Three-quarters of UK electricians don’t feel confident handling their finances

  Posted by: electime      14th March 2022

• A quarter (25 per cent) have made mistakes when pricing up jobs and lost money as a result
• Three-quarters (76 per cent) of electricians don’t account for the cost of living when giving quotes
• Thousands of UK electricians haven’t increased their prices since the pandemic began

Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of UK electricians don’t feel confident handling their company finances, and many have lost money as a result, new research has revealed.

The study, conducted by ElectricalDirect, the specialist retailer of electrical products, surveyed electricians from across the country and found that only 26 per cent are comfortable dealing with the financial side of their business.

This includes pricing up jobs for customers, with a quarter (25 per cent) admitting to having lost money because they’ve made mistakes while giving quotes.

A simple way for workers to check if their prices are reasonable is to see what other electricians in their area are charging for similar jobs. However, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of respondents said that this isn’t something they do.

Furthermore, the vast majority (76 per cent) of electricians do not account for the cost of living or inflation rates when giving quotes to customers. This is despite living costs rising at their fastest rate for thirty years and inflation predicted to reach 8.3 per cent in April, meaning take-home pay could fall heavily.

Although they don’t specifically consider the cost of living, more than a quarter (28 per cent) of UK electricians have raised their prices since the start of 2022, and four in five (80 per cent) have upped their quotes in the last year.

However, despite the pandemic significantly disrupting the industry, one in twenty (5 per cent) have not increased their rates in the last two years. This equates to more than 2,000 electrical businesses across the UK.

Older electricians are more likely to have kept their prices constant despite COVID-19, with a fifth (20 per cent) of over 55s maintaining their pre-pandemic rates. In comparison, just 2 per cent of millennial workers (25-34s) have done the same, and only 6 per cent of 35-44-year-olds.

Across the UK, electricians in Yorkshire and the Humber are the most likely to have upped their fees recently, with three in five (60 per cent) having done so in 2022. On the other hand, just 7 per cent of electrical businesses in Northern Ireland have done the same – the least of any region.

The UK regions where electricians are most likely to have increased their prices in 2022 are:

Dominick Sandford, Managing Director at ElectricalDirect, said: “The rising cost of living is going to impact everyone in the coming months, both personally and professionally, and electricians should at least consider it when providing quotes, to ensure they’re not leaving themselves short.

“Managing a company’s finances can be complicated and mistakes can prove to be costly. That’s why we’ve partnered with a specialist to provide advice to electricians on how best to handle their money.”

For expert advice on how to handle your company finances, visit: https://www.electricaldirect.co.uk/blog/financial-expert-shares-top-four-tips-for-electricians