Recurring revenue is the holy grail for service businesses, and electrical contractors have legitimate opportunities to create it through maintenance agreements. Commercial and industrial customers especially benefit from scheduled preventive maintenance (PM) programs. A PM agreement for a commercial building might include: annual infrared thermal scan of all panels, torque verification on bus connections, testing of GFCI and AFCI breakers, exercise of all disconnect switches and breakers, and lighting system inspection.
Pricing a maintenance contract: start with an estimate of the time required for each PM visit. Add material. Price at your standard labor rate plus material markup, then offer a slight discount for the multi-year commitment. The discount is worth it for you because you have scheduled, predictable work.
Starting the conversation: most commercial building owners don’t know they need electrical PM until something fails. Your pitch: “Would you like us to do a complimentary thermal scan so you can see what your system looks like?” The thermal scan almost always finds something worth addressing - and it positions you as a proactive, technically sophisticated contractor.