# How to bid an HVAC job



## mlite13

I am an electrician and am interested in starting an HVAC business. I have no idea how to bid the job. I can bid an electrical job all day. If someone can help I would really appreciate it.


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## refermadness

depends if you are doing the work yourself or hiring someone or subing.


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## FloridaHVAC

Get an iPhone... There's an App for that..


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## marksac

whats the name of the app


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## FloridaHVAC

marksac said:


> whats the name of the app


It is called Quote Express. It was like $100 back in the day... It is great and makes giving an estimate a lot easier! All my guys who give estimates have it in the field.


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## catmanacman

i dont know if you have any feild experiance in hvac work. when bidding hvac work better put on plenty of money for warranty work especially if your hiring subs to do the work


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## refermadness

warrany work? wow


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## jpplumbing

FloridaHVAC said:


> Get an iPhone... There's an App for that..


man theres an app for everything :laughing:


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## REP

Computer apps are great but I'm sure you have to plug in some numbers in order for it to work.
You really have to know what it costs you to wake up each morning.
For instance all your insurance costs stay the same if you work or sleep in.
You have wear and tear on your truck and you need gas .You have to take into consideration the wear and tear on your tools especially the test meters vacuum pump,micron gauge stuff like that.
When you bid a job all that and a ton more has to come out of that bid,plus you add your labor.Are you a hard working honest contractor ? well believe it or not that is worth something as it will build your reputation and lead to business in the future.
Its not a simple issue if you intend to be around for a while.
What you need to do is schedule an appointment with a CPA that has experience in the HVAC industry to figure out what it costs you to get up in the morning.Then you can bid a job.


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## beenthere

Are you going to do resi, commercial, or industrial HVAC?


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## moshei

I agree with what you said, successful HVAC bidding requires a higher level of experience and technical knowledge than that required for other trades, Also with a bit of experience in the mechanical industry, however, it is possible to bid on HVAC contracts accurately.


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## rmihvacr

*Re:*

Hire an HVACR mechanic for starters


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## jpplumbing

wow Quote Express for only $39.99. Thats alot cheaper then what i paid for my estimating software lol


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## Spyke45

I have never used an app to work up a bid and I would not trust it.

It sounds really basic but work up your equipment prices, tax, labor costs and everything else you need to physically bid that job. Then divide that number by the percentage of profit you want to make on the job. 30% is a good target in my area.


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## BarrieFurnaceRepair

mlite13 said:


> I am an electrician and am interested in starting an HVAC business. I have no idea how to bid the job. I can bid an electrical job all day. If someone can help I would really appreciate it.


LOL....that's awesome. You should try bidding plumbing too....throw in window washing and the homeowner will love you. You can give an all inclusive price. :thumbsup:


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## Kirwinjd

mlite13 said:


> I am an electrician and am interested in starting an HVAC business. I have no idea how to bid the job. I can bid an electrical job all day. If someone can help I would really appreciate it.


Go to work for an HVAC contractor for about 5 years before deciding to go into the business. Nothing replaces hands on experience (not even an app)
You need the privilege to screw up many times at someone else's expense and hopefully learn from those screw ups. In California, you can't even qualify for a license until you've worked for someone at least 4 years.

The HVAC trade is vastly different from all other trades. You'll be swamped with calls when its hot. You'll be swamped with calls when it's cold. In between you'll be sitting at home watching old reruns of "leave it to beaver" while waiting for the phone to ring and worrying about paying the bills. Sorry I rambled. It's a good trade if you work hard at it. Best wishes


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## jmyhvac

I agree with Kirwinjd, I started my own business without working for someone else and he is right you need a back up and be ready for call backs that can be expensive and will eat up all your profit. I have done very well keeping my head above water but it has not been easy and I have a long road to travel still.


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## independent

*selling hvac*

An app wont work for hvac sales, it just gives a prompt to enter info your expected to know ! HVAC sales requires experience in the industry and I wouldnt recommend trying it without it ! You have to know the product your selling And what the market will bear in your area also .


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## jmyhvac

I have done well with goodman up hear, most everyone hear is fine with whatever you push very easygoing customers which makes it nice. Still have a long way to go but this spring looks full and busy.


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## Acrepairexpertsmiami

you should have some expertience in the trade before you bid on HVAC work.. or hire someone or maybe get a parner with experience.. you guys could do well with your electrical background and his hvac knowledge.. they go hand in hand.


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## jmyhvac

This is very true, I find that every customer wants to know how much and you may find yourself cheating yourself if you don't think of every thing involved in that job.


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## tonyhvac

axzhvac13 said:


> Dont forget that you will need to have hvac contractors license. To qualify you must meet the contactors license requirements.


I thought that when you take your contractors license exam, they ask you questions on how to bid on the job. That's what they asked me on my c-20 exam.


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## ThatHVACguy

Kirwinjd said:


> Go to work for an HVAC contractor for about 5 years before deciding to go into the business. Nothing replaces hands on experience (not even an app)
> You need the privilege to screw up many times at someone else's expense and hopefully learn from those screw ups. In California, you can't even qualify for a license until you've worked for someone at least 4 years.
> 
> The HVAC trade is vastly different from all other trades. You'll be swamped with calls when its hot. You'll be swamped with calls when it's cold. In between you'll be sitting at home watching old reruns of "leave it to beaver" while waiting for the phone to ring and worrying about paying the bills. Sorry I rambled. It's a good trade if you work hard at it. Best wishes


I just moved out of California, you need 8 years to get your license. Unless you are in the union you can get your journeymans after 4... And you are right about sitting at home half of the year, which is why I learned plumbing too, but frankly, I should have chosen electrical instead. It's way more fun... Anyways go for it dude you will sink or swim and you will definitely learn from your mistakes... I sure did... I started working for myself in LA and because I didn't have a license I could only do jobs up to $500. Anything over that required a contractors license. Which is why my partner came in handy... But I learned a big lesson on bidding jobs. I lost my ass on my first job just cause I didn't realize there was no supply house anywhere within an hour drive of the job... It sucked but its the best way to learn, ill never forget that lesson...


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## swna

I would defiantly enter into a partnership, or start doing HVAC work yourself with another company and do you're electrical on the side. Not sure what state you are in, but certain circumstances you need an electrician to change out or add a breaker to the job, and they have to be licensed, That is something you could offer to the table.

Bidding on AC Jobs has a lot to do based on what cost you get the equipment for. and you wont even get the pricing out of most distribution companies with out a license for the specific trade/industry.


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## ASTR

mlite13 said:


> I am an electrician and am interested in starting an HVAC business. I have no idea how to bid the job. I can bid an electrical job all day. If someone can help I would really appreciate it.


Typically, you will bid for material and labour. You can add about 30% on material and number of hours it will take you to do the job.


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## Contractor Joe

REP said:


> Computer apps are great but I'm sure you have to plug in some numbers in order for it to work.
> You really have to know what it costs you to wake up each morning.
> For instance all your insurance costs stay the same if you work or sleep in.
> You have wear and tear on your truck and you need gas .You have to take into consideration the patio covers wear and tear on your tools especially the test meters vacuum pump,micron gauge stuff like that.
> When you bid a job all that and a ton more has to come out of that bid,plus you add your labor.Are you a hard working honest contractor ? well believe it or not that is worth something as it will build your reputation and lead to business in the future.
> Its not a simple issue if you intend to be around for a while.
> What you need to do is schedule an appointment with a CPA that has experience in the HVAC industry to figure out what it costs you to get up in the morning.Then you can bid a job.


I have a really close friend that does HVAC, and he suggests that you charge based upon how friendly the customer is; meaning that if there is a breakdown issue again, or a friend in need, giving them a good price initially usually results in returning customers... but I suppose you could use a cookie-cutter method via software or policy...?


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## texarkanahvac

A lot of great tips here! Specially the iphone app! Thanks for sharing


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## heatingrepairchicago

I would recommend working with someone in the trade for awhile to learn these things


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## Mc Hvac

mlite13 said:


> I am an electrician and am interested in starting an HVAC business. I have no idea how to bid the job. I can bid an electrical job all day. If someone can help I would really appreciate it.


 How do you bid electrical jobs?

With anything sales you sell yourself and your company. I could tell you how to come up with numbers but you need some years learning the trade, knowing the problems and the fixes, before you can bid a job. A job is not equipment alone, it's so much more.

About 80% of hvac system malfunctions are due to airflow and duct design. So I sell systems and ducts. A lot. At high cost due to extreme value. And I have a proven track record of results. Doesn't matter if someon comes in a few grand beneath me, I'll get the job cause I know way more than the next ten dozen companies.

education is key as well as hands on experience. Until then bidding anything is out of the question.


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## airtrackinc

the following may apply, but would not be reliable data to consider: labor: 38 percent, equipment: 27 percent, and overhead: 35 percent.


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## ndaniels1869

i say trill and era it will be ok just aim hi make sure their is room if you have call backs
ndaniels1869


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