How to Price a Commercial LED Lighting Retrofit | Reddit & LinkedIn

A commercial LED retrofit quote lives or dies on the audit. You need an accurate count of fixtures by type and location, the existing lamp and ballast types, the mounting heights, and the current controls. Quote from a walkthrough guess and you will either lose money on a higher count or lose the bid by padding.

The audit also tells you what is actually possible. Some fixtures take a simple LED lamp, some need a retrofit kit, and some are better fully replaced. Document the count and conditions room by room. That record becomes your bill of materials, your labor basis, and your evidence if the customer later questions the scope or the price.

There are two main paths. A lamp or kit retrofit reuses the existing fixture housing and is cheaper and faster. A full fixture replacement swaps the whole unit, costs more, and usually delivers better light quality, longer life, and cleaner integration with modern controls.

The right answer depends on fixture condition, the customer goals, and payback. Old, failing housings are not worth retrofitting. A customer who wants dimming and occupancy sensing may need new fixtures to do it well. Price both options when it makes sense and let the customer weigh upfront cost against performance and rebates. Being able to show two clear options often wins the job.

Materials are predictable; labor is where retrofit quotes go wrong. The drivers are fixture count, ceiling height, and access. A warehouse with 30-foot ceilings needs lifts and slows every fixture. An occupied retail space or medical office may require off-hours or weekend work so you are not disrupting business, and that carries a premium.

Walk the space and picture the install. Where do the lifts go, how many fixtures per hour is realistic at that height, and does the work have to happen at night? These questions separate a profitable bid from one where the labor line was optimistic. Access and scheduling, not the LEDs themselves, are usually the biggest cost after the fixtures.

Many utilities offer rebates for commercial LED retrofits, sometimes substantial, based on the wattage reduction. Mention them as potential savings the customer should confirm with the utility, not as a discount you guarantee. Keep the rebate language separate from your price so your quote stands on its own, and know that some rebate programs require pre-approval before work begins.

Markup on commercial electrical work commonly runs 15% to 25% for a small contractor on larger projects, set by your overhead and target profit. Remember markup is not margin. On a big fixture count the total is large, so even a correct markup is real money, and the customer will compare bids. Price it honestly, show the value in energy savings and light quality, and let the rebate be the closer.

The fastest path from audit to signed quote is to draft against your own templates. ContractShield lets you photograph fixtures and spaces during the audit, say or type the counts and scope, and get an AI draft of fixtures, controls, labor, and access in about 25 minutes total. You approve each line, and every line shows where its price came from, so the numbers stay yours.

Once the customer accepts online, milestone payments fit commercial work well: a deposit, progress draws as areas are completed, and a final payment. Automatic reminders and collections handle overdue balances. For a multi-room retrofit, milestone billing keeps your cash flow ahead of your labor instead of waiting for one invoice at the end.