# How do you determine how much you charge per wire & how much do you?



## B4T

Search the *Going rate.. :thumbup:*


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## Rudeboy

Black4Truck said:


> Search the *Going rate.. :thumbup:*


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## Rudeboy

Think more along the lines of charging per device, not by the wire. That's not the whole story, just something to think about.


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## JohnnyScience

Rudeboy said:


> Think more along the lines of charging per device, not by the wire. That's not the whole story, just something to think about.


Well I would assume you would want to charge for each one wouldnt you?

Surely running the wire could be hard & tricky & you dont want to undersell yourself, but you also want to charge extra for termination & installation of the device.

I realize you cant tell me how much I should charge based on my experience or what I feel I'm worth on every job.

I was just wondering if you "upsell" the price of the wire itself when you include it inside of the materials cost, or you just include it at what you've paid for it.

Lets say you pay .50 a foot for cat5e, is it ok then to charge the customer $2 per foot just in material?

Or do you generally include the price of the wire as what you paid for it (+ a little for your time of ordering, picking up etc)

If I remember correclty, I think I've over heard people/companies charging around $30 to run a single wire on top of labor materials etc.

So I didnt know if I should charge per wire, per hour, per job etc. I know in the low voltage it can vary a bit.


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## Edrick

Basic installation or Service call at a 2 Hour Max. So that's either one location for a cable drop or 2 hour troubleshooting call for network issues.

I bill out at 75 for the first location drop (no matter how many drops you want) + $50 for each additional depending on the difficulty. Then I figure out an aprox rate for materials if the jobs really that long or that many runs. 

So two bedroom house, with living room and family room open access to ceiling in basement single story. $275 + Parts


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## BuzzKill

So Mr. Science, you want my whole business plan, marketing ideas and mark up cost too while we're at it?


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## Nildogg

BuzzKill said:


> So Mr. Science, you want my whole business plan, marketing ideas and mark up cost too while we're at it?


 
Yes, please.


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## nccomputersales.com

*Job Cost*



JohnnyScience said:


> When you are out quoting jobs, how exactly do you price them out?
> 
> How do you determine how much you will charge for running each wire(s) and installing device(s)?
> 
> You obviously have a cost per foot you must make up to pay for the wire itself, but how is the rest of the price caclulated?
> 
> Difficulty?
> 
> Distance?
> 
> Type of Wire?
> 
> Just a plain old X amount per wire?
> 
> Anything else?
> 
> For instance, I'm thinking of installing Wifi for people, so I would need to know how much I should charge them for the Cat5 cable pull & for terminating & installing the wifi device?
> 
> Thanks.


 

When pricing out a job like this
take the cost of material, the time u will have invested in the job (how much is your time is worth), and any other factors u may have such as gas. (a fair trip charge is not to much to ask for with the rising cost of gas these days.) 

add them all together and get a base rate.
this is your estiment figure.
any other prices could be determend when extra arise if any..

hope this helps
please feel free to check out http://nccomputersales.com
for many more tips and more.
pages are being updated daily...
god bless


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## JohnnyScience

Edrick said:


> Basic installation or Service call at a 2 Hour Max. So that's either one location for a cable drop or 2 hour troubleshooting call for network issues.
> 
> I bill out at 75 for the first location drop (no matter how many drops you want) + $50 for each additional depending on the difficulty. Then I figure out an aprox rate for materials if the jobs really that long or that many runs.
> 
> So two bedroom house, with living room and family room open access to ceiling in basement single story. $275 + Parts


This seems like a pretty good price range/system that I would like to be around.

Question though, the first drop for $75, does that include termination into a device? Or is that strictly the price for the cable drop?

I think $75 + $50 for each additional drop seems pretty fair across the board for the customer & your time. Do you use this price structure regardless of the wire? (cat5, cable, etc?)

So on top of those drop prices, when you're adding in the price of materials, do you generally increase the price from what you paid for it?


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## McClary’s Electrical

JohnnyScience said:


> This seems like a pretty good price range/system that I would like to be around.
> 
> Question though, the first drop for $75, does that include termination into a device? Or is that strictly the price for the cable drop?
> 
> I think $75 + $50 for each additional drop seems pretty fair across the board for the customer & your time. Do you use this price structure regardless of the wire? (cat5, cable, etc?)
> 
> So on top of those drop prices, when you're adding in the price of materials, do you generally increase the price from what you paid for it?


 


This is really strange. How can you copy somebody's business model that isn't even in your area??, and even if he was, his prices have absolutely nothing to do with your prices.


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## jwjrw

What you charge depends on how much profit you want to make. Nothing more.


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## knowshorts

You also are gonna have to figure out if you are gonna invest in a drywall saw or fishtape. Or, are you gonna be the primadonna that wants the electrical contractor to install all your rinds and strings for you.


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## kenc

knowshorts said:


> rinds and strings for you.


Johnny, Cable pulling will be covered in a later class :001_huh:


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## JohnnyScience

mcclary's electrical said:


> This is really strange. How can you copy somebody's business model that isn't even in your area??, and even if he was, his prices have absolutely nothing to do with your prices.


No whats really strange is how weird everyone is with their secret pricing.

If pricing is so different and areas are so vague, then why arent more people offering up what they charge instead of keeping it a secret?

How can you tell me that I'm not comfortable with $75 & $50? I think I know what I'd be happy making & I think I know what people are probably willing to pay in the cleveland area.

And just remember, that can just be a base price.


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## Edrick

JohnnyScience said:


> This seems like a pretty good price range/system that I would like to be around.
> 
> Question though, the first drop for $75, does that include termination into a device? Or is that strictly the price for the cable drop?
> 
> I think $75 + $50 for each additional drop seems pretty fair across the board for the customer & your time. Do you use this price structure regardless of the wire? (cat5, cable, etc?)
> 
> So on top of those drop prices, when you're adding in the price of materials, do you generally increase the price from what you paid for it?


I'm more so in the business of doing a job professionally with good craftsmanship. So I'm not so much worried about the cost of cat5e for example. So it's really on a case by case basis. For example if it's just 150' of total cable I won't charge anything. But if I'm going through half a box + of cat5e for the customer then I'll charge a small amount. Same goes for the others like RG-6. But lets say for example Cat5e costs me 60.00 for 1,000 ft so like $0.06 a foot for actual copper cat5e. I'd charge between base price (depending on job and customer) up to say $0.15 a foot. 

Now for the termination again depending on the amount say it's just a few keystone jacks I'll include that into the $75.00 fee and $50.00 fee per room.

However one thing that doesn't change is the $75 / $50 per room. The only time that would is if the run was extremely difficult (fishing through walls, re finishing, etc...) But no matter if you want 10 network drops to one location or just 1 it stays the same. I charge per drop location + materials. 

Now it might sound confusing and to each person it's different so it's hard to be like this is the method to do it. Each company / person has their own method. I for example see no reason to charge for cable + termination within certain criteria. Other companies might charge just $75 for labor + every part including cable. It's all about what's the going rate in your area and what your over head is. Most of my tools I got for free via doing jobs probono for people. So I don't have the cost of buying all my equipment.


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## kenc

JohnnyScience said:


> I know what I'd be happy making & I think I know what people are probably willing to pay in the cleveland area.


Johnny, I'm going to take a chance here, and I hope this doesn't come across as being harsh, and realize this is *ONLY* my opinion.

But based on your questions both here and mirrored on other sites (sundance) I have to believe you have little to no experience in this part of the business, and I can only guess that your technical experience is just as limited.

First off what you are "comfortable making" doesn't mean squat. What is charged/billed and what one makes is generally 2 different things assuming one wishes to remain in business.

Secondly, how can you know what you can charge in an area, when you obviously are having a tough time sourcing "quality" material. This goes hand in hand as what you charge must reflect material used otherwise you're in trouble. (This is just as important as making sure you understand the tax requirements in your area, have adequate insurance, and adequate ability to perform the task at hand professionally)

My personal advice would be to forget the LLC aspiration for the time being, and get a job w/ a company who provides the same or similar services you wish to provide in the future (near or far). With luck you'll be advanced into some sort of management/supervisor position in a year or two, and from there you should be able to get a good idea of how things come together. In the mean time you could always pick up odd jobs (gigs) via craigslist or something.

I honesty do wish you luck.

Ken


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## johnnyk101

Edrick said:


> Basic installation or Service call at a 2 Hour Max. So that's either one location for a cable drop or 2 hour troubleshooting call for network issues. I bill out at 75 for the first location drop (no matter how many drops you want) + $50 for each additional depending on the difficulty. Then I figure out an aprox rate for materials if the jobs really that long or that many runs. So two bedroom house, with living room and family room open access to ceiling in basement single story. $275 + Parts


 that sounds insanely cheap your going to do a two bedroom house, basement, can etc for 275$ +parts? how long would this take you


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## Dennis Alwon

johnnyk101 said:


> that sounds insanely cheap your going to do a two bedroom house, basement, can etc for 275$ +parts? how long would this take you


When you pull up a thread that is 12 years old I suspect the prices will be insanely cheaper than now...lol


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