ElectricalBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Quoting Recessed Lighting by the Fixture From the Property's Measurements

Recessed lighting is one of the friendliest jobs to quote, because the homeowner can see exactly what they are buying. Six lights in the living room, four in the kitchen, two over the sink. Pricing it per fixture keeps the math honest and makes the estimate easy to read. The trick is getting the count right and keeping it on the property so nobody has to count twice.

A Lighter Job Than the Last One

After the larger installs in Quoting Whole-House Generator Installs and the Maintenance Plan That Follows, recessed lighting is a welcome change of pace. There is usually no major equipment and no long decision. What there is, though, is a count, and a count is exactly what ElectricalBossPro's property measurements are for.

Price It Per Fixture

Set up recessed lighting on your service list as a per-fixture service with your own price. The description might read “Install recessed LED fixture in accessible ceiling, includes switch on existing circuit.” Then the estimate does the arithmetic: eight fixtures at your price is one line, and twelve fixtures is the same line with a bigger number.

Per-fixture pricing has a quiet benefit. When the homeowner says “what if we only do six,” the answer is obvious and immediate. Nobody has to re-figure a lump-sum price or wonder whether the discount was in the old number.

Fixtures Saved on the Property

Each property in ElectricalBossPro can keep measurements: square feet, fixtures and circuits. When a service is priced per fixture, the estimate can use the fixture count saved on the property. Whoever walks the house sets the count, and the estimate follows.

For a lighting job, it often makes sense to note the count for this project rather than every fixture in the house. Some shops keep the property's fixture count as the whole-house number and adjust the quantity on the estimate for the room being done. Either way works; the point is that the number is written down once and used, not re-counted from memory. More on measurements in Square Feet, Fixtures and Circuits: Using Property Measurements to Price Electrical Estimates.

Separate Lines for the Extras

The lights are only part of most lighting jobs. Keep the extras on their own lines, each from your service list:

• A dimmer switch or a new switch location
• Removing an old fixture before the cans go in
• A dedicated circuit if the room needs one
• Outdoor or soffit lighting priced separately from the indoor cans

Separate lines let the homeowner pick and choose. Somebody who wants the cans but not the dimmer can say so, and the quote changes by one line instead of being rebuilt.

Photos and Walkthrough Notes

Lighting quotes often start with a homeowner's photo of a dark room and a question. Photos give you a feel for the job, but a quick walkthrough usually settles the count and turns up anything that changes the price, such as a ceiling that is hard to get into. Notes from the walkthrough go on the estimate so the install tech reads them later instead of discovering them on the ladder.

Before-and-after photos taken in the tech app on install day are worth having, too. A lighting job is visual, and a good after photo is something the homeowner will happily look at again when they pay the invoice.

Approval and Scheduling

Send the estimate and the homeowner approves online. Lighting customers are often in the middle of a remodel or getting ready for a holiday, so they may decide quickly. If they go quiet, estimate follow-up emails keep the quote on their radar, and two-way texting from the office handles questions about placement or dimmers.

Once approved, the estimate becomes the scheduled job with the same per-fixture line and extras. The office drops it on a van and a day on the dispatch board. The tech sees the fixture count and the walkthrough notes on the job card, takes before-and-after photos, and taps Complete. The invoice is created from the same lines the homeowner approved.

Lighting for Commercial Accounts

The same per-fixture approach works for commercial customers. A retail store, gym or office that wants new lighting can be quoted by the fixture count saved on that location. If the customer has many locations, each address keeps its own count, and the quote for one store does not get mixed up with another. Once the new lights are in, a commercial lighting maintenance plan with relamping every 14 or 30 days can keep them working, set by the minimum days between visits.

The Count That Keeps Paying Off

The fixture count on the property is useful long after the lighting job is paid. The next time that customer asks for a quote, the numbers are already there. For more on how per-fixture pricing fits into quoting in ElectricalBossPro, visit the ElectricalBossPro electrical estimate software page.