Quick answer: Price the work from a surveyed scope, realistic labour and material costs, an explicit treatment of overhead and risk, and a margin method you understand. Compare the estimate with actual job results. This guide provides a costing workflow and percentage formulas, not public CASE prices, standard installation rates or a margin target for every contractor.
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Choose the quoting format after the survey
Choose the quote format from the surveyed work. A per-camera allowance needs clear assumptions about pathways, height, access, configuration and shared recorder/network work. A project quote can separate design, equipment, installation, commissioning and handover. Every optional package must meet its stated requirements; essential testing, safety and documentation cannot simply disappear from a lower tier.
A preliminary budget may be useful before a full survey if its uncertainty and assumptions are explicit. Do not represent a rough allowance as a firm installed price. Use the proposal template to keep the technical scope and commercial assumptions connected.
| Cost area | Include / verify | Estimate source |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | Survey, design, shop setup, site work, waiting, commissioning and training. | [Task hours; actual comparable jobs] |
| Equipment and materials | Exact items, mounts, cable, protection and approved substitutions. | [Current private supplier quotation] |
| Access and subcontract work | Lifts, permits, qualified trades, delivery and making-good. | [Written allowance or subcontract quote] |
| Aftercare | Documentation, planned follow-up and agreed service responsibilities. | [Defined scope and expected hours] |
| Overhead / risk | Consistent allocation and identifiable project uncertainties. | [Reviewed method; assumptions] |
| Tax / payment effects | Applicable treatment, collection terms and funding needs. | [Accountant and agreed terms] |
Count labour once and count all the work
Estimate hours by task using your own completed jobs. Separate technician time, design and project management where their costs differ. Include travel, access delays, testing, user instruction and the work needed to close the documentation record.
Understand what your hourly cost includes. Employer payroll costs may form part of a loaded labour figure; vehicle, office and other overhead may be allocated separately. Do not include an expense in both places. Ask your accountant to help maintain a consistent cost base and distinguish internal estimating from financial reporting.
Billable hours differ from paid hours. Track actual work and recoverable capacity instead of assuming every paid hour is chargeable. Use SBA bookkeeping guidance for general revenue/expense recordkeeping, then maintain your own job hours and cost-allocation method. Compare commissioning and return-visit time across completed jobs; the guide does not set an installer’s hourly rate or accounting treatment.
Do not confuse margin and markup
Let C be the defined cost base and S the proposed selling amount, using the same inclusions for both calculations. Markup is (S − C) ÷ C. Margin on that cost base is (S − C) ÷ S. They use different denominators.
| Question | Formula / interpretation |
|---|---|
| Markup on a positive cost base | (S − C) ÷ C × 100 |
| Margin on that same cost base | (S − C) ÷ S × 100, for a positive selling amount |
| Selling amount for chosen margin M | C ÷ (1 − M), with M expressed as a decimal below 1 |
| Example without prices | 30% markup gives 0.30 ÷ 1.30 = about 23.1% margin on the same cost base. |
The formula is not a recommendation to choose a particular percentage. A financial statement’s gross margin depends on its defined cost of sales; a project estimate that includes allocated overhead is not automatically that same measure. Keep the accounting labels consistent and confirm them with your accountant.
Review the target against job mix, overhead, service commitments, risk and actual results. The security company KPI review can help organize the comparison, while job costing explains individual estimates. Keep any approved commercial exception visible; do not conceal it in optimistic hours. Revisit assumptions as costs and scope change instead of treating one percentage as permanent policy.
Make the value visible without overclaiming
Explain the work the customer receives: required views, appropriate configuration, verified recording/export, named responsibilities and a useful handover. Give the exact equipment identity and documents. Do not claim that warning lights prevent incidents or that one catalog figure guarantees usable evidence at every site.
Confirm warranty for the actual SKU and written terms, with labour and maintenance separately described. Do not justify a price with a blanket warranty duration, universal ONVIF compatibility or an unverified app feature.
CASE account pricing remains private through an approved business account or direct quote. The private-pricing guide explains that process; channel policy does not guarantee profit or prove that no public listing exists. Obtain current purchasing terms for the actual full SKU/revision and project rather than treating an educational worksheet as a supplier quote.
Compare estimate with actual and improve
At closeout, compare task hours, materials, subcontract changes, repeat visits and collection timing with the estimate. Record why a difference occurred. Do not assume every overrun is technician inefficiency; an unclear survey or an unapproved scope addition may be the cause.
Use a written change record when the customer changes the requirement or an assumption fails. Describe the effect on time, cost and acceptance before proceeding under the agreed terms. Tax and payment obligations vary by jurisdiction and arrangement; obtain appropriate advice rather than applying a generic rule to every US or Canadian job.
Anabon’s security camera installer program provides a route to professional account and project support; ask what is available for the actual opportunity. Supplier support does not set your independent selling decision, guarantee a margin or replace your own surveyed scope and cost records.
FAQ
Should every quote use the same margin?
Use a consistent method, but consider the actual scope and risk. No percentage is appropriate for every installer, contract or project.
Should I publish CASE equipment prices in a sample quote?
No. Keep CASE purchasing and sell pricing within approved private channels. Public educational templates can use blank fields or clearly labelled percentages without publishing equipment prices.
References
- SBA — bookkeeping, cost and financial-management fundamentals
