How many eicr in a day

[magnoliafan89]

Hi guys whats your take of how many EICRs can be done properly in a day average of 5 to 8 circuits ranging from 1 bed flats to 3 bed houses?? This would also include travel and also doing any repairs whilst there?

 

[JBW175]

Now I agree that we should charge a fair price for a job and that varies depending on what part of the country you’re in, and what people can afford to pay. However, when you’ve got a mortgage to pay and food to put on the table, you need to charge accordingly.
From the threads I’ve read on here, I don’t think people are over charging, generally I think it’s the going rate and what most people expect to pay.

 

[derek]

yes but surely it's also about ensuring that your business is still in exsistance next week, month, and year ....a little and often is better that a big wedge and then nothing

yes I do other works ,mainly small works such as replacing damaged sockets,switches etc..I try to be fair with people it's no good fleecing a customer as work soon gets around that youre a rip off merchant and you lose work which is exactly what would happen if I tried to charge some of the rates in this site. There has been one on here who claims to have charged £50 per hour ..this is more than an accountant and I really do think that an accountant or similar job is far higher in the social scale. I think that there has to be a sense of proportion here, we as box standard electricians are lower middle on the qualification scale, above let us say a semi skilled worker but not in the same level as a white collar professional and we must price yourself accordingly or we risk losing our work to other trades.....Have you seen how many plumbers, gas fitters and kitchen fitters now have NICEIC membership and carrying out electrical work

Look at the price of a boiler, then look at how much a boiler change costs, the gas fitter will be making at least £500 for a days work. They are members of NICEIC so they don't have to wait around for an electrician to do some minor alterations to the boiler supply. It isn't so they can compete with electricians working for £80 per day;

 

[7029 dave]

Well maybe this is why do many small electrical companies are going bust..the JIB wage rates are too high..as a non JIB company i can do a job cheaper than than those that belong to it which put

I worked for non JIB firms, for the complete opposite to earn more than the recommended rate.
However if you are happy with your rates , its nobody's business.

 

[ferg]

I couldn't run my business charging myself out at £10 per hour so I can't honestly see how anyone else could. Given the possibility that you are.. I'll bite.

If that is all your customers will pay then it's time to look for new customers.
One way of looking at it is that if you put your rates up to £30 then you only need 1/3 of the work to stay where you are, giving you 2/3 of the week to find better work.

It's far easier said than done though as it's a brave decision completely changing a business model that you think is working for you.

Your low rates might actually be working against you in winning work as your customers are likely to think someone charging 1/4 - 1/3 of the going rate is just too cheap to be true.

The adage of 'You get what you pay for.' is mostly true and most people believe it.

There is something to be said for having lower rates and letting work find you and consequently having an easier life but I think i'd rather work 2 days a week for the same money.

A few years ago a friend pointed out to me that I was too cheap so I put my prices up bit by bit until I hit the going rate, I still have more work than I can do and the only thing that has changed is my bank balance.

I'm nothing special as far as Electricians go. I'm not the best, the fastest or the cheapest but work is still coming in and importantly my customers are happy.

 

[UNG]

sorry to labour the point but I know of several kitchen fitters who carry out periodic tests..in addition the local housing association in this area use their multi trade maintenance staff to carry out periodic testing the certificates being simply signed off by the office based Quantifying Manager..

And how much do the kitchen fitters charge for an EICR or do they throw one in free with every kitchen fitted

£40 per EICR isn't making a living for anyone by the time the overheads are taken out I doubt you are earning more than £3 or £4 an hour. Stacking shelves in a supermarket has far less training and responsibility and pays around £9 or more an hour

 

[Brian Taylor]

I couldn't run my business charging myself out at £10 per hour so I can't honestly see how anyone else could. Given the possibility that you are.. I'll bite.

If that is all your customers will pay then it's time to look for new customers.
One way of looking at it is that if you put your rates up to £30 then you only need 1/3 of the work to stay where you are, giving you 2/3 of the week to find better work.

It's far easier said than done though as it's a brave decision completely changing a business model that you think is working for you.

Your low rates might actually be working against you in winning work as your customers are likely to think someone charging 1/4 - 1/3 of the going rate is just too cheap to be true.

The adage of 'You get what you pay for.' is mostly true and most people believe it.

There is something to be said for having lower rates and letting work find you and consequently having an easier life but I think i'd rather work 2 days a week for the same money.

A few years ago a friend pointed out to me that I was too cheap so I put my prices up bit by bit until I hit the going rate, I still have more work than I can do and the only thing that has changed is my bank balance.

I'm nothing special as far as Electricians go. I'm not the best, the fastest or the cheapest but work is still coming in and importantly my customers are happy.

Thanks for your advice Ferg, I must admit that I have had this advice previously from some on this site and £30 per hour was the level i was advised to raise my rates to..Well I was dubious and raised my rate to £20 to test the water.. My customer s dropped me like a bag of hot potatoes and I only recovered work when I dropped my prices again..in fact I never got some of my customers back...a local housing association being one of them and as previously mentioned they now use their own maintenance staff to carry out testing so I'm unlikely to get that work back.
I suppose what I'm saying is its fine to charge the high rates of you have the customers who have pockets feel enough to pay it, but for the likes of me and numerous others in this trade we have to take the money our customers can afford

 

[UNG]

Is there more than one Rainham in the UK?, as I only know of the one on the east side of London.

 

[magnoliafan89]

Thanks for your advice Ferg, I must admit that I have had this advice previously from some on this site and £30 per hour was the level i was advised to raise my rates to..Well I was dubious and raised my rate to £20 to test the water.. My customer s dropped me like a bag of hot potatoes and I only recovered work when I dropped my prices again..in fact I never got some of my customers back...a local housing association being one of them and as previously mentioned they now use their own maintenance staff to carry out testing so I'm unlikely to get that work back.
I suppose what I'm saying is its fine to charge the high rates of you have the customers who have pockets feel enough to pay it, but for the likes of me and numerous others in this trade we have to take the money our customers can afford

By lowering your rates below the average you hurt the rest in the trade.
Being an electrician isn't something one learns over night. You spend years training and honing the craft that others would not know much or anything about, so why shouldn't you be justly rewarded??

I used to work in security several years back and as any man his dog could get an SIA licence you had people willing to work for minimum wage, guarding expensive or high risk sites for bugger all and working long numerous shifts for less than what a factory worker could get.

That's the problem now especially with kitchen fitters or general DIY blokes or the 6 week course guys everyone under cuts everyone else and then people wonder why the work done by the bloke they paid £10 an hour for is shoddy and the next bloke comes along charging 4 times that to rectify it.

 

[Brian Taylor]

Is there more than one Rainham in the UK?, as I only know of the one on the east side of London.

No I think there are a few up and down the country.

 

[stevethesparks]

Look at the price of a boiler, then look at how much a boiler change costs, the gas fitter will be making at least £500 for a days work.

And the rest

 

[ferg]

Thanks for your advice Ferg, I must admit that I have had this advice previously from some on this site and £30 per hour was the level i was advised to raise my rates to..Well I was dubious and raised my rate to £20 to test the water.. My customer s dropped me like a bag of hot potatoes and I only recovered work when I dropped my prices again..in fact I never got some of my customers back...a local housing association being one of them and as previously mentioned they now use their own maintenance staff to carry out testing so I'm unlikely to get that work back.
I suppose what I'm saying is its fine to charge the high rates of you have the customers who have pockets feel enough to pay it, but for the likes of me and numerous others in this trade we have to take the money our customers can afford

If the only work you can find is being self employed at £10 per hour then perhaps it's time to look at a change of career.

It happens sometimes, being self employed isn't for everyone.

Any job at or around minimum wage would leave you better off financially.

Agency work or subbing one week out of three would probably break even leaving you time to pick up more lucrative jobs.

If on the other hand you are genuinely happy with what you have then who am I to tell you otherwise.

 

[SJD]

In my experience, it can be hard to increase rates significantly with existing customers, also with customers who know what others have paid for your services. So doubling a rate of £10 p.h. to £20 p.h., even though it still seems to me way too cheap, I'm not surprised an existing customer wouldn't be happy.

I'd agree these are more "handyman" rates, and they will attract cheapskate customers who won't (for whatever reason) pay more. You are effectively competing on price with the cowboys and like, even though you might do a good job.

How about moving (or commuting) to a more prosperous area, if the locals really are all cheapskates?

 

[Brian Taylor]

If the only work you can find is being self employed at £10 per hour then perhaps it's time to look at a change of career.

It happens sometimes, being self employed isn't for everyone.

Any job at or around minimum wage would leave you better off financially.

Agency work or subbing one week out of three would probably break even leaving you time to pick up more lucrative jobs.

If on the other hand you are genuinely happy with what you have then who am I to tell you otherwise.

Well having noted the comments and advice on this site i must admit I feel less happy than I did before and I note your comment regarding a change of career, however the reason that I went self employed was that no company wants to employ you when you get on in years ...I think this is the same for a lot who work for themselves..they do it through necessity not choice and it's something that I will certainly have to continue to do t o a greater or lesser degree to supplement the state pension this i have to keep my customers happy

 

[ferg]

There are a few on here who have passed state retirement age and are still working.

Maybe they would be better placed to give advice.

It does change things a little, though it shouldn't.

Have you approached letting agents for EICR's and small works? It won't be great money but surely better than you are getting at the moment.

 

[UNG]

Well I was dubious and raised my rate to £20 to test the water.. My customer s dropped me like a bag of hot potatoes and I only recovered work when I dropped my prices again..in fact I never got some of my customers back...a local housing association being one of them

Probably not real customers then and more likely a bunch of chancers looking for someone cheap to take the fall when something goes wrong

a local housing association being one of them and as previously mentioned they now use their own maintenance staff to carry out testing so I'm unlikely to get that work back.

Probably found it is even cheaper to do it in house, would imagine their employees would be hung out to dry if something goes wrong as I doubt the managers would back them up

I suppose what I'm saying is its fine to charge the high rates of you have the customers who have pockets feel enough to pay it, but for the likes of me and numerous others in this trade we have to take the money our customers can afford

What you need to do is leave these parasitic customers to someone else they will have the money to pay you and any others properly it is just that they choose not to while you and others are happy to fund their champagne lifestyle. I don't believe that around 15 miles from the centre of the great metropolis and a self employed tradesman can't command more than £10/hr you really sound like you have been groomed or brainwashed by some unscrupulous buyer to bow down and accept this, we keep being told that slavery ended over a century ago but you seem to be saying this isn't so

No I think there are a few up and down the country.

Found 2 so far one in Essex and the other in Kent