Electrical quotation format: what to include, a point-wise sample, and why most quotes stall
An electrical quotation isn't a lump sum on a letterhead. It's the document that decides whether the client trusts your price, and whether the job still makes money after they sign. The format that wins has seven sections: a header with your licence number and GSTIN, a two-line scope, a point-wise wiring schedule, circuits with the DB, MCBs, RCCB and earthing, a make list naming wire size, type and brand, explicit exclusions, and terms covering GST, payment stages, validity and warranty. The make list and the exclusions are the sections a rushed quote leaves out, and they're exactly where cheaper rivals cut corners and disputes start. Here's the working format, a sample, and how to send quotes that close.
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Search “electrical quotation format” and you’ll find letterhead templates with a table and “thanking you” at the end. Fill one with a single line, “Complete electrical work: ₹1,20,000”, and the layout won’t save you. A client comparing three electricians can’t compare three lump sums. The quote that wins is one they can check against their own house: this many points, this wire, this board, these terms.
The seven sections of an electrical quotation that wins
- Header with your licence number. Business name, GSTIN, quote number, date and validity, as on any quotation, plus your electrical contractor licence number. The Central Electricity Authority’s 2023 safety regulations require installation work, beyond like-for-like replacements of lamps, fans, fuses and switches, to be done by a State-licensed electrical contractor. For a new supply, the supplier either tests the installation itself or accepts results signed by that contractor, so the number shows the client you can sign off the job.
- Scope in two lines. Is it new wiring or rewiring, concealed or surface, single or three phase? The client should grasp the job before the numbers.
- Point-wise wiring schedule. Count light, fan, 6A socket, 16A power and AC points room by room and price each per point. CPWD’s General Specifications for Electrical Works (Part I, 2013) measure light and fan point wiring the same way, by count, and define such a point as everything from the controlling switch to the outlet: conduit, wire, box, switch and connections. CPWD measures socket wiring by length instead, so if you price sockets per point, say what each one includes. A client can check a point count against their walls. They can’t check “₹55 per sq ft”.
- Circuits, DB and protection as separate lines. Circuit wiring (DB to the first switch box) goes by the metre and the DB by its number of ways. Give each MCB its rating, poles and curve, and the RCCB its sensitivity. Earthing is its own item. CPWD caps a lighting circuit at 800 W or 10 points, whichever is less, and a residential power circuit at two 16A outlets, three 6A, or one 16A plus two 6A. The CEA’s 2023 regulations require a residual current device, and one rated at no more than 30 mA in a home.
- Make list: size, type, brand, ISI. This is where cheap quotes cut corners. Write 1.5 sq mm FRLS copper, [brand], ISI-marked, never “branded wire”. State the insulation grade: FR (flame retardant), FRLS (flame retardant, low smoke) or HFFR (halogen-free flame retardant). Name the switch, DB and breaker brands with one approved alternate. PVC-insulated cables, household MCBs, RCCBs and switches are all on BIS’s compulsory-certification list, so “ISI-marked” belongs on the line.
- Labour basis and exclusions. Say whether the rates are supply-and-install or labour-only. Then list what the price does not cover: fittings and fans, patch-up and painting after chasing, DISCOM charges, inverter or UPS wiring. Every exclusion is an argument you won’t have at handover.
- Terms: GST, payment, validity, warranty, sign-off. Wiring a building with your own materials is a works contract, which GST treats as one service. If you’re registered, a typical private job takes 18% on the whole value, under SAC 995461. The place of supply is the site, so charge CGST + SGST for a site in your state and IGST outside it. Tie payment to work stages. Keep validity to about 15 days: wire and cable use copper or aluminium conductors, and metal prices swing, so an open-ended quote leaves you carrying that risk. Warranty your workmanship separately from the materials. CPWD’s specification makes its contractors guarantee workmanship and materials for 12 months from handover, and lists four completion tests: insulation resistance, switch polarity, earth continuity and earth electrode resistance. End with a sign-off block.
A sample you can copy
Quotation: concealed wiring, 2BHK flat, [Client], [Site] [Your firm] · Electrical contractor licence no. [ ] · GSTIN [ ] · Quote EQ/2026-041 · 21 Oct 2026 Scope: Complete concealed wiring of a new 2BHK flat, single phase: point wiring, circuit wiring, DB with MCBs and RCCB, earthing, testing and handover.
# Item Unit Qty Rate (₹) Amount (₹) 1 Light / fan point: 1.5 sq mm FRLS copper, PVC conduit, modular switch + plate point 30 850 25,500 2 6A socket point with switch: 2.5 sq mm FRLS copper point 12 950 11,400 3 16A power / AC point, wired from DB: 4 sq mm FRLS copper point 6 1,700 10,200 4 Circuit wiring, DB to switch boxes: 2 × 2.5 + 1 × 2.5 sq mm earth, FRLS copper metre 60 210 12,600 5 12-way SPN distribution board, double door each 1 3,200 3,200 6 SP MCB, 6–32 A, C-curve, 10 kA each 11 300 3,300 7 RCCB, 40 A double pole, 30 mA each 1 2,300 2,300 8 Earthing: GI pipe electrode with earth pit, tested set 1 6,500 6,500 Subtotal 75,000 CGST @ 9% (SAC 995461) 6,750 SGST @ 9% 6,750 Total 88,500 Make list: wires: [brand], FRLS copper, ISI-marked (alternate: [brand]) · switches and sockets: [brand], modular · DB, MCBs, RCCB: [brand], ISI-marked. Basis: supply + installation; extra points at the rates above. Exclusions: light fittings, fans and appliances; patch-up and painting after chasing; DISCOM charges; inverter / UPS wiring. Payment: 40% advance · 30% when conduit and boxes are fixed · 20% when wiring, DB and earthing are done · 10% after testing and handover. Validity: 15 days. Warranty: 12 months on workmanship from handover; materials carry the manufacturer’s warranty. Approval: signature / e-approval below.
The rates are illustrative, so use your own. The eleven MCBs stay within the CPWD circuit limits above (three lighting, four socket and four power circuits). CPWD’s government spec is stricter on wire: copper only, and at least 1.5 sq mm for light wiring and 4 sq mm for power wiring, heavier than the 2.5 sq mm used for the socket circuits here. Size yours to the load and the client’s spec. For fit-out jobs, see the BOQ-led interior quotation format.
Why electrical quotes stall, or win the job and lose money
- Lump-sum or per-sq-ft pricing. “Complete wiring, 2BHK: ₹88,500” invites one reply: “make it 80.” A point schedule moves the talk to scope (drop four sockets, save ₹3,800) instead of a straight discount.
- “Branded wire, ISI.” Which brand, size and grade? Without a make list your FRLS copper is compared with someone’s cheapest wire, and you just look expensive.
- Points that grow on site. The client adds six sockets once the walls are marked. With a per-point rate that’s 6 × ₹950, not an argument.
- No exclusions. The client assumed painting was included. Whoever wrote nothing down pays.
- Payment at the end. You’ve bought the copper, board and breakers. Stage payments keep cash moving with the work.
- The slow quote. The enquiry came on Monday and your quote went out on Thursday. By then it’s up against two that went out on Monday evening.
That last one is where Leads fits. On the Premium plan, Leads checks website enquiries by mobile OTP and email, so you quote real buyers rather than fake numbers. It alerts you on WhatsApp, SMS, email and app within seconds (how WhatsApp alerts work) and generates a quotation PDF instantly, so the quote can reach the buyer the same day. For the advance, MoonQR’s free UPI QR code generator makes a payment QR from your UPI ID.
The short version
Seven sections: header with licence number and GSTIN, two-line scope, point-wise wiring, circuits with DB, MCBs, RCCB and earthing, make list, exclusions, and terms. Price by the point, name the wire on every line, write down what’s not included, tie payment to stages, and let the quote expire. Anyone can copy the template. What wins jobs is a point count the client can check and a make list they can compare.