Stop billing “your rate” off gut feel — wrap burden, overhead, materials & real profit into a flat-rate quote
Emergency multiplier hits labor only (1.5–2× is the norm; 1.0 = normal hours). The trip fee is a flat dispatch charge ($75–$200) covering drive time & the diagnostic visit. Materials markup is shown for reference — your parts profit comes from the margin gross-up below, so changing it won’t move the final price (this avoids double-marking).
Burden = payroll taxes + workers' comp + benefits (electricians run 25–52%). Overhead = truck, license, insurance, tools, office, marketing — recovered over billable hours only (techs bill ~55–65% of paid hours). Margin is true profit after all costs.
Most independent and small-shop electricians bill “their hourly rate” — wage plus a little — and never recover their service-call fee, materials handling, overhead (truck, license, insurance, tools), or a true profit. This calculator fixes that. It burdens your base wage with payroll taxes and workers' comp, turns your annual overhead into a per-billable-hour recovery rate, and uses a margin gross-up (divide, not multiply) so your stated net margin is actually achieved. The two headline numbers are the ones shops get wrong: your recommended billing rate ($/hr) and the final flat-rate price for this job. Everything runs privately in your browser, free.
A 2-hour job at normal hours, $75 in materials marked up 35%, $99 trip fee applied, $35/hr base wage, 30% burden, $60,000/yr overhead spread over 1,250 billable hours, and a 15% target net margin:
Billing 2 × $50 = $100 plus parts — the gut-feel quote — would have left hundreds of dollars and your entire overhead recovery on the table. That gap is exactly what this tool recovers.
burdened_labor = base_wage × (1 + burden% / 100)
overhead_rate = annual_overhead ÷ billable_hours_per_year
true_cost_hr = burdened_labor + overhead_rate
billing_rate = true_cost_hr ÷ (1 − margin% / 100) ← the headline $/hr
labor_cost = true_cost_hr × job_hours × emergency_multiplier
materials_cost = your parts cost (sold price = cost × (1 + markup%/100), shown for reference)
price = (labor_cost + materials_cost) ÷ (1 − margin% / 100)
final_price = price + (apply_trip ? trip_fee : 0) then round to nearest $5 (never below cost)The divide-by-(1 − margin) line is load-bearing: it makes profit a true share of the price. The identity margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup) is why a 15% markup is only a 13% margin — using a markup where you meant a margin underprices every job.
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<p>Free <a href="https://snaptoolsuite.com/electrician-pricing-calculator/">Electrician Pricing Calculator</a> by Snap Tool Suite</p>See it live: view a real embed example →
Don't bill “your hourly rate” off gut feel. Start from your base wage, add a labor burden (payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits), then add an overhead recovery rate (annual overhead ÷ billable hours sold per year). That's your true cost per billable hour. Divide it by (1 − your target net margin) to get the billing rate that clears profit, then build the flat price from labor + materials + trip fee. This tool does every step and shows the breakdown.
Markup is added on top of cost (cost × 1.15). Margin is a share of the final price (price = cost ÷ (1 − 0.15)). A 15% markup is only a 13% margin. This tool uses the margin gross-up on purpose and shows the realized net margin so you can confirm you hit your target.
Burden is the gap between what you pay a worker and what they cost: payroll taxes (FICA ~7.65%, FUTA/SUTA ~1–6%), workers' comp (often 6–10% for electricians), plus benefits and PTO. Sources put trade burden at 25–52%, with union shops over 60% with pension. The 30% default is mid-low — use your real payroll number.
Overhead and your target wage can only be recovered over hours you can actually bill. Service trades run 55–65% utilization, so 2,080 paid hours yields only ~1,150–1,350 billable hours. Using 2,080 understates your required rate by 30–40% — the most common way shops underprice.
Nights, weekends and emergencies justify a labor premium. The norm is 1.5× (time-and-a-half) to 2× on the labor portion only — not materials or the trip fee. Set 1.0 for normal hours. Some jurisdictions restrict emergency surcharges, so check local rules.
Yes. A flat dispatch charge ($75–$200) covers drive time, vehicle cost and the diagnostic commitment of showing up — often credited toward the job if work proceeds. The tool lets you toggle it on or off and adds it after the margin gross-up so it isn't double-marked.
Yes. 100% free and fully private — all math runs in your browser.
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