How to Invoice as an Electrician in Australia
By Dan Reeve — Working handyman and founder of SMASH Invoices. Built SMASH after losing $1,200 in uninvoiced jobs in a single year. He still takes on handyman work and uses SMASH on every job. About Dan →
To invoice as an electrician in Australia, your tax invoice must include your electrical contractor licence number, ABN, business name, invoice number, date, itemised labour and materials, and GST if registered. Sole trader electricians lose an estimated $80–$140 per week on cable, conduit, GPOs, clips, and junction boxes they round into their labour rate, a habit that costs $4,160–$7,280 per year.
What an electrician's invoice legally needs
- Business name and ABN
- Electrical contractor licence number — mandatory in all states
- Invoice number and date
- Customer details
- Labour itemised: hours worked × hourly rate (or flat rate per job)
- Materials itemised: every component listed separately with quantity and price
- Any additional charges: travel, after-hours, certificate of compliance
- GST shown separately (if registered)
- Payment terms and method
In Queensland, electricians must also include the licence type (Electrical Contractor Licence). In NSW the contractor licence number. In VIC, the REC (Registered Electrical Contractor) number. Missing this from an invoice can void its legal standing for debt recovery.
What electricians forget to charge for
The cable is the big one.
You run 12 metres of 2.5mm TPS to a new power point. The cable costs $3.20 per metre. That's $38.40 in materials for one run. Did it appear on the invoice? Usually not, it gets absorbed into the labour rate.
Then there's the conduit. The cable clips. The junction box. The GPO itself ($18). The wall plate ($6). The screws. The cable ties. A single new power point installation has $70–$110 in materials. Most electricians invoice it as "labour only" or "supply and install — $150 all in."
The homeowner pays $150. The electrician spent $90 in materials getting to that $150. Net labour: $60 for an hour's work. They wondered why they weren't making money.
The fix isn't to charge more. It's to charge accurately.
"Did a compliance inspection on myself after a slow year. Added up all my material receipts against what I'd invoiced out. $11,400 in materials absorbed into flat rates. I wasn't losing jobs, I was losing margin on every single one." — Jim P., Electrician, Perth WA [PLACEHOLDER]
A correctly itemised electrical invoice
| Item | Qty | Unit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour — new power point install | 1.5 hrs | $110/hr | $165.00 |
| 2.5mm TPS cable | 8m | $3.20/m | $25.60 |
| Double GPO | 1 | $18.00 | $18.00 |
| Wall plate | 1 | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| 20mm conduit | 1m | $4.50/m | $4.50 |
| Cable clips | 10 | $0.40ea | $4.00 |
| Junction box | 1 | $5.50 | $5.50 |
| Subtotal | $228.60 | ||
| GST | $22.86 | ||
| Total | $251.46 |
The all-in rate was $150. The correctly itemised invoice is $251. That extra $101 is not gouging, it's actually charging for actual materials used on the job.
How to invoice an electrical job without stopping work
You've tested the circuit. Everything passes. You're coiling the cable. Talk into your phone:
"New double power point in garage. Labour one and a half hours. 8 metres 2.5mm TPS, double GPO, wall plate, conduit 1 metre, cable clips, junction box."
Invoice built. Every item priced. Your rate applied. GST calculated. Sent before you've locked the switchboard.
Frequently asked questions
Do electricians need a licence number on invoices in Australia? Yes. All Australian states require licensed electricians to display their contractor licence or REC number on invoices and quotes. In Queensland, NSW, VIC, SA, and WA this is a legal requirement. The number should appear alongside your ABN and business name.
What is a Certificate of Compliance and should it appear on electrical invoices? A Certificate of Compliance (or Electrical Safety Certificate in QLD) is required for notifiable electrical work. The certificate fee can be added as a line item on your invoice. Failing to issue the certificate is a compliance offence separate from invoicing.
How do electricians typically charge for cable and conduit? Most electricians charge cable by the linear metre at cost-plus-markup (typically 20–25% over trade price). Conduit is charged per metre. Running small components (cable clips, junction boxes, saddles) at cost is standard. These should appear as separate line items, not bundled into a flat "materials" charge.
Can I use voice invoicing as an electrician in Australia? Yes. Voice invoicing apps designed for trades understand electrical terminology — GPO, TPS, RCD, conduit, isolator, circuit breaker. SMASH Invoices identifies these from a spoken job description and prices them against a 2,250-item Australian materials catalogue. No manual lookup required.
What after-hours rates can electricians charge in Australia? After-hours and weekend rates are determined by your own pricing, not by a regulated fee schedule (for sole traders). Most residential electricians charge 1.5–2× their standard rate for evenings and weekends. This must be disclosed to the customer before work begins and itemised clearly on the invoice.
You ran the cable. You don't need to type it up as well. Start Free →
Internal links: How much are service workers losing on uncharged materials? · How to price materials automatically in a quote · Why every invoicing app fails service workers