Field notes
Time-and-Materials Billing for Electrical Contractors
Time-and-materials billing (T&M) is the right model for electrical work where the scope cannot be fully defined up front. Service calls. Diagnostic work. Troubleshooting an intermittent fault that may be one connection or may be twelve. The customer pays for actual labor hours plus actual materials plus the agreed-upon markup, and the bill reflects what really happened.
The model works when the documentation holds up. It blows up when the customer gets the invoice and cannot reconcile the labor hours against what they saw on site.
When T&M is the right billing method
- Service calls where the diagnostic outcome determines the work
- Troubleshooting on existing systems with unknown condition
- Emergency work where pricing the full job before starting is not realistic
- Change orders inside a larger fixed-price project
- Small commercial work where the customer trusts your shop and prefers transparency
When fixed-price wins over T&M
Fixed-price beats T&M whenever the scope is clear and the customer's primary concern is budget certainty. Panel upgrades with a known service amp target. EV charger installs with a defined run length. Generator installs with a defined transfer switch and fuel source. Light commercial buildouts with prints.
The right model on any given job is the one that matches how much the scope can be defined before work starts. Mixing models on the same invoice (fixed-price for the install, T&M for the troubleshooting) is also fine, as long as the invoice is clear about which is which.
The five rules for T&M billing that survives a customer challenge
Rule 1: Set the rates in writing before work starts
Labor rate per hour by classification (journeyman, apprentice, foreman). Materials markup percentage. Trip charge, if any. Diagnostic fee, if any. Have the customer sign the rate sheet before the truck rolls. "I figured it would be cheaper" is the most common T&M dispute and the easiest one to prevent.
Rule 2: Log time in real time, not from memory
Foreman clocks in and out of the job from the phone. Lunch counts as a break. Drive time is its own category. The labor hours on the invoice should match the labor hours logged in the field, with no reconciliation step in the office.
Rule 3: Photograph or barcode the materials
Every material item that goes on the invoice should be photographed or barcoded into the job record at install. A customer challenging a $47 line item for a specific breaker is going to lose that argument against a photo of that breaker installed in their panel.
Rule 4: Update the customer if hours are tracking long
If a 2-hour diagnostic turns into a 5-hour diagnostic, the foreman calls the customer at hour 3 with the new estimate. The customer either approves continuing or asks you to stop. Either answer protects the relationship. Not calling protects nothing.
Rule 5: Invoice with detail, not summary
The T&M invoice that gets paid without dispute looks like a receipt, not a bill. Date, technician, labor hours by category, materials with description and quantity, markup line clearly labeled, taxes. Customers do not dispute itemized invoices. They dispute "labor: $850."
How FieldCommand handles T&M billing
T&M is a first-class billing model in FieldCommand. The foreman clocks in and out of each job from the mobile app. Materials are added to the job in real time with photos. The customer-facing rate sheet is e-signed before work starts and lives in the job record. The invoice generates automatically from the logged hours and materials with full itemization. The customer pays through the Stripe link in the invoice.
If a job is tracking long, the dispatch board flags it so the office can prompt the foreman to call the customer before the surprise lands.