A practical pricing guide for self-employed UK electricians and small contractors. Whether you are new to day-rate / sub-contract work or you have been pricing them for years, this guide gives you the fair-margin bands, what to include in every quote, the regulatory background, and the mistakes that quietly destroy your margin. Designed for self-employed electricians taking sub-contract day-rate work.
Free for 7 days · No charge until day 8 · Cancel anytime · Used by 1,000+ UK electricians
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.
1,000+
UK electricians
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer — DP Electrical
The UK electrical trade is being squeezed by aggregator platforms, race-to-the-bottom quoting, and customers who treat compliance as a commodity. This page is on the side of self-employed electricians taking sub-contract day-rate work. The bands below assume you are a scheme-registered electrician (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA or Stroma) carrying current professional indemnity insurance, calibrated test equipment and the relevant regulatory currency.
Every NICEIC / NAPIT scheme-registered electrician carries: scheme fees (~£500/year), professional indemnity (~£500–1,000/year), calibrated MFT (~£1,200 every 3–5 years), van + tools, ongoing CPD, and personal liability on every certificate signed. If you price below the floor, you are not earning a margin — you are subsidising the customer and accepting unbounded liability.
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.
A defensible quote for day-rate / sub-contract work should explicitly itemise every line. Below is the list self-employed electricians taking sub-contract day-rate work should be tracking on every job, with critical line items called out:
Elec-Mate generates fully itemised quotes for day-rate / sub-contract work in two minutes. Every line item, every certificate, every variation — clear pricing the client cannot haggle. 7-day free trial.
These are the most common pricing mistakes self-employed electricians taking sub-contract day-rate work make on day-rate / sub-contract work. Each one quietly eats your margin until you are working for less than minimum wage:
Professional quotes with the remedial estimator, then invoice from your phone the moment the work is done. From £6.99/mo.
Try the quoting tools free
Pricing without understanding the regulatory requirements is how electricians end up doing extra work for free. The relevant references for day-rate / sub-contract work are: CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) tax rules, IR35 if applicable, JIB pay scales as a benchmark. Quoting must factor in: time on-site, certification time, scheme-notification time, and any DNO coordination required.
BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 (the 18th Edition published 15 April 2026) is the current standard. Any quote that does not factor in current A4:2026 requirements — including AFDDs in HMOs, updated SPD thresholds, and the new Schedule of Tests columns — is under-quoting on certified-compliance work.
Elec-Mate is built for self-employed electricians taking sub-contract day-rate work. The pricing engine handles: line-item quoting, customer-facing PDF quotes, materials lookups with retail+ markup, certification (EIC, EICR, Minor Works) for the job, and direct payment links. Quote day-rate / sub-contract work in two minutes from your phone on site.
Join 1,000+ UK electricians using Elec-Mate to quote day-rate / sub-contract work at fair-margin prices, issue compliant certificates, and get paid faster. 7-day free trial.
Use this five-step process every time you quote day-rate / sub-contract work to ensure you protect your margin and the customer gets a fair, defensible price.
Either on-site or via phone photos: identify scope, complexity, access, current condition, and any remedial work likely. Never quote off a verbal brief alone.
Materials at retail+, labour at your hourly rate × estimated time, certification, scheme notification, travel / minimum visit, any DNO coordination, any waste removal.
Cross-check your total against the ££250–340/day (London + South East) or £200–280/day (regional) fair-margin band. If you’re below £220, you’ve missed something — re-check materials, time and certificate.
Make explicit: "Quote excludes [list]. Variations priced at £(see day rate above)/hour or fixed quote on identification of additional scope." Get the customer to acknowledge.
Issue the EIC / MWC / EICR on the day of completion. Invoice the same day. Use payment links to reduce time-to-cash from 30 days to 3 days.
Verified reviews from the UK App Store.
Elec-Mate is my go to app for business and electrical work. It's feature rich without feeling cluttered. A true all in one app for quotes, certs, calculations, RAMS, EICRs, and more. I use it every day without fail, and it makes my workflow much smoother since I'm not jumping between apps anymore. The price-to-feature ratio is excellent. Any issues I've had, the developer responds within the hour and usually fixes them the same day. 100% recommend.
I've used the app and the web based version for a while now and it's well worth the investment. If you're an apprentice or experienced Spark give it a go, you won't be disappointed.
I've been using Elec-Mate for a while now, and honestly, it's one of the best apps I've ever downloaded. Every aspect of it feels thoughtfully designed, from the clean and intuitive interface to the powerful features that make everything so easy to manage. It's clear that a lot of care and attention went into building this app, and it shows in every detail.
Real feedback from real sparks
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer
Sole Trader · DP Electrical
“I've won two contracts this month because I could turn quotes around same-day with the AI cost engineer.”
Nathan Perry
Electrician · NP Electrical Services
“The study centre got me through my AM2. Mock exams and flashcards are brilliant.”
Jake Pizey
3rd Year Apprentice · Apprentice
Join 1,000+ UK electricians using Elec-Mate to quote day-rate / sub-contract work at fair-margin prices, issue compliant certificates, and get paid faster. 7-day free trial.
“Replaced three separate apps with Elec-Mate. Certs, quotes, and scheduling all in one place.”
Daniel Palmer, DP Electrical
From £6.99/mo after trial — less than a coffee a week
We use cookies to improve the app and measure what works. Cookie Policy