Electrical subcontractors consistently carry some of the highest overhead rates in the specialty trade sector — driven by licensing requirements, technical expertise in estimating and PM roles, and engineering coordination overhead.
These benchmarks are drawn from SPM's work with commercial electrical contractors and industry data. Calculate your actual overhead rate — total G&A expenses divided by total revenue for the trailing 12 months — and compare to your revenue band below.
How to use this data: If you're above the top of the range, specific categories need review. If you're below the bottom, you may be underinvesting in systems and staff. Use the benchmark as a target range, not a single number.
Trade note for Electrical Contractors: Electrical contractors consistently show the highest overhead rates among specialty trades — justified by the technical expertise required at every organizational level. The overhead rate benchmark for electrical reflects the reality that qualified electrical estimators, PMs, and field supervisors all command higher compensation than equivalent roles in less technical trades.
Licensed electricians moving into PM and estimating roles command $80K–$130K. When these hires don't immediately generate proportional revenue — which they often don't in the first 6–12 months — overhead rate climbs before the investment pays off.
Submittal preparation, RFI management, and engineering coordination for specific projects are direct job costs. When project-specific engineering work gets coded to general overhead, overhead is overstated and job margins are understated.
State licensing fees, continuing education, bond renewals, insurance certificates, and compliance documentation represent real overhead that's often missed or underestimated in overhead rate calculations.
SPM separates field supervision, PM, and estimating overhead in ControlQore so you know exactly which staff category is driving overhead rate changes. Technical staff costs are tracked at the classification level — not lumped into a single payroll overhead line.
Submittal preparation and RFI management for specific projects is coded to those jobs in ControlQore — not to overhead. As-built documentation, shop drawing review, and engineering coordination for specific scopes are direct job costs.
Your overhead rate is compared to the electrical contractor benchmark for your revenue band monthly — not a generic specialty trade average. Electrical overhead norms are higher than most trades and your benchmark reflects that reality.
Find out in a free 30-minute call. Josh will tell you straight where your overhead rate stands and what to do about it.
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