecting a switch, 12,50 excl material costs ofcourse try it. I think its accurate and fair, some prices are per meter and some are more expensive depending on the job
Regarding material costs, when I worked at a big company in the 1970's and 1980's a purchase order was about 500 dollars per line item just for the processing time (buyer, receiving, QA, billing, accounting, etc.), the cost of the item was in addition to that. So, material is far more than the cost at the hardware store.
Don't forget everyone, there's waiting clients out there who are least and last affected by recession and pandemics etc price is not an obstacle for them. It's one thing to be excellent at what you do, it's another things to be excellent at what you do and to be excellent at marketing what you do, and to stand out these days you have to nail both those areas.
Totally agree
After getting a quote from Artisan Electrics.. i can now see how Jordan can afford a Tesla, and hire more electricians.. crazy crazy prices.
But he is "reassuringly expensive!"
16:46 Don't forget, also, the value of your professional expertise in knowing what materials to get and where to get them inexpensively and efficiently.
You have to warranty the materials too and change them out free if they fail
Exactly
Can I just throw a question out there to see what the response is? Back in 2015 I was predominantly using JCC LED6 downlights. This is mainly because they came with a 7 year warranty. They weren't cheap but appeared well made. These downlight have failed miserably. I have complained to JCC and Rexel over the years. In the early days Rexel would give me a replacement to go and fit. I tried to get compensation from JCC or Rexel for my time. At first JCC were very good and gave me a £300 pay out but Rexel explained that it is only the light that's under warranty and not my time and that I should still charge the customer for my time for replacing it. My question to you all is - Would you?
I would feel very uncomfortable charging customer, especially if I'd suggested the JCC fittings. Nowadays I just don't use JCC, because of the way they wriggled out of honouring some downlight warranties a couple of years ago. Customer should have registered them online, didn't, so JCC just said "tough luck" - not cool when you've sold them on the back of their warranty period. I believe I am not alone in boycotting JCC, and that they are suffering an ongoing slump from the whole episode of that particular unreliable model (the LED6, strangely enough). Tough luck, I say!
Excellent video bud. I’ve Got to put my hands upto you mate, for someone who has told you their daily running cost of their own business. That’s amazing, I don’t even charge half of that and it’s a major eye opener.
What a great video
Learnt so much from this
Now I watch every single video of yours
Excellent, I’m from US and we run the business very similar. Now joining the Service Titan Network running our business from home and trough a group of licensed Electricians that share the same prices nationwide. So the competition is fare and equal for everyone.
I work as stubby gas engineer for a high end kitchen company in North Yorkshire. They was grumbling at £30 per hour.. when they charge £2000 for an hours job swapping like for like extraction fan.
Realy piss me off when people grumble and I know its not alot of money that I charge at all!
I'm from Leeds. If the customer grumbles at £30ph then they are not the customer for you leave them to Joe from the pub to burn down their house.
@@ChrisTheSparky Thing is that often Joe from the pub DOESN'T burn the house down, he does a perfectly safe though unlawful job. He may even be using TH-cam as a guide how to do the job!
"Reassuringly Expensive" was used as an advertising slogan by Stella Artois some time ago:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reassuringly_Expensive
Which is kind of amusing because Stella is actually pretty low-end stuff. But it worked for them _and_ entered the language.
Well done like yourself I have never undervalued myself , once your good at what you do you should expect the rewards ..respect your work and your customers .. and you will never go far wrong.. one thing I learned as a young man was do not be a jack of all trades but a master of one .. not to say you cannot or will not pick up other bits of trades I can do plumbing as well but I am not a plumber I can fit kitchens etc but I am not a carpenter etc ... master your own trade. I learned that many years ago ..
You might get those rates in Cambridge but if i tried that in the midlands i wouldnt have any customer's . Every area no matter how good a tradesman you are has a price ceiling , even the leafiest areas you would be pushing it if you charged out £60.00 an hour if its several days work you would need to knock off 10% off those rates to be in with a look in , on the inner cities you wouldnt get £30.00 an hour , infact a local sparks i know charges £150 a day and he's still told he's to expensive .
Agreed. I can charge commercial customers in my area whatever I feel is fair, but round here domestic customers feel robbed for charging them £25 an hour.
I know a spark in Belfast charging £80/h. Your location it's not the problem. The problem is how much value you put to yourself and how ready is to stop listening to all the nay sayers and charge your value
i charge £100 a day i been a spark for over a year now (have been a 3ph meter engineer for over 4 years) and im always getting told im ripping people of as theres sparks in my area that are doing work for peanuts, blows my mind🤯
@@shubz4699 I was making more as a subcontractor 5 years ago. Next to nothing overheads and 0 responsibilities. You need to pick up your customers better.
@@EruElectrics Its not how much you value you put on yourself its the value customers equate to the work your doing . In the Midlands too many cash in hand bandits driving prices down , had a punter other day saying only prepared to pay £80.00 for a days work. i walked away but you can gaurentee someone will do it .
A huge factor now is the legal basis for performing electrical work leading to high insurance costs and the risk of having to rectify work later on. You find that cashflow is critical in compiling and controlling stock and supplies. In Ireland anything that is installed in a building becomes the property of the buildings owner and cannot be removed after the install in the event of non-payment. This differs from wet trades where material costs are much smaller in relation to overall costs sucj as labour.
I’ve been in business for 40yrs in the plumbing and heating business I could never get away with charging that I only do price work make more on boiler changes ime gasafe and oftec and have to renew them every 5yrs at £2,000 a piece I wonder how you can afford to run around in a Tesla
I think that perhaps, maybe, does he have at least two successful TH-cam channels and employs others? Perhaps?
I don't understand are you happy for him? Or got the hump?
He said in other videos that he has two other vans working and theres no reason to believe he hasn't, also he will be hiring another person to solely install EV Chargers.
"Price Work" says it all...race to the bottom
Basically you never got the memo that you're a business, not an employee. If you're happy with the money you're on, save the headaches and work for somebody, if you're working your ring out for 40 years and a tesla is out of reach, fix your pricing.
Great man for sharing this it’s what all new electricians want to know. I became an Electrician at the age of 40 whilst still working as a firefighter got my City & Guilds started my own business at 43, a one man band Retired now living in Thailand now but 10 years ago I was earning £125 per day.
I do the odd Electrical jobs in Thailand for £40 per day. I do not do much but friends mostly. A Thai sparky charges £40 a day but trying to find a qualified one, that is a lucky dip.
I still like to watch Sparkies in the U.K.
being a Electrician is a great job.
Well done young man.
I actually found I could charge a high daily rate for big jobs, because the customer saw the value. For smaller jobs, say to fix a CPC/RCD fault, fixed in an hour, they expected it to be cheap.
Same happened to me, one company ordered me to go repair device at customers house, they charged 700 for my 3 hours of work, I was shocked...
And you got 70?☹️
It is always refreshing to watch your videos Jordan. Honest, candid and so very well presented.
I just wish you were based closer to SA73 postcode! You would be the electrician of choice. Your work is always so tidy, fixings made good, wiring dressed in tidily and glands, grommets et al loaded in. Love it! Pricing does reflect this no doubt. We run a small business restoring vintage valve amps and speakers and customers just do not appreciate how the final invoice is made up, “Bill will repair the amp in his shed for fifty quid...” So send it to Bill then!!
We have a complex system in our house and actually getting a competent electrician in is a battle! Solar PV with storage and a backup diesel generator all feature in a grid tie system. That scares most electricians away around here! An EV charge point will soon be added. I just wish there was a way for me to mail in pix so you could comment (positive and negative). 20 years in power delivery for cellular operators has taught me a lot but life is still one big learning curve. And your videos contribute greatly, not just with the practical front end work but the back end work too. Thank you.
At the end of the day, that’s exactly what it is all about. Thank you, great video.
Loving the videos mate. I'm a maintenance technician with a predominantly mechanical background. I have a level 2 2330 and hoping to get fully qualified in the next few years. Your videos are pushing me to crack on with it
Nice video. I agree with most you said. Except I charge zero markup on parts and straight hourly to get them . Less paperwork. So customers benefit from a big parts order and less so from a small one. I hate paper work
I'm a self employed painter and decorator I don't charge day rate often as most jobs go over 2 days, most prices are templated as I do alot of 1 and 2 bed flats for a larger company , just standard magnolia walls and white ceilings , no woodwork often . As long as in a week I hit my "target " I'll find my bills are paid and I can still live a nice life with some money being put away, I'd expect to hit my target in 3 days so the other 2 days are just bonuses , not everyone agrees with pricing this way but I find working like this im not mega mega busy but I'm just flowing along week to week nice and steady
So often I see other painters in my area pricing low to beat others but in my opinion once you start doing this your automatically creating a more stressful way of working
I figure the "cheaper for one day" idea is basically the thought that you're only travelling once, vs smaller jobs where they should cover more overhead for mileage and time. Eg if you do 1hr jobs all day, you'll probably only manage 6 or 7 jobs due to the extra travel, and you'll pay more for fuel doing it, whereas for a single all-day job you're getting a full 8 hours. So some people (rightly or wrongly) expect that some of those savings should be passed on to the customer
I'm not saying I do/don't agree with that, just expanding on the idea
Most of you guys in the comments make me chuckle. A sparkle charges you nearly 100 quid per hour and its bang on. Your car breaks down at the garage and after vat its 45 quid an hour on average, it's like your world has ended 🤣🤣🤣🤣
when we had the 2008 downturn in the economy , many in my area (epsom surrey) were reducing their prices per hour to silly money, i would rather stay at home than give away my skills in that way. i actually increased my hourly rate from £40 to £55 pph, and never looked back, managing to keep myself , my electricians mate and my apprentice , plus another electrician in work , right up until i retired in 2017.
I'm not an electrican, I don't plan to be an electrician but i still watched the whole thing! Great stuff!
Also there are all the off the van materials that you may use screws , rail plugs etc even if cheap individually they still add up!!
How I see it Ive trained to be in a trade that is very dangerous. Why does no one look at a dentist when they get 100k + per year for pulling a tooth when I'm risking my life.
If you think you are risking your life, do a proper risk assessment or change trades. Oh, and dentists have a disproportionately high suicide rate.
@@paulrattray8121 There is always one. Why would you need to step in with that comment. Can a risk assessment see when if an isolator switch is damaged to an extent that operating it leads to a bang? well that's happened to me and luckily I was not blinded. Ive had an old wooden back DB explode on me taking the cover off. because it was so knackered and somehow the previous electrician stuffed all the guts back in and got the lid on.
It's not just your life you risk, it's THEIR life too - if you aren't on top of your game and walk off leaving an unsafe install...
Thank you! Great, helpful information. I've got a couple of questions:
1. I wonder what would be increased percentage in London, like everything in this city, is pricier than the rest of the UK.
2. How about if you hire/contract a Mate to help you for 8 hrs? What would be the daily increase in pricing the job?
Many thanks! Look forward for your reply :)
32 bloke here. I know it's kind of late in the game to get into this kind of trade. I did my level 3 about 2 years ago but had a really bad experience working for a guy. Kind of knocked my confidence and I never went back, wish I have it more of a chance now.
Well,i have other feelings about it.I mainly work via Workspot.(I know there is one in the UK!)If i ask such high prise for my work,then i dont get that work!Simple as that!So there must be others who even do the work cheaper than me!So there is always times that i dont get work,because others are cheaper and i am sitting home without.Because the people expect to get the work done via workspot cheaply.And Workspot has rissen there prise also,so its hard to get work.
I just watched a masterclass in how to run a small business. Essential viewing for anyone starting or running a business.
Does that £96 an hour cover whatever you are doing for example do you charge an EICR per hour or is that charged per circuit or anything else? Keep up the great work and I’ve found all your help great.
EICR's priced the same, I usually price them as half a day £320 + VAT or full day £640 + VAT
I wish, we’ve got loads of people around here knocking EICRs out on 3 bed properties for £80. It’s making things really hard
@@colin8016 What???
@@dangruner5926 they dont do a proper test though just cowboys , i heard about some of them price a 3 bed rewire for 2k with materials
Wow! £600+ for a days work. That's a month's pay to a lot people after paying bills out. Shouldn't be charging more than £200 a day (10hrs) on a single job. No wonder people don't want to pay crazy fees
It's not what you do it's what you now,if you are busy the price will be higher then if you was quite,if a job is going to take 6 hours charge a day,it's not what you earn in a week it's what you earn a year .£300 a day!no wonder you drive a Tesla ,especially if you do domestic work
If a job is gonna take 6 hours charge the full day? Dont think so. 300 a day? Hes on more than that if hes doing the full day at the same site. Did you watch any part of the video?
Also; expectation management is the most important part of pricing and estimating as far as I can tell. Not shock and awe but just a clear guideline of cost.
Totally
10:50 about "reassuringly expensive" -- One thing I look for, actually, is that the tradesman is charging enough that he can afford to amortize the risk of things going wrong -- that is, if he damages something and has to take a loss fixing it at his own expense, he can do so.
Computer repair is like this. I can do my own computer repairs, but often, I'd rather pay somebody, because there's a small chance of ruining a $1000 motherboard when doing a $100 job. A professional can spread this risk over many jobs. If I do it myself and have bad luck, I'm out $1000 -- there is no risk management.
Excellent point
totally understand, as I'm self employed sole trader.. you charge £80/hr only because you know customers don't want to shop around, not because you NEED to earn £600/day to live on. To me this is almost like running a cartel . Pure greed, How do you sleep at night.
But the company Jordan subbed to was charging £100 plus vat. The eye opener, don’t undervalue yourself. My old boss once said to me, “just because you can’t afford it doesn’t mean to say the customer can’t “
Great point
I assuming your accountant must be very good, I looked your company on companies house and either your accountant is very good or you aren’t charging £80 an hour...
😂 maybe he doesn’t work many hours
same as the 250 mugs thats joined his course @ £995 or nett 829 = £248750 , the only thing artisan electric said with some merot is, and i agree "An Electrician is worth more then you think". i degress if you are earning £80 + a margin on materials you would be earning more than the company hse return. Example 229 Days of possible work per Yr @ £80.00 = £146,560 In earnings take out the list of expences, Grand Nett off £132,000 or in your case. share holders £4663.00 + £12000.00 Pre Tax. @goughKid got it spot on. i can add WINDOW SALESMAN
I have had a look on the Net and a lot of the price you see are very similar to this vlog.
I am at the moment raising my prices but imay increase them a little further after watching this.
I may of been undercharging.
You’ve missed some massive factors in your pricing including but not limited to holiday and sick pay, rework and warranty repairs, non productive time travelling between jobs etc.
There’s a lot more in the course I can’t cover everything in a 20 min TH-cam video
@@artisanelectrics Hi, good video. Could I ask you if you charge a call out fee and if so do you mind me asking you how much? Just trying to gage different prices. Thanks
@@grahamlush7140 As Jordan I'm sure would elaborate on in his course, you should never base your pricing on what your competitors charge. If you do, you'll just become 'another' electrician who's competing on price. You'll only attract 'price shopper' customers, the ones who only choose based on price (not the customers you want) Start with the formula shown in this video and have confidence in the value you place on your workmanship and professionalism. The customers who you lose because your too expensive aren't the ones you want anyway and you'll hopefully be left with the 'best, no hassle' customers.
@@grahamlush7140 he said in the video that he charges the same rate for one hour or 8 hours.
@@MrWeddingPhotography Your so right, I couldn’t agree more. I’m just trying to work out if there is much of a difference between Irish and UK prices and the standard of work for these prices.
Don't need college with you on the scene, great content 👌
This explains how you managed to buy an electric van for 55K. £640 per day is huge. I expect overheads in Cambridge are high but even so no wonder you're smiling.
Thx for coming up 👍
Great video, well done for showing the world outgoings. Some thing most sparks don’t understand 🙈
If you are swamped with work charge more per hour. You'll get fewer contracts, more free time and probably the same money as you have now.
Exactly!
Great job Jordan. Huge lesson for me watching this video to never under value my time and my job. After this video I'm more self-confident that helps become successful. And respect for being honest.
Thanks a lot glad it helped!
Very Agree with you. Great point that you got a goal and were successful. Most important on time and good professional work hourly and schedule. I love your brilliant Vlog!! Thumb up!!! Cheer!
Well done for been honest, i enjoy watching your channel as always...
Sounds like advice on how to play the fiddle just enough to prevent the string breaking.
This was a good lecture. I think a lot of electricians fail to take their expenses into consideration when working out their charges.
However most guys would never be able to charge £80:an hour. You live in a prosperous part of the country and because you are articulate and well spoken and very good at what you do, you are able to charge a premium rate to customers who have well above average incomes or are wealthy.
Most people are not in the position to be able to pay £80 an hour, for an electrician to attend and you have to compare this to other services that a householder buys. I pay £30 an hour for a tutor for my children, in central London you might pay £60 for the service. If you are a woman, you can go to an upscale hairdresser ans pay £50 an hour for cut and blow dry and these places have expensive premises to pay for.
I’m sure a lot of people would benefit from your business course, you obviously know what you are doing and over a 10 or 20 year career, even a few tips picked up could be well worth the money. However you seem to be using your stated charge rate, which is really at the very top end to lure people into buying it. At your rate most houses would still have 3036 boards.
The area you live or work in shouldn’t dictate the hourly rate you charge. You are under valuing your self as a tradesman by charging less. Crazy.
Great Video Jordan, been self employed 7 years but still great to hear others advice and perspective 👍🏼
Thanks!
20 percent mark up is reasonable, small things like waiting in queues, driving to and from suppliers etc etc.. so £50 for cable, I'd be happy being charged £60 ...
This is very useful indeed for people who are non-electricians as well (speaking as someone self employed for the last 27 years)
From the very start, Jordan had a plan to make a profitable business, the key word being PROFITABLE, yes some traders charge less, but i guess they are not after profits. If he charged any less, he would still have a sucessfull business, but without profits.
Thanks that’s a great comment
Nice lesson. People tend to forget, that the cost of living changes depending upon where you live. So if someone "up north" says you're charging way too much, it is because their cost of living maybe a lot lower and their target market is different.
Of course, travel times can also vary hugely depending on location and congestion
I charge £80 per hour + Vat. I usually stop the clock if the job goes over 4 hours so they get my day rate.
Great video! However, your calculation for the amount of tax seems very low: you will be taxed on any income above the threshold value for your total earnings (after legit expenses), so you'd need to calculate tax AFTER you have incorporated many of the additional costs such as paying professional accreditation fees and relevant training courses, repayment of bank loans used to buy equipment and tools etc. Other costs including health insurance, loss of earnings insurance, time off for holidays etc will need to be included. Sympathise with your OCD of course: tidying-up other peoples' work can take a lot of (unpaid) time!
When you price a job how much should you allow in terms of time per job for example if a job takes 1 hour how do you allow the time for potential problems that’ll set you back etc also do you work on a price like if you charged someone a set amount do you then have to work as fast as possible in order to earn money ?
I'm also certified electrician but in my country there is lot of competitors who are uncertified and do work in very cheap price so this formula not work here.
How much 😩😩 fair play to ya! I’ve been running my own electrical business since I was 20yrs old.... Still lose jobs if I put myself in for anymore than £200 a day 🤷🏻♂️
I think the TH-cam presence definitely helps. Without it i doubt it would be the case
Being from London means he has to pretty much charge double to the rest of the country
I’ve been charging this since way before TH-cam and never had a problem
@@user-wc1nd9ie6xartisan electrics is a cambridge company
Your worth whatever people are prepared to pay 👌
Totally
Brilliant Jordan thanks for sharing this it’s really helpful.
Solid video; thinking about going alone just now and I’d done all these sums just before finding this video! Reassured me that I might know something! I’d planned for £240-300 per day. Covers costs of £20k p/a and up to £40k per year pay before tax.
EDITED - this wasn’t allowing for time off and sick pay which would take total to closer to yours.
Electrician charging? Pun intended :)
Very good advice for anyone starting out or even established sparkies. Overheads are very often under valued when fixing your rates.
Thanks for your comment
Great video, very useful. Just ashame there are so many cowboys around that bring down the prices
Excellent video/content, thank you for this 👍👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
This was a MASSIVE help. Makes so much sense. Will be watching the whole course at some point. Great job 👍🏻
Excellent glad it helped! Enjoy the course!
Another excellent video from, thank you. Your videos are proving really useful and inspiring as I am embarking on my electrical studies.
What do you do if you’re at a job for 1hour + 10 minutes? Charge 2 hours?
Liked your vlog. What about building in you holidays when you calculate your hourly rate. You build up your overhead annual rate then divide by 48 weeks not 52 weeks unless you don’t take any !! Keep up the great show.
If buying materials where the customer otherwise couldn't and at cheaper prices, it's only fair to add a markup exactly for the reasons you have mentioned.
I looked at Tradify, but it's extremely limited. It's effectively a black box with little to no integration with 3rd party software. Yes, it integrates with a couple of online accounting packages, but that's pretty much it. e.g. all emails are sent from Tradify, not your own custom domain, which IMO looks unprofessional... None of the packages do it all: in the US there's House Call Pro and Jobber, and then there's ServiceM8 and Tradify...
Yeah, Tradify is very limited for sparks - I took their monthly trial and it was harsh - they don't even have presets for services or proper way of inputting services, no way to calculate or invoice CIS out of the box, reduced VAT rates are pain, invoice templates are plain and basic like free web stuff, customer database requires days of manual labour, before you can utilise it for daily invoices it would require months of customisation, creating your own inputs and re-jigging sales based templates for everything. And if you're willing to reprogram beta software that far - then hey - you can program in your own stuff in MS Office including payment reminders. It's clear they didn't have UK tradesmen in mind when they created the software.
@@v0nreagan Glad I’m not the only one. House Call Pro is US/Canada only, Jobber is way too expensive for a small business, and ServiceM8 feels like early 2000s software... I’m currently using a mash up of HubSpot, Office 365, Zapier, PieSync, and FreeAgent. Grrrr...
If you do a good job for a client they MAY tell three others. If you do a bad job the WILL tell thirty others.
For some reason this makes me want to retrain and become and electrician! My dad always did say take up a trade
Yeah it’s worth having a trade 👍
Not sure where you are from Josh but if your down south near london these prices are realistic. Anywhere north of that your not going to be able to charge anywhere near these prices. Cant really charge more than £200 a day up north.
@@strongerandwiser2023 it was slightly tongue in cheek, I'm an Electronic Engineer so retraining as an Electrician would be a sideways move really.
I'm also further North than AE so wouldn't get the rates
So for example if you was doing a re-wire would you still do your price as in Materials and hourly rate? Or would you do it by per point?
Thanks
P.s im going to sign up for your course!! Just started my own business and need to push it to the next step
I calculate it by how arsed I am to do the job , how difficult it may be , Travel , materials and if the customer is mental.
If all the above a 2 bed semi rewire will be in the region on 10k if they have it then great if not Owell on to the next one
Must say excellent content, presented very well. All to often we are faced with a race to the bottom or other people trying to tell you what you are worth, well done for keeping standards high and charging a fair price for services rendered!
I don't think everyone should charge that but at least hopefully it gets people thinking of how to get to your hourly rate methodically. I don't win every job but the ones I do win are customers for life 👍🏻.
Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful to you!
Pimlico plumbers cowboys are charged at £800 plus VAT a day and they seem to want 400-500 % profit on all materials even if they where never really needed !