How electricians win work from builders

Pricing a package from the plans

Most builders send the electrical package out with the plans and an electrical layout, sometimes with the client's selections, and ask two or three electricians for a fixed price. The builder then puts your number into their own quote, so what they need from you is a price they can rely on and a list of what isn't in it. Price from a points count (power points, lights, switches, data and TV points, fans and smoke alarms) and set out the allowances separately, such as the consumer mains run, the switchboard, any EV charger circuit and fittings that are a provisional sum because the client hasn't chosen them. Say what you've excluded, such as trenching, supply authority fees or rock in the trench, because exclusions are what builders compare when two quotes look close.

Variations are where electrical packages go wrong, because clients add points when they walk the frame and the builder tells you on site. In Queensland the QBCC says a subcontractor directed to do a variation can refuse until the direction is in writing, and if you go ahead on a verbal direction it must be confirmed in writing within three business days. Put a rate per extra point in your quote so the builder can pass it straight to the client, and send a one-line written variation before you pull the extra cable.

Rough-in, fit-off and the days in between

Rough-in happens once the frame and roof are up and before insulation and plasterboard, which is when cables, conduits and boxes go in. Fit-off happens after painting, when the fittings, switches and board are finished and the installation is tested. Tell the builder how much notice you need for each stage and stick to it, and if you can't make a date, tell them early enough that they can move the plasterers rather than stand them down.

Between those stages there are smaller visits that matter just as much: the temporary builder's supply at the start, a check for layout changes before the walls are lined, and the call-backs after handover. Work on or near energised electrical installations or services is on the list of high risk construction work, so WorkSafe Victoria, like the other regulators, expects a safe work method statement to be prepared before it starts and kept on site while it runs. Write one for your energised work and your testing and commissioning, and review it for each site rather than sending the same copy everywhere, because the builder may ask to see it before you start. At the end, send the builder the certificate your state requires with your final claim (in Queensland a certificate of testing and compliance or of testing and safety), since it goes into their handover file. The electricians page covers the certificates in NSW and Victoria and the compliance work worth chasing alongside builder jobs.

Getting paid under the security of payment laws

Every state has a security of payment law, and it is worth knowing yours before you sign a subcontract because it overrides some of what the paperwork says. In NSW a head contractor must pay a subcontractor within 20 business days of a payment claim for non-residential work and within 10 business days for residential work, and a builder who wants to pay less than you claimed must give you a payment schedule saying why within 10 business days of the claim. In Queensland a subcontract can't set payment terms longer than 25 business days, and if it sets none or sets longer ones, payment is due 10 business days after the claim. The QBCC also says a subcontractor can replace cash retention with a bank guarantee whatever the contract says, and can suspend work by giving notice when an undisputed payment is late.

The paperwork side matters as much as the law. In NSW, builders ask for a subcontractor's statement with each payment claim if you have workers, and the HIA notes that without one the principal contractor has a right to withhold payment. Send the statement and your current certificate of currency with every claim, make the claim on the date and in the form the subcontract asks for, and keep a copy of everything you send. Builders notice the subcontractors whose claims never need chasing, because it makes their own month-end easier.

Getting onto a builder's trade list

A builder taking on a new electrician will want your electrical contractor licence, public liability and workers' compensation certificates and, on bigger jobs, your safety documents before you are booked, so keep them in one email ready to send. Choose builders whose work fits yours, since a volume builder wants speed on a standard design while a custom builder wants someone who can follow a fussy lighting plan. A useful first offer is to price their next set of plans so they can check it against their regular electrician, which costs them nothing and shows them how you set out a quote. The builders page covers how builders run their trade lists and the site paperwork every trade needs. If you'd rather not send the first emails yourself, Curlew writes to builders near you in your business name.

A first email you could send

An example only. The business is made up.