Read the drawings, the job description or the customer’s request end to end before you price anything. Write down questions. On subcontract bids, note what the general contractor expects you to include (cleanup, permits, materials, equipment).
Overhead is what it costs to run the business even on days with no job: truck, insurance, phone, tools, software, office time. Spread it over your billable hours or jobs. Profit comes on top — it is what pays for slow months and growth.
Say what is not in your number and what you assumed (“existing panel has capacity”, “walls open for access”). This is where most money is lost on bids that were won.
Send a clean, itemized bid before the deadline, with your license and insurance details if they are asked for, and a date the price is good until.
Bidding below your real cost wins work that loses money. Compete on clarity, speed and reliability; bid the price the job needs.
People often use the words the same way. A bid is usually a price submitted to win a job against others; an estimate is your best price for the work as you see it.
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