Sign installation estimating that prices the crew, the lift and the drive
Sign installation estimating in SignEstimator prices crew size and hours, lift or crane class by install height, travel distance and drive time, permits, the survey visit, removal of the old sign and electrical hookup. Every install line uses your rates, and on Team you book the crew and equipment on a calendar.
Installs are where sign jobs lose money
Fabrication happens in your shop, where you control the clock. Installation happens on a street, a roof or a highway frontage, where everything takes longer. A lift that was a half day turns into a full day. The crane needs a second mobilization. The permit office wants a revision.
Many shops price the install as one round number. SignEstimator breaks it into the parts that really drive cost, so the price you quote covers the job you will do. Every estimate has an install section, on every plan.
- Crew size and hours, at your install labor rate
- Lift or crane class picked from the install height
- Half day and full day equipment rates
- Travel distance, drive time and mileage
- Permits, survey visit, after-hours work and old sign removal
- Electrical hookup as a subcontract line
Crew size and hours that match the sign
Install hours depend on what goes up and how. A set of channel letters on a raceway is a different day than letters mounted one by one on a brick wall. SignEstimator starts from the sign type and mounting in the estimate, then sets a crew and hours you can adjust.
- Crew size from 1 to any number, each with your hourly install rate
- Hours per sign type and mounting style, set once in your shop settings
- Extra time for each letter mounted flush versus one raceway or backer
- Separate rates for lead installers and helpers if you use them
Once you correct the hours on a few jobs, you can save them as your shop default for that sign type.
Lift or crane class picked by install height
Install height is one of the biggest cost drivers. You enter the height of the top of the sign, and SignEstimator picks the equipment class from your own equipment table.
| Install height | Typical equipment class in your table | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|
| Ground or up to 12 ft | Ladders or scaffold | Included in crew hours |
| Up to 26 ft | Scissor lift or small boom | Half day or day rate |
| Up to 45 ft | 45 ft boom lift | Half day or day rate, plus delivery |
| Up to 60 ft | 60 ft boom lift | Day rate, plus delivery |
| Over 60 ft or heavy cabinets | Crane | Hourly rate plus crane mobilization |
You set the classes, rates and delivery fees for your area. If you own a bucket truck, add it as equipment with your own hourly cost. Pylons and monuments often need a crane even at low height because of weight, so you can pick the class by hand.
Half day versus full day rates
Rental yards charge by the half day, the day and the week. SignEstimator compares your install hours with the half day length you set and picks the right rate. When the hours tip past a half day, the line switches to the day rate and tells you why.
- Half day length set in your shop settings, such as 4 hours
- Day and week rates for longer installs
- Delivery and pickup fees as their own lines
- Crane mobilization added once per trip, not per hour
If the crew needs to come back, add a second trip and the equipment and travel lines are added again.
Travel, permits and the survey visit
Distance changes the price even when the sign does not. You enter the job site distance in miles or kilometers, and SignEstimator adds drive time for the crew and mileage for the truck.
- Drive time for each crew member, both ways, at your travel rate
- Mileage per mile or kilometer for each vehicle
- Optional overnight costs for far jobs
- Permit fee as a pass-through line, plus your time to prepare and file it
- Survey visit before the job, with its own hours and travel
- After-hours or weekend work at your overtime rate, for stores that cannot close
- Removal of the old sign, with hours and disposal fee
For a step by step method, read how to quote sign installation.
Electrical hookup as a subcontract line
Illuminated signs need a licensed electrician to make the final connection, unless your shop holds that license. SignEstimator adds the hookup as a subcontract line with the electrician's price and your markup. The quote shows it as part of the install, so the customer is not surprised by a second bill.
- Subcontract cost and your markup or margin on it
- A note on who pulls the electrical permit
- Optional line for a new circuit or timer
A worked install estimate for a set of channel letters
This is an example to show how the lines add up. Example numbers, use your own rates. The job is front lit channel letters on a raceway, top of sign at 24 ft, 30 miles from the shop, with an old cabinet sign to remove.
| Install line | Quantity | Rate in this example | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey visit | 2 hours | $85 per hour | $170 |
| Install crew, 2 installers | 12 crew hours | $85 per hour | $1,020 |
| Boom lift, 45 ft class, half day | 1 | $450 | $450 |
| Drive time, 2 installers, both ways | 3 crew hours | $85 per hour | $255 |
| Truck mileage | 60 miles | $1.25 per mile | $75 |
| Sign permit, pass-through | 1 | $350 | $350 |
| Permit preparation | 1 hour | $85 per hour | $85 |
| Removal of old cabinet sign | 3 hours | $85 per hour | $255 |
| Disposal fee | 1 | $120 | $120 |
| Electrical hookup, licensed electrician subcontract | 1 | $650 | $650 |
| Install cost before overhead | $3,430 | ||
| Overhead at 12 percent | $411.60 | ||
| Install cost with overhead | $3,841.60 | ||
| Install sale price at 30 percent target margin | $5,488.00 |
In this example, if the hours had passed the half day length, the lift line would move to the day rate. The margin preview shows the real margin on the install next to the margin on fabrication, so you see if the install is carrying its share. For the fabrication side of the same sign, see pricing a channel letter sign.
Install scheduling calendar on the Team plan
On Team and Multi-location, approved jobs move from production to an install calendar. You book a crew and the equipment the estimate called for, on the same screen.
- Crews and installers shown by day and week
- Lifts, cranes and bucket trucks shown as resources with their availability
- A warning when a lift is double booked or a crew is over its hours
- The install date shared with the job card on the jobs board
After the install, the crew logs actual hours, and job costing compares them with the estimate. Read more about sign shop production software.
Frequently asked questions
[email protected]Yes. Crew hours, lift or crane class by height, travel, permits, survey, removal and subcontract lines are part of every estimate on every plan. The install scheduling calendar is part of Team and Multi-location.
Yes. You set the equipment classes, the heights they cover, half day and day rates, delivery fees and crane mobilization in your shop settings.
It picks the class from the install height and your equipment table. You can change the class by hand for heavy cabinets, pylons or tight sites.
Electrical hookup by a licensed electrician is added as a subcontract line with your markup, so it is part of the install price on the quote.
Yes. SignEstimator works in imperial and metric units. Pick miles or kilometers and set your mileage and travel rates to match.
Price your next install with every cost in it
Run one estimate on the homepage without an account and see the install lines on a real job. Install pricing is part of every plan, from Solo at $24 per month billed yearly. The install calendar is part of Team. There is no free plan. Compare plans on the sign estimating software pricing page.