Quoting Jobs

Hi Everyone..

I have finally opened my business and was wondering if you guys can give me some ideas on how to properly quote my jobs. Don't want to over bill and definitely don't want to go in too cheap.

Thanks

WHERE ARE YOU?

Who is your target Market?

What level of installation (are you prepared to do,a factory site with 32 or 64 cameras or just smaller jobs until you have more experience.

Can you finance such a job?

Do you have Liability insurance and commercial vehicle insurance? i.e traveling to more than one place of work.

What level of installation experience have you?

Have you decided upon an hourly rate and min. charge?

Have you sourced your trade suppliers? They will be able to assist you on typical mark ups.

What is going to be your advertising budget (that has to be paid for by someone) ?

What is your pricing policy? At first you mmay need to work cheaper but get a reputation for cheap and thats all you'll get is bargain seekers who will not appreciate your reputation (once you have earned one)

When you have answers to all these then you can start to work out what being in business is costing you before you make a profit and what you should charge to break even or can you achieve a profit in your first year?

Numb-Nuts sorry about the late response. Just saw this. Im in Miami Florida. I do alot of business with homeowner associations and retail stores. I own a security guard company and wanted to incorporate the CCTV and access control. Ive been installing for about a year now. I took some certification courses and picked up a lot from an installer I use to contract work too. Ive given a few estimates and I notice that I come in way cheaper then my competitors.

Numb-Nuts sorry about the late response. Just saw this. Im in Miami Florida. I do alot of business with homeowner associations and retail stores. I own a security guard company and wanted to incorporate the CCTV and access control. Ive been installing for about a year now. I took some certification courses and picked up a lot from an installer I use to contract work too. Ive given a few estimates and I notice that I come in way cheaper then my competitors.

Your first few jobs you will probably come in way cheaper because you realize that you miss little things here and there. Fittings, extra pipe, extra labor, etc all add up. Make sure your quote includes hours for risk (troubleshooting, etc.)

That puts a completely different complection on things, I don't care to help further.