Resources

Guides for low‑voltage contractors.

Practical guides on quoting, pricing, and running a low-voltage business: network cabling, cameras, access control, AV, and more.

17 guides

October 6, 2026 · 6 min read

Quoting Without Excel: When the Spreadsheet Starts Costing You

The ways a quoting spreadsheet quietly costs a low-voltage contractor money, the signs it is time to move, and how to switch in an afternoon without stopping work.

October 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Choose Quoting Software for Low-Voltage Work

Eight questions that separate a quoting tool built for low-voltage work from one you will fight: pricing per drop and rack size, job conditions, online signing, payments, Spanish, and what the job leaves you.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Losing Money on Cabling Jobs? Find the 5 Profit Leaks

Winning bids but closing jobs in the red? Here's where cabling profits actually leak out, and how to plug each hole before your next project.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

Fixed-Price vs Time and Materials for AV Integration

When to bid AV work fixed-price, when to bill T&M, and how a hybrid contract protects your margin on installs, programming, and service.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Handle Change Orders on Low-Voltage Projects

A field-tested system for pricing, documenting, and getting paid for change orders on structured cabling, security, and AV installation projects.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How Much to Charge for Access Control Installation

A contractor's guide to pricing access control installs, from per-door benchmarks to labor hours, hardware markups, and recurring revenue.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Bid Conference Room AV Installations Profitably

A working integrator's guide to pricing conference room AV jobs so the margin you quote is the margin you keep.

July 6, 2026 · 6 min read

Calculate Your True Hourly Cost as a Low-Voltage Contractor

A working formula for finding your real cost per billable hour, wages, burden, overhead, and the billable-hours math most contractors get wrong.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Present Pricing in a Security System Proposal

Three tiers, one clear recommendation, and options priced as outcomes, the pricing structure that wins commercial security work without racing to the bottom.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Avoid Underbidding Structured Cabling Jobs

Why cabling contractors underbid (burdened labor rates, scope gaps, and site walks), and the numbers that keep your bids profitable.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

What to Include in a Low-Voltage Quote Template

A field-tested breakdown of every section your low-voltage quote template needs, from itemized drops to the exclusions list that saves your margin.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Write a Winning Bid for an AV Integration Project

A field-tested guide to scoping, pricing, and presenting AV integration bids that win commercial work without giving away your margin.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

What's a Good Markup on Materials for Low-Voltage Jobs?

Most low-voltage contractors mark up materials 30-50% on a sliding scale. Here's how to set yours so small parts and big gear both make money.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

What a Security System Proposal Should Include to Win

How to structure a commercial security proposal that proves you understood the client's risk and makes the price easy to approve.

July 6, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Price a Structured Cabling Job for a New Office

A contractor's walkthrough of pricing structured cabling for new office construction, from takeoff to per-drop math to the costs hiding outside the drops.

July 5, 2026 · 7 min read

How to Estimate Labor Hours for a Cat6 Cabling Job

A baseline-plus-multipliers method for estimating Cat6 labor hours, with real production rates for clean buildings and tough retrofits.

July 5, 2026 · 7 min read

How Much to Charge Per Drop for Structured Cabling

Where per-drop cabling prices really come from, market ranges, labor math, and the scoping habits that protect your margin.