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| Tab | What it does |
|---|---|
| Read Me | How the template works and how to replace the supplied prices with your own. |
| Device Count | About 30 device types in 5 groups, each with an all-in unit price. Enter counts, it does the rest. |
| Estimate | Adds fixed costs, then 10% overhead, 10% profit and tax. Reports your price per opening. |
Hourly estimating punishes you for being fast. The better you get, the less you bill. It also hides material cost inside a rate nobody can check, including you.
Per-device unit pricing is how the trade has priced residential work for decades. Every opening gets a price that covers the whole job of putting it in. You count openings off the plan, multiply, and you have a number in minutes instead of an evening.
The template does the arithmetic. You keep the judgment.
The Device Count tab covers about 30 device types in five groups:
The Estimate tab adds the fixed costs that do not scale with device count: permit, inspection, temporary power, a drywall repair allowance, lift rental and load calculation. Then 10% overhead, 10% profit and tax.
One thing worth knowing: 10% overhead followed by 10% profit gives you a 17.4% gross margin, not 20%. The template shows the math so you can see it.
The worked example in the file prices a house with 120 openings at $15,921 in devices and circuits, landing at about $165 per opening.
The unit prices in the file are starting points, not gospel. Your labour rate, your suppliers and your market decide the real numbers.
The honest way to set them: take three finished jobs. Divide what each one actually cost you — material, labour, callbacks — by the device count. That is your real price per opening. Feed those numbers back into the Device Count tab and the template estimates the way you actually work.
One thing this template is not: electrical work is life-safety work, governed by code and licensing requirements that vary by jurisdiction. This is an estimating aid. It is not a substitute for a licensed electrician's design decisions or code interpretation.
Assign each device type a unit price that covers everything it takes to install one: box, device, plate, branch wiring and the labour for rough-in and trim-out. Count the openings on the plan, multiply by the unit prices, then add the costs that do not scale — home runs, panel work, permit, fixtures. The best way to set your unit prices is to take three finished jobs and divide the real cost of each by its device count.
The worked example in the template prices 120 openings at $15,921 in devices and circuits, which lands at about $165 per opening. That is a reference point, not a rule. Labour rates, material costs and what the market bears vary a lot by region, so back into your own number from finished jobs rather than borrowing someone else's.
Because the second 10% is applied on top of the first, you end up with a 17.4% gross margin, not 20%. It is a small gap on one job and a real one over a year. The template applies both steps explicitly so you can see exactly what you are keeping, and adjust the percentages if you want a true 20%.
Yes. It is a plain .xlsx file with 49 standard formulas and no macros, so it opens and calculates in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc. Upload it to Google Drive or open it directly in Calc and everything works.
You can use it to understand how electrical work gets priced, but electrical work itself is life-safety work governed by code and licensing requirements that vary by jurisdiction. This template is an estimating aid only — it does not make design decisions or interpret code, and it does not replace the judgment of a licensed electrician. Check your local rules before taking on any electrical work.