ElectricalBossPro Blog — Estimates & Quotes

Quoting Whole-House Generator Installs and the Maintenance Plan That Follows

A whole-house generator is a big decision for a homeowner and a big job for an electrical company. It is also the start of a relationship, because a generator that sits for a year without attention is one nobody wants to depend on in a storm. The quote should cover the install clearly and set up the yearly maintenance that comes after it.

Bigger Than a Charger, Same Method

The approach from Quoting EV Charger Installs Without the Back-and-Forth works here too: price the common version as one service, show what changes the job as separate lines, and put the equipment on the estimate. Generator jobs simply have more pieces, so the clarity of the line items matters even more.

Line Items a Homeowner Can Follow

A generator estimate built from your service list might include:

• The generator install at your price for the common version
• The transfer switch or generator interlock, as its own line
• Any panel work the walkthrough turned up, priced separately
• A whole-house surge protector, if the homeowner wants one
• The first year of maintenance, if you sell it with the install

Separate lines let a homeowner see where the money goes and compare a smaller unit with a larger one without rebuilding the whole quote. If you offer two sizes, put each as its own line with its own price. Your prices, your descriptions; ElectricalBossPro just keeps them organized.

The Generator on the Estimate

Fill in the equipment on the estimate: the generator's brand and model, its rating in kW, its fuel type (natural gas, propane or diesel), and where it will sit, such as “Side yard, left of the AC unit.” Add the transfer switch or interlock as its own piece of equipment with its location.

When the estimate is approved, those details carry onto the install job, and after the job they are saved on the house. That is what makes the maintenance side work later, because every future visit to that house starts with the generator, the fuel type and the location already on the tech's card. How this carry-over works is covered in Equipment Details on the Estimate: How the Panel, Charger or Generator Carries Onto the Job.

Approval, Follow-Up and Questions

Generator quotes often take longer to decide than smaller jobs. The homeowner may want to talk it over, check with a spouse or wait for a paycheck. Send the estimate and let them approve it online when they are ready. Estimate follow-up emails remind the ones who go quiet, and two-way texting from the office answers questions without phone tag.

It is fine to be patient here. A quote that sits for a few weeks is not dead, and a polite follow-up after a power outage in your area tends to get read.

Scheduling the Install

When the homeowner approves, the estimate becomes the scheduled job with every line and every piece of equipment intact. The office puts it on the install van on the dispatch board. Many shops run one van on service calls and one on installs, inspections and generators. Automatic night-before, on-the-way and arrived texts tell the homeowner when to expect the crew.

In the tech app, the install crew sees the generator, the transfer switch and their locations on the job card, along with access notes about gates or dogs. Before-and-after photos go on the job. When they tap Complete, the invoice is created and the card on file can be charged.

Setting Up the Yearly Maintenance Plan

The install is a good moment to set up the maintenance that follows. In ElectricalBossPro, recurring work is set by the minimum days between visits, and yearly generator maintenance is 365. Once a customer is on the plan, the next visit comes due on its own and shows up on the Waiting List map when it is due. Pins are colored by status: not due yet, due now, or overdue past a seven-day grace period.

You set the price. A shop might charge $189 for a yearly generator maintenance visit. Customers can also sign up for a plan through a sign-up form on your website or in the customer app, with their card captured, and one click turns the sign-up into a client.

A Customer for Years, Not One Job

A generator customer who is on a yearly plan will see your van every year, and they will call you first for everything else electrical. Getting the install quote right, with the equipment saved on the house and the maintenance plan in place, is how one estimate turns into years of work. For more on quoting in ElectricalBossPro, visit the ElectricalBossPro electrical estimate software page.