ElectricalBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Quoting EV Charger Installs Without the Back-and-Forth

EV charger requests tend to arrive the same way: a homeowner just bought a car, the dealer told them to call an electrician, and they want a price this week. Many of them have no idea where their panel is or how far it is from the garage. The quote that wins is usually the one that shows up first and is easy to understand, so charger estimates reward a fast, repeatable routine.

The Same Approach as a Panel Quote

Charger quotes work a lot like the panel quotes in Quoting Panel Upgrades: Line Items, Equipment Details and a Clean Handoff to the Install: price the common version as one service, add separate lines for what changes the job, and put the equipment on the estimate. The difference is volume. Many shops quote far more chargers than panels, so it pays to make each one quicker.

A Standard Charger Install on Your List

Set up an EV charger install as a service on your list, described as the common version you see most often. A shop might write it as “Install customer-supplied Level 2 charger in attached garage, panel in garage, short run” and price it at $1,295. Your description and price will be your own.

Then add the services that change the job as separate lines. Longer runs, a dedicated circuit to a detached garage, an outdoor mount, or a surge protector the homeowner asks for can each be its own service. The homeowner sees the base install plus exactly what their house adds, which is far easier to accept than one unexplained number.

Get the Facts Before You Price

The back-and-forth on charger quotes usually comes from missing facts. Where is the panel? Where will the charger go? Is the garage attached? Does the homeowner already have the charger, or do they want you to supply it? A website request form that asks those questions up front sends the answers straight into Form Responses with the request.

Photos help even more. A homeowner who texts a picture of the panel with the door open and a picture of the garage wall gives you enough to quote many charger jobs without a visit. When the photos raise questions, send someone to look. Quoting from photos is covered in Quoting From the Photos a Customer Sends: When It Works and When to Send a Van.

The Charger on the Estimate

Fill in the charger as equipment on the estimate: brand, model, rating and location, such as “Garage, left of the door to the house.” If the house record already lists the main panel with its rating and location from an earlier visit, that is right there for whoever writes the quote.

When the estimate is approved and becomes the job, the charger details come with it. The install tech sees them on the job card. After the job, the charger is saved on the house, so a call next year about the charger tripping starts with the office already knowing what is installed and where.

Save It as a Template

If you quote chargers every week, save a charger estimate as a template: the base install, the common add-ons and a short note about what is not included. The next charger quote starts from the template, and you only change what is different about this house. That can turn a charger quote into a few minutes of work. More on this in Electrical Estimate Templates for the Jobs You Quote Every Week.

Approval and the Install Day

Send the estimate and the homeowner approves online, often from the same phone they used to send the photos. Charger buyers tend to decide quickly, but if they go quiet, estimate follow-up emails nudge them. Questions can go back and forth by two-way text from the office.

Once approved, the estimate becomes the scheduled job. Put it on the install van on the dispatch board. Many shops keep one van on service calls and one on installs, inspections and generators, and chargers fit naturally on the install side. The homeowner gets automatic night-before, on-the-way and arrived texts, and when the tech taps Complete, the invoice is created and the card on file can be charged.

From First Call to Charging

A charger customer often becomes a long-term customer. They now own more electrical equipment than before, and they will call you when something trips. Keeping the charger and the panel on the house record means the next call starts with answers instead of questions. For how charger quotes fit into the rest of the quoting process, visit the ElectricalBossPro electrical estimate software page.