A practical 2026 pricing strategy guide for UK electrical contractors. Calculate your true hourly cost, set a fair-margin rate, decide between hourly / fixed / per-point, and defend your price against pressure. This guide is for electrical business owners setting their hourly rate, day rate and job pricing.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
The short answer
Work out your rate from your own costs: a year’s business costs plus the income you need, divided by the days you will actually bill. Use fixed prices for known-scope jobs and hourly or day rates for fault finding, and show customers what the price includes rather than discounting.
2,600+
UK electricians
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
01 · Business Owner Guide
List every monthly cost: vehicle (£200-400 including fuel + insurance + depreciation), scheme fees (£40-50/month), insurance (£40-100/month), tools (£50-100/month average across the year), accountant (£50-150/month), training / CPD (£20-50/month), phone + internet (£30/month), pension (£200-400 ideally). Total typical: £700-1,300/month BEFORE you take any wages. Divide by chargeable hours (typically 30-35/week × 4 weeks = 120-140/month) to get your hourly floor.
Free download · PDF
Every key change in the 2026 amendment on one page. AFDDs, TN-C-S protection, new schedule columns, model forms. Pinned on your van dash.
02 · Business Owner Guide
A defensible rate comes from your own numbers. Our day-rates guide puts typical 2026 day rates at about £220 to £300 for a qualified electrician, higher in London and for specialist work. Use the calculation above, check it against local rates, and remember that domestic call-outs and short jobs carry more unbilled time than full days on one site.
03 · Business Owner Guide
Fixed-price: standard work where you know the scope (EICR, CU swap, EV charger, rewire). Hourly: unknown scope (fault-finding, callouts, undefined remedial). Per-point: large jobs where complexity scales with outlet count (rewires, commercial fit-out). NEVER quote hourly for known-scope work — customers will haggle the hours; you absorb the variance.
04 · Business Owner Guide
A "point" is one outlet, switch, light fitting or accessory — anything you terminate. Work out your per-point rate from how long each type of point takes you and your day rate, rather than copying a quoted average. Per-point quoting protects you from scope creep ("can you also add a socket here?") because every added point is priced.
In the app
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05 · Business Owner Guide
Day rate suits sub-contract work where another contractor manages the customer relationship and absorbs scope risk. For homeowners, a fixed price for a clear scope is usually easier to sell and protects you from overruns. Day rate sub-contract is fine as a way to fill quiet weeks; not as the basis of your business.
06 · Business Owner Guide
When customers haggle, the answer is not to discount. The answer is to explain what they’re paying for: scheme membership, insurance, calibrated test kit, certificate liability, BS 7671 compliance, warranty. "I’m the cheapest because…" is always a red flag for the customer — explain why your price is what it is, not why it should be lower. If they walk on price, they were never your customer.
07 · Business Owner Guide
Elec-Mate is built for UK electrical contractors — sole-traders through to multi-electrician firms. The Business AI tier gives you AI-powered quoting, certification, customer management, and team workflow. The Employer tier adds apprentice management, OJT tracking and JIB grading workflows.
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