Grow your electrical business without losing control of the numbers
Know which jobs pay for your electricians’ time and which leave cash waiting. Level brings together field records, employer labor costs and the books across commercial bids, prevailing-wage jobs and service calls. Level is a finance service supported by software and AI. Our team reviews authorized exports or supported connections, then helps your team decide what to price differently, investigate or bill next.
Looking for the detailed percentage analysis? Read the electrical profit-margin analysis
The Electrical Problem
What is your actual gross profit per electrician hour?
For a defined period, gross profit per electrician hour is job revenue minus the direct job costs you include, divided by matched electrician hours. State whether those hours are worked or billable; no electrical benchmark for this measure is claimed here. Build pricing from actual wages, employer taxes, benefits and productive hours. The fictional $60K base-wage input has no stated pay period, so supply that period and paid hours before converting it to an hourly cost. In two hypothetical jobs at 20% versus 5% gross margin, use the same complete direct-cost definition before drawing a pricing conclusion. Truck, tools and paid nonproductive time still need coverage.
Prevailing-wage work has minimum pay requirements under the applicable contract or law; certified payroll is the required payroll reporting used to check compliance. Preparation and documentation costs can reduce margin if omitted from the bid. Separately, a fictional $1.5M of ordered parts against scheduled jobs is an inventory-investigation input, not a published client result. Trace received inventory, purchase commitments and scheduled labor separately; an order does not prove cash has been paid or work will be idle. Without job-level cost tracking, a margin shortfall may become visible only after the project closes.
Panel upgrades, EV chargers and solar tie-ins need a defined scope, accepted estimate and actual cost trace. A draft estimate does not establish customer approval; reconcile quote versions, approved changes, worked hours and supplier costs before diagnosing scope drift.
Owner questions to investigate
Financial questions for electrical owners
These comments were previously attributed to community discussions, but we do not have the original post links to confirm them. We keep them as discussion starters. They are not Level client testimonials or proof of how common a problem is.
“Bid a panel swap at $4,500. Real cost came in at $4,100 once you load the truck, the apprentice, and the permit. I made $400 on a job I told my wife was a $1,200 day.”
r/electricians owner, original post not confirmed
What to check: Build the employer-loaded hourly rate from wages, employer taxes and benefits, then separately account for tools, vehicles and overhead under your chosen pricing model. A 25-40% adjustment is a scenario to test, not a measured typical understatement among independent electricians.
“Got the prevailing wage job. Now I have certified payroll, OCIP/CCIP confusion, and a CPA bill that ate the margin. Won't bid another.”
r/Construction electrician, original post not confirmed
What to check: OCIP and CCIP mean owner- and contractor-controlled insurance programs. Estimate certified-payroll preparation, classification review and project-specific compliance from your actual contract. A $3K-7K overhead range is a planning scenario, not a measured per-project average. Model the funding and staffing needed before bidding.
“EV chargers, solar, batteries, generators, smart panels, every week there's a new thing my customers want. Pricing each one is a guess.”
r/electricians owner, original post not confirmed
What to check: New service lines need data-driven pricing, not gut feel. We model labor hours, material cost, return-visit rates (callbacks), and the allowance for future warranty work (warranty reserve) before you commit to a rate card.
“Over a million dollars in parts inventory for jobs that aren't even on the schedule. The cash is gone and I have an empty calendar.”
r/Electrical owner, original post not confirmed
What to check: Tie ordered material to a valid job, approved scope, delivery date and schedule. Unscheduled inventory can absorb cash, but stock may also support lead-time or service requirements. No measured ranking of cash-flow causes is established here.
Analyzed with the CLEAR Framework
Cash · Labor · Earnings · Accounts · Risk, the five pillars we evaluate for every business.
Electrical Benchmarks and Planning Inputs
Use Level observations as cross-trade context. Other cards are planning scenarios, not measured industry percentiles. Match your business model, period and cost definition before comparing.
Median recorded labor rate
$79/hr
Cross-trade Level median, n=1,770; P75 $116/hr and P90 $148/hr. The source field mixes billing rates, loaded costs and wages; this is not a comparable customer selling price.
Source definition and sampleGross Margin Scenario
65-67%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Illustrative 65-67% scenario input, an independent service-job sensitivity above the cross-trade job-margin P75 of 60.2%, not an observed electrical percentile or target.
Collection Rate
85.1%
Cross-trade Level median, n=464; P75 is 92.7%. Cash collected / billed revenue, with no published measurement window. A gap is not automatically recoverable cash or permanent loss.
Source definition and sampleBilling Speed
7 days
Cross-trade Level post-completion invoicer median. The broader n=733 sample, including progress billing, has a 1-day median. These are different populations, not a promised collection date.
Source definition and sampleLabor Burden Rate
25-40%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Labor burden means employer costs above wages, expressed as a share of wages. Test a 25-40% total-burden scenario separately from the 45% benefits-only sensitivity; these are independent assumptions, not amounts to stack. Build the actual burden from employer taxes, benefits and paid hours, then state how paid nonproductive time affects the productive-hour cost.
Net Profit Planning Range
10-20%
Planning inputs to test, not measured industry percentiles: Test the 10-20% planning range and separate 5-7% sensitivity against complete job costs, owner pay and overhead. Neither is a measured electrical-industry percentile.
Content reviewed . Read the revision history.
What Level Does for Electrical
Labor Burden & True Cost Analysis
Your journeyman costs more than their hourly rate. We review benefits, employer Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA), workers’ compensation, tools, truck and training costs so bids reflect the costs your pricing model needs to cover.
Prevailing Wage Job Tracking
Davis-Bacon and state prevailing wage contracts require their own classification and compliance-cost review. We separate prevailing wage job margins from standard work so you can review job margins on prevailing-wage work.
Commercial vs. Residential Margin Separation
Commercial and residential work can have different margins, volume and payment terms. Compare your own job mix using matched cost definitions. We make sure one isn't quietly subsidizing the other.
New Service Line Pricing
EV charger installs, solar tie-ins, panel upgrades, whole-home generators, these growing service lines need data-driven pricing, not gut feel. We model the margins before you commit to a rate card.
Cash Flow Forecasting
Large commercial projects create lumpy cash flow. We build forecasts that account for progress billing (staged invoices as work advances), retainage (amounts held until contract requirements are met), and the timing gap between project completion and final payment.
Growth & Exit Readiness
Recurring revenue needs renewal, retention and complete service-cost evidence before a buyer can assess its value; it does not guarantee a higher multiple. We help you build that revenue mix and prepare your books for any future transaction.
Bookkeeper, your CPA, vs. Level
Comparison illustrates engagement scopes, not a survey of providers. Confirm each firm's actual services, cadence and contract; Level features depend on the agreed scope and available records.
| Capability | Bookkeeper | CPA | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Record transactions | ✓ | No | ✓ |
| Tax-ready books and CPA handoff | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Job-level profitability | No | No | ✓ |
| Cash flow forecasting | No | No | ✓ |
| Compare verified benchmarks or planning scenarios | No | No | ✓ |
| Monthly strategy calls | No | No | ✓ |
| AR aging & collections tracking | No | No | ✓ |
| Crew utilization analysis | No | No | ✓ |
| Exit readiness preparation | No | No | ✓ |
| Understands electrical operations | Varies by firm | Varies by firm | ✓ |
Your bookkeeper records the past. Your CPA files taxes. Level helps your team connect work, costs and cash to the decisions ahead, using the records and review scope agreed for your engagement.
Work from the tools you already use
Accounting tools hold your books; operating tools hold jobs, sales or service records; payroll and payment tools show labor costs and money movement. We compare the relevant records to answer your financial question. These are systems to evaluate, not a promise of a native connector for every product. Access and setup vary by software, plan and permissions. We use approved connections or exports and request read-only access where supported.
Operating review
Electrical decisions the numbers should explain
The margin, cash, and operating questions we check first when reviewing your numbers.
Can you explain service margin separately from project WIP?
A current service-job total and a historical project cutoff answer different questions.
Does a large customer justify the capacity it consumes?
Revenue alone does not show contribution after crew time, travel and callbacks.
Are change orders part of the approved contract or only an estimate?
Proposed work is not the same population as accepted scope and issued billing.
Simple pricing
Three tiers, one ladder.
$500+/mo
Bookkeeping
The clean data layer: monthly books, reconciliations, and organized financials AI can work with.
$1,500-$5,000/mo
Scale
The full AI operating layer: custom agents, weekly actions, and benchmarks to grow margin per hour.
Custom
Platform / Multi-Office
Multi-branch benchmarking and scorecards for PE-backed and multi-location groups.
Book a call
Book a free 15-min Electrical audit.
We'll review your electrical records and compare supported measures with relevant references or planning inputs. No commitment.
Or have us reach out instead.
Share your details and Level will follow up to arrange your electrical financial review.
No commitment. Real numbers, not generic advice.