Electrician Software for Service Shops

The call: "I just bought an EV, can you put in a charger?"

Electrical calls are a mix of quick service work and bigger projects that start as a simple question. A homeowner wants an EV charger. A breaker keeps tripping. An older house needs a panel upgrade before the new heat pump can go in. Each call needs a few good questions before anyone rolls a truck.

The SWITCHBOARD AI receptionist answers in your shop's name, day or night, and asks what a good CSR would ask: what car and charger, where the panel is, how far from the garage, is anything burning or sparking. You teach it your answers, like your service area, trip charge and what you do not do. A phone menu can send real hazards to your on-call tech. If it does not know, it takes the name, number and issue for a callback. Every call is transcribed, so the tech sees the details.

The board

Calls, texts, email, Facebook messages, web chat and lead forms land in one inbox. On the dispatch board, the office drags the job to a tech and the customer is told. "Who's free" ranks the nearest tech with the time and skills, so the commercial-qualified electrician gets the tenant improvement and the newer tech gets the outlet swap. "Plan the day" rebuilds tomorrow's routes; nothing moves until you press Apply.

The tech's phone and safety checks

The tech opens today's jobs and sees what the customer said. Safety checks come first and cannot be skipped, which is where your lockout and test-before-touch steps belong. See safety checklists for service techs for what to put on them. Photos are time-stamped, so the panel before and after is on the job record. Crew chat is tied to the job, and key parts work with weak or no signal.

Panel upgrade and EV charger estimates

With Job Walk the tech walks the job on the phone: photos of the panel and meter, the garage wall, the run, a voice note. Lines come from your own Price Book as they walk. At the end, Good, Better and Best are ready. As an example for an EV charger: Good is a charger on an existing circuit with capacity, Better adds a dedicated circuit and a load management device, and Best is a panel upgrade with the charger and room for solar later.

Each option shows live margin and markup against your target. Missing costs are flagged, never guessed. The customer picks, signs and pays the deposit on the tech's phone. More on the numbers in how to price an electrical panel upgrade.

Permits and inspections

Panel upgrades and many EV charger installs usually need a permit and an inspection, and the days between them are where jobs stall. Rules vary by jurisdiction, so check with your local building department. In SWITCHBOARD, a job checklist keeps the steps in order (pull the permit, schedule the inspection, upload the card photo) and the step cannot quietly be skipped. Read how to handle permits and inspections without losing days for the office side.

Commercial and prevailing-wage work

Commercial jobs bring progress billing, change orders and, on public work, prevailing wage. Under the federal Davis-Bacon rules, contractors on covered jobs must submit payroll information weekly with a signed Statement of Compliance, according to the US Department of Labor. SWITCHBOARD clocks hours from the job, applies state overtime rules and produces certified payroll for prevailing-wage work. Deposits and staged invoices sit on one job number, and change orders are signed before the extra work starts.

Getting paid

The invoice comes from the job: card online, Tap to Pay on the tech's phone, bank, cash or check with a photo, or pay over time when you turn financing on. Invoices and payments sync to QuickBooks Online, and payroll hands off to QuickBooks or a Gusto, ADP or Paychex file. Comparing tools? See the best field service software for electricians guide, SWITCHBOARD vs ServiceTitan and SWITCHBOARD vs Jobber. Pricing is quoted per shop on a 30-minute walkthrough.

The tools electrical contractors use most

Job Walk builds charger and panel options from your own Price Book, staged invoicing keeps the deposit and the final on one job number while the job waits on the utility, and Live Job covers the service call that turns into a bigger repair. The tech app keeps safety checks first on every visit. See how to price an EV charger install.

Electrical shops in California

What running a shop looks like city by city: climate, utilities, permit offices and the local license count.

Questions people ask

Does SWITCHBOARD do certified payroll?

Yes. Time is clocked from the job, state overtime rules apply, and certified payroll is produced for prevailing-wage work.

Can it track permits and inspections?

Yes, through job checklists that keep permit and inspection steps in order and cannot be skipped. It does not file permits with your city for you.

Can I bill a commercial job in stages?

Yes. Deposits and staged or progress invoices sit on one job number, with signed change orders when the scope changes.

Can techs quote EV chargers on site?

Yes. Job Walk builds Good, Better and Best options from your Price Book, and the customer can sign and pay the deposit on the tech's phone.

Sources

WH-347 Payroll Form (Davis-Bacon), US Department of Labor (checked November 10, 2026)
Construction (Davis-Bacon and Related Acts), US Department of Labor (checked November 10, 2026)

Field service software for electricians