Estimating guide
How to estimate an electrical job
Electrical work is counted more than it is measured. So many lights, so many outlets, so many data drops, plus lengths of conduit and a few big items like panels.
The job in the example below is made up, with realistic figures, so you can see every step: electrical for a two-story office tenant improvement, Columbus, OH. It is not a price list. Use your own rates and your own hours.
1. Count and measure from the plans
Lights, outlets, data drops, panels and devices are counts. Conduit and cable are lengths. Each is a line, and the example has 38 of them.
2. Match each line to a unit
A light is each. Conduit is by the foot. The line has to say what is included, such as “terminated and tested”, so you know what you priced.
3. Say how long one unit takes
Hours per unit is yours, from your own crews. In the example, “Cat 6 data drops, terminated and tested” allows 0.9 hours each. A panel, a light and a foot of conduit each take their own time, so each is a line of its own.
4. Add the materials, with waste
Materials are the quantity times the price times one plus waste. Counted items, like the data drops here, have no waste. Cut items, like conduit, do: the example uses 5% on conduit.
5. Use the right person's rate
The data work in the example is done by a low-voltage technician at their own hourly rate, not the electrician's. Each line takes its rate from the trade you pick.
6. Let the packages out, and add your running costs
The example lets out four packages to subcontractors, with up to four quotes each. The lowest is carried unless I pick another, and one package is an allowance because there is no quote yet. Running costs sit apart, and weekly items follow the length of the job, so a longer job costs more. Both lists are under the example.
7. Then contingency, profit and the rest
In this order: contingency on the direct cost, then your fee on the direct cost plus contingency, then the bond and insurance on that subtotal. The table below shows each step.
The worked example
The job: electrical for a two-story office tenant improvement, Columbus, OH. It runs 10 weeks. Every figure here is in the example spreadsheet below.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Hours
| 86.4 hours |
Labor
| $5,011.20 |
Materials
| $5,222.40 |
| Line total | $10,233.60 |
Each
| $106.60 |
Every line of the estimate is worked out like this one. Then the lines are added up, and the rest of the bid is built on top of them.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
Own work
| $156,106.89 |
Subcontractors
| $30,820.00 |
General conditions
| $22,650.00 |
Direct cost
| $209,576.89 |
Contingency
| $6,287.31 |
Fee
| $21,586.42 |
| Subtotal | $237,450.62 |
Bond
| $2,374.51 |
Insurance
| $1,187.25 |
| Bid total | $241,012.38 |
Sales tax, shown apart
| $0.00 |
The two lists behind the subcontractors and general conditions lines above:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fire alarm | $13,600.00 |
| Access control and security | $11,100.00 |
| Core drilling and concrete scanning | $2,520.00 |
| Utility service upgrade, allowance | $3,600.00 |
| Total | $30,820.00 |
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Supervision, part-time foreman | $11,500.00 |
| Project manager, part time | $4,800.00 |
| Temporary power and lighting | $1,900.00 |
| Small tools and consumables | $1,480.00 |
| Safety orientation and PPE | $680.00 |
| Electrical permit and inspection fees | $2,290.00 |
| Total | $22,650.00 |
Common mistakes
- Counting once and pricing once. Lights, outlets and data drops each need their own line and their own hours.
- One rate for everyone. Data work and electrical work are often done by different people at different rates.
- Nothing for permits and inspections. They are cost, and they belong in the running costs.
- Options inside the price. The example prices its alternates (such as networked lighting controls) with the lines marked Excluded. You see the figure, and it adds to nothing until the customer asks for it. That left out $12,088.00 in this example.
Free estimating spreadsheet
Electrical estimate spreadsheet for Excel
The worked example on this page, as an Excel workbook you can make your own: type your rates, your lines and your subcontractor quotes, and formulas work out the bid summary and a one-page quote, to the cent.
Download the example spreadsheet Download a blank spreadsheet
The example has a whole job filled in, ready to change into your own. The blank one starts empty.
Same totals as Bidfident, to the cent. Version 0.1, October 2026.
Filled one in already? Import lines in Bidfident brings in the lines from its Estimate tab.
No sign-up, no email. Free for your own bids. Check every figure before you send a bid. Please don't resell it. All free estimate spreadsheets for the US
Starter cost codes: Electrical 25 codes
Bidfident's own starter codes, ready to change into your own. To bring them in, go to Libraries, then Cost codes, then Import from Excel in Bidfident, and pick the file. You see a preview before anything changes. Version 0.1, October 2026.
Free to use for your own bids. Change it to suit your business. Please don't resell it or hand it out as your own list. All starter cost-code lists for the US
When your spreadsheet gets heavy
If you end up with lots of bids, changing rates or more than one person working on them, Bidfident does the same sums on a page and keeps every bid with its saved versions.
Enter your email and Bidfident sends you a sign-in link. New companies start with a starter rate library. Who runs Bidfident, and what it keeps about you.