ElectricalBossPro Blog — Electrical Contractor Software

Electrical Contractor Software: The Complete Guide for Residential Electrical Companies

Most electrical companies do not start with software. They start with a truck, a phone and a pad of work orders. That works until the second van, the first property manager with twelve addresses, or the first homeowner who calls back asking what was in the panel report you never typed up. This guide covers what electrical contractor software does, how the pieces connect, and what to look for if you are running one to a handful of service vans.

What Electrical Contractor Software Is For

The short version is on the ElectricalBossPro electrical contractor software page. The long version is this: an electrical business has customers, houses, equipment at those houses, jobs that happen at those houses, and money that comes from those jobs. Paper and spreadsheets keep each of those in a different place. Software keeps them connected.

When the pieces are connected, a call from a customer brings up their house, the panel in the garage, the generator out back, the last three visits and whether the last invoice was paid. The tech sees the same information on the phone. The invoice is built from the same job. Nothing gets copied by hand from one place to another, which is where most mistakes in a small shop come from.

The House and Its Equipment

The piece that makes software for electricians different from a generic job app is the equipment record. In ElectricalBossPro, every property keeps a list of its electrical equipment: main panel, subpanels, meter base, service entrance, whole-house generator, transfer switch, generator interlock, EV charger, whole-house surge protector, solar inverter, battery storage, pool/spa panel and exterior disconnect.

Each piece can hold the brand, model number, serial number, year installed, rating in amps or kW, phase or fuel type (single phase, three phase, natural gas, propane, diesel), location and access notes. On the tech's phone it reads like “Main Panel · Square D QO130L200PG · 200A · Single Phase · installed 2008,” with the serial on the next line and “Garage · Panel is behind the shelving” under it.

When you book a new job at that house, the From House picker fills the equipment in. When a tech changes something on the job, such as a new EV charger or a replaced surge protector, the change flows back to the house. The details are covered in Equipment on the House: Saving Panels, Generators and EV Chargers to Every Property.

Inspections, Recurring Plans and the Waiting List

Many residential electrical companies sell yearly safety inspections and yearly generator maintenance. Software has to handle two things for that work: remembering when each visit comes due, and giving the tech a consistent way to record what they found.

Recurring work in ElectricalBossPro is set by minimum days between visits: 365 for a yearly safety inspection or generator maintenance plan, 14 or 30 for commercial lighting maintenance and relamping. When a visit comes due, it lands on the Waiting List, a live map and list of every visit that is ready. Pins are colored by status: not due yet, due now, or overdue past a 7-day grace period.

On the job, the tech app has a safety inspection checklist: main panel inspected with the cover off, breakers tested and labeled, AFCI breakers tested, GFCI outlets tested, grounding and bonding checked, surge protection checked, lugs and connections checked for heat or looseness, outlets and switches, smoke and CO detectors, exterior outlets and covers, meter base and service drop, generator and transfer switch tested, and EV charger checked. The tech adds readings, a condition of Good, Needs attention or Repair recommended, and written recommendations. The office can print an Electrical Safety Inspection report for the homeowner. More in The Electrical Safety Inspection Checklist in the Tech App.

Dispatch, the Tech App and the Customer App

The dispatch board shows jobs by day and filters by van. You can auto-route Closest First or Furthest First from the shop, set the route order by hand, save views and print route sheets. A common setup is one van on service calls and another on installs, inspections and generators.

The tech app runs on iPhone and Android in the browser and installs to the home screen, with no app store involved. Techs sign in with the company login and a personal PIN. They see the day's calls in route order, tap to navigate, read the equipment and access notes, check past notes, fill the inspection checklist, tap Start, Skip or Complete, and take before and after photos. On the way and arrived texts go to the customer on their own. Completing a job creates the invoice and can charge the card on file. The time clock is on the same phone, and crew GPS shows on the office map.

The customer app shows homeowners today's route on a live map (“You're stop 12 of 20 — the crew is 5 stops away”). Customers can request service, sign up for services such as a yearly generator maintenance plan, update their card, see and pay invoices, and rate and refer. They choose their alerts: the night before, when they are next, and when the tech arrives.

Estimates, Billing and Monthly Accounts

Estimates are built from your own service list: service call, troubleshooting, outlets, GFCI, breakers, ceiling fans, light fixtures, recessed lighting, dedicated circuits, smoke detectors, surge protectors, EV charger installs, panel upgrades, generator installs, rewires priced per square foot, or anything else you sell. A $99 service call, a $1,295 EV charger install and a $189 generator maintenance visit can all live on the same list. Equipment details can be filled in on the estimate and carry onto the job. The customer approves online, and the approved estimate becomes the scheduled job. Follow-up emails and estimate templates help the ones that sit.

Invoices carry line items and sales tax. Cards on file can be charged automatically on completion or on a schedule, customers can pay online in the customer app, and past-due invoices get follow-up. For a property manager, gym or retail chain, set the client to Monthly and they get one statement each month covering every address, each line labeled with its address.

Two-way texting lets the office text customers directly, and automated reminders and alerts go out by text and email. Plans include a monthly text allowance of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 segments sent and received on Start, Pro and Crew.

Choosing, Setting Up and Your First Week

A one-van shop and a five-van shop need the same core: customers, houses, equipment, jobs and invoices in one place. The difference is how much the dispatch board and crew GPS matter. Residential service and install work also run differently, and good software handles both without forcing one into the shape of the other.

Setup goes fastest in order: your company details, then your service list and recurring plans, then CSV import of clients and addresses (imported addresses are placed on the map automatically), then employees with PINs and van assignments. Run a few days of real calls alongside your old system, then switch. The questions to ask before you commit are in Choosing Electrical Contractor Software: What to Check Before You Commit.

ElectricalBossPro works in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK and bills customers in their own currency. Plans are Start at $59/month, Pro at $89/month and Crew at $199/month, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. You can click around a fully stocked sample electrical company in the live demo without signing up. To see how everything here fits on one page, go back to the electrical contractor software overview.