Support

The Going Rate — User Support Guide

Welcome to The Going Rate, the pricing and quoting platform built for electrical contractors. This guide covers everything you need to know to get up and running and make the most of every feature.

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Your Hourly Rate Calculator
• Services (Your Pricebook)
• Materials
• Estimates
• The Customer Portal
• Promotions
• Settings
• Integrations
• Subscription & Billing
• Frequently Asked Questions

1. Getting Started

Creating Your Account

Sign up at the login page using your email address and a password. After signing up, you'll be walked through a short onboarding flow to personalize your experience.

Onboarding Flow

During onboarding you'll be asked to:

• Choose your region — Canada, USA, or both. This determines default currency and pricing rules.
• Set your business focus — helps tailor your initial service categories.
• Review your initial settings — you can always change these later.

You can skip onboarding and return to it at any time, but completing it ensures your pricing is set up correctly from the start.

Getting Started Checklist

Once inside the app, a Getting Started checklist guides you through the three most important first steps:

• Calculate your true billable hourly rate
• Create your first estimate
• Set up your first promotion

Each item links directly to the relevant part of the app. The checklist disappears once all steps are complete.

Your 7-Day Trial

New accounts start with a 7-day free trial giving you full access to the platform. A banner at the top of the app shows how many days remain. At the end of the trial, you'll be prompted to subscribe to keep your access.

2. Your Hourly Rate Calculator

Where to find it: The Calculator tab in the main navigation.

The Rate Calculator is one of the most powerful tools in the app. It helps you figure out your true billable hourly rate — not just what you pay your technician, but what you actually need to charge to stay profitable after accounting for real-world inefficiencies.

Step 1 — Your Daily Tasks (Efficiency)

The first step asks you to log how much time each day is spent on tasks that aren't billable to a customer:

• Driving to/from jobs
• Refueling vehicles
• Picking up materials
• Job site cleanup
• Administrative work / paperwork
• Team meetings

Enter the number of minutes per day for each activity. The calculator uses this to determine your Efficiency Rate — the percentage of your day that is actually billable. For example, if 90 minutes of an 8-hour day are unbillable, your efficiency is about 81%.

Why this matters: If you don't account for unbillable time, you're effectively paying for it out of your margin. This step ensures your rate reflects the real cost of running the job.

Step 2 — Your Labor Details

Enter the financial details of your labor:

• Electrician hourly pay — the wage you pay your technician.
• Labor burden — taxes, insurance, and benefits as a percentage (a common starting point is 20–25%).
• Desired profit margin — the percentage of profit you want to keep after all costs.
• Working hours — hours per day, days per week, and days off for holidays and vacation/sick leave.

Reviewing Your Calculated Rate

After filling in both steps, the calculator shows you:

• Your true cost per billable hour — what it actually costs you to send a tech to a job.
• Your recommended selling rate — the rate you should charge per hour to hit your profit target.

Applying the Rate to Your Pricebook

Once you're happy with your calculated rate, click Apply Rate to update all of your services at once. This recalculates every service in your pricebook based on the new rate, saving you from updating each one manually.

Tip: Re-run the calculator any time wages, benefits, or fuel costs change to keep your pricing current.

3. Services (Your Pricebook)

Where to find it: The Services tab in the main navigation.

Your services are the building blocks of every estimate. Each service represents a task or assembly you perform for a customer.

Understanding the Structure

Services are organized in a two-level hierarchy:

• Categories — broad groupings (e.g., "Rough-In", "Panel Work", "Low Voltage")
• Services — individual tasks within a category

You can create as many categories and services as you need.

Adding a Category

• Click Add Category.
• Enter a name and optionally upload an image to represent it.
• Click Save.

Adding a Service

• Open a category and click Add Service (or the + button).
• Fill in: Name — what appears on the estimate. Description — optional detail shown to customers. Labor Time — how long the job takes in hours. Unit — the unit of measure (each, hour, linear foot, etc.). Price — this is automatically calculated from your hourly rate but can be adjusted manually.
• Click Save.

Assemblies — Linking Materials to a Service

An Assembly is a service that includes materials. When you link materials to a service, the app automatically adds the material cost (with your configured markup) to the service total.

To add materials to a service:

• Open the service.
• Click Add Material in the assembly section.
• Search for the material and enter the quantity needed.
• The total will update automatically.

This ensures your flat-rate prices always cover both labor and parts.

Editing and Deleting Services

• Click any service to open and edit it.
• Use the Delete option to remove a service. If a service is used in existing estimates, those estimates are not affected — they retain a snapshot of the price at the time they were created.

Regional Pricing

If your account covers both Canada and the USA, you can configure separate pricing per region within each service.

4. Materials

Where to find it: The Materials tab in the main navigation.

The Materials catalog is your database of parts, components, and supplies. Materials don't appear directly on estimates — they're attached to services as assemblies, and their costs roll up into the service price.

Adding a Material

• Click Add Material.
• Fill in: Name — the part name. SKU — optional supplier part number for reference. Unit Cost — what you pay for one unit. Unit — the unit of measure (each, box, foot, etc.).
• Click Save.

Markup Modes

Material costs are marked up before being included in a service price. Two markup modes are available in Settings:

• Flat Markup — a single percentage applied to all materials.
• Tiered Markup — different percentages based on the cost of the material (e.g., a higher markup on cheap parts, lower on expensive ones). This is a common industry practice.

Your markup settings are configured in the Settings tab.

Checking Where a Material Is Used

Before editing or deleting a material, you can see every service that uses it. Open the material and look for the Used In section. This prevents accidentally changing the cost of parts that affect many services at once.

Deleting a Material

If a material is linked to one or more services, the app will warn you before deletion. Removing it will affect those services' assembly costs.

5. Estimates

Where to find it: The Estimates tab in the main navigation.

Estimates are the customer-facing quotes you create and send. The GoingRate supports multi-option estimates, meaning you can present customers with two or three pricing tiers (e.g., Good / Better / Best) in a single quote.

Creating an Estimate

• Click New Estimate.
• Enter the customer's details: Name, Email address (used to send the estimate link), Service address (optional), Notes (visible to the customer on their portal).
• The estimate opens into the Estimate Editor.

The Estimate Editor

The editor is divided into Options. Each option is a separate pricing tier within the same quote.

Adding an Option

Click Add Option to create a new pricing tier. You can rename each option (e.g., "Standard", "Premium") to make it easy for customers to compare.

Adding Services to an Option

• Click Add Services within an option.
• The Service Picker opens — a searchable, categorized browser of your pricebook.
• Tap or click any service to add it to the option.
• Adjust quantities as needed.

Adding Materials Directly (Coming Soon)

You will also be able to add individual materials directly to an option from the Service Picker.

Applying a Promotion

If you have active promotions set up, click the Promotions icon on any option to apply one. The discount is reflected immediately in the option total.

Manual Discounts

You can apply a one-time manual dollar or percentage discount to an option without needing a formal promotion.

Estimate Totals

Each option shows:

• Subtotal — sum of all services before discounts
• Discount — any promotion or manual discount applied
• Total — the final price for that option

The estimate header shows the total of the approved option (or the first option if none are approved yet).

Sending an Estimate

• When your estimate is ready:
• Click Send.
• The estimate status changes to Sent.
• A unique share link is generated and can be copied to your clipboard or shared directly with the customer.
• The share link takes the customer to their own personal portal where they can review and respond to the quote — no login required.

Estimate Statuses

• Draft — Being built, not yet sent to the customer
• Sent — Shared with the customer, awaiting response
• Accepted — Customer has approved one of the options
• Declined — Customer declined all options

Managing Existing Estimates

The Estimates list shows all your quotes with their current status. Click any estimate to open it and:

• Edit line items (if still in Draft)
• View which option was approved
• Copy the share link again
• Sync to QuickBooks (if connected)

Deleting an Estimate

Estimates that are still empty when you close them are automatically removed to keep your list clean.

6. The Customer Portal

When you share an estimate link with a customer, they're taken to a mobile-friendly Customer Portal — no app download or login required.

What the Customer Sees

• Your business name and their name at the top
• Service address and any notes you added
• Each option displayed as an expandable card, showing: All services included, Quantities and units, Line item totals, Any promotions or discounts applied
• The total price for that option

How a Customer Responds

• To approve an option: The customer clicks Approve this option on their preferred choice. They'll see a confirmation screen letting them know their selection has been received.
• To decline: The customer clicks Decline all options at the bottom of the page. You'll see the estimate update to Declined status in your dashboard.

After Approval

• Once a customer approves an option:
• Your estimate updates to Accepted status instantly.
• The approved option is locked in — it's now the basis for invoicing.
• If you're connected to QuickBooks, you can sync the approved option directly to an invoice with one click.
• The customer's portal shows a "You're all set" confirmation screen with their approved total.

7. Promotions

Where to find it: The Promotions tab in the main navigation.

Promotions let you offer discounts or special deals on your services without permanently changing your prices.

Promotion Types

• Percentage Off — Reduces the total by a percentage (e.g., 10% off)
• Dollar Amount Off — Reduces the total by a fixed dollar amount (e.g., $50 off)
• Buy X Get Y — When a customer buys a specific service, another is discounted or free

Creating a Promotion

• Click Add Promotion.
• Choose a promotion type.
• Fill in the name, discount amount/percentage, and any conditions.
• Set a Start Date and optionally an End Date for the campaign.
• Review the Profit Analysis (see below) before saving.
• Click Save.

Profit Analysis — Know Before You Offer

Before you publish a promotion, the app shows a real-time Profit Analysis. This tells you:

• Whether the promotion still leaves a healthy margin
• Whether the discount puts you into thin-margin or even loss territory

This prevents you from accidentally offering deals that cost you money. If the analysis flags a concern, you can adjust the discount before going live.

Scheduling Promotions

Promotions with a future start date are pending — they won't be available to apply to estimates until their start date. Promotions with a past end date are expired and no longer selectable.

Applying a Promotion to an Estimate

Open an estimate, select an option, click the Promotions icon, and choose from the list of currently active promotions. The discount appears on that option immediately.

8. Settings

Where to find it: Click the Settings tab or cog icon in the navigation.

Business Profile

• Business Name — shown on the customer portal and in exported documents.
• Region — Canada, USA, or Both. Controls currency defaults and certain pricing behaviors.
• Currency — your preferred display currency (CAD or USD).

Pricing & Markup

• Default Hourly Rate — your base labor rate. Updated automatically when you use the Rate Calculator.
• Material Markup Mode — choose between Flat or Tiered markup for materials (see Materials section for details).
• Markup Tiers — if using Tiered markup, configure the cost ranges and corresponding multipliers here.

Custom Units

Add custom units of measure that aren't in the default list (e.g., "per panel", "per circuit run"). These become available when adding or editing services and materials.

9. Integrations

Where to find it: The Integrations section within Settings.

Integrations connect The GoingRate to the other tools you use to run your business. Both integrations listed below require an active paid subscription.

Jobber Integration

What it does: Pushes your service pricebook into Jobber so your flat-rate prices are available when building jobs in Jobber.

How to connect:

• Click Connect Jobber.
• You'll be redirected to Jobber to authorize the connection.
• Once authorized, you're returned to the app and the connection shows as active.

Syncing services: After connecting, click Sync to Jobber to push all your current services and their calculated prices into Jobber as Products & Services.

Disconnecting: Click Disconnect at any time. This removes the connection — services already in Jobber are not deleted.

QuickBooks Online Integration

What it does: Sends approved estimates to QuickBooks as invoices, ready to collect payment.

How to connect:

• Click Connect QuickBooks.
• You'll be redirected to Intuit to authorize the connection.
• Once authorized, you're returned to the app and the connection shows as active.

Sending an estimate to QuickBooks:

• Open an Accepted estimate (one where the customer has approved an option).
• Click Send to QuickBooks.
• The app creates or matches the customer in QuickBooks and generates an invoice from the approved option's line items.
• The invoice terms are set to Due upon receipt.
• Note: Only the approved option is sent. If no option has been approved yet, the button will not be available.

Disconnecting: Click Disconnect at any time. Invoices already created in QuickBooks are not affected.

10. Subscription & Billing

Subscription Plan

The GoingRate is available for $38.50/month after your free trial ends. Your subscription gives you:

• Unlimited estimates
• Full pricebook access
• Rate calculator
• Promotions engine
• Jobber and QuickBooks integrations

Managing Your Subscription

Click your account menu or visit the Billing section in Settings to:

• View your current plan and renewal date
• Update your payment method
• Cancel your subscription

Billing is handled securely by Stripe. Your card details are never stored in the app.

Access Codes

If you purchased a pricebook or plan through an external offer, you may have received an access code. Enter it in the Redeem Code field during onboarding or in Settings to unlock your access.

After Cancellation

If you cancel, your access continues until the end of your current billing period. After that, your data is retained but you'll need to resubscribe to access the full app.

11. Frequently Asked Questions

• Can my customer log in to see the estimate? No — customers don't need an account. They access their estimate through a private, unique link you share with them.
• What happens if I send a new estimate to the same customer? Each estimate has its own unique link. Previous estimates are still accessible, but the customer's portal only reflects the specific estimate they were sent.
• Can I edit an estimate after sending it? Yes, you can edit a sent estimate. The customer's link always shows the most current version of the estimate. If you make significant changes, it's good practice to let the customer know.
• Can I have more than three options on an estimate? You can add as many options as you like — there's no hard limit.
• What happens to my estimates if I cancel my subscription? Your data is preserved. If you resubscribe, everything will be exactly as you left it.
• Does the customer see my material costs? No. Customers only see service names, descriptions, quantities, and totals. Material costs are included in the service price but are not shown as a separate line item.
• Can I use the app on my phone? Yes. The GoingRate is mobile-responsive and designed to work on phones and tablets, including the Service Picker and estimate builder.
• How do I change my hourly rate? Use the Rate Calculator to recalculate based on current wages and costs, then click Apply Rate to update your entire pricebook at once.
• What if a promotion makes me lose money? The Profit Analysis on the Promotions screen will flag this before you save. You can adjust the discount amount until the margin is acceptable.
• I connected Jobber but my services aren't showing up there — what do I do? After connecting, you need to manually click Sync to Jobber from the Integrations settings. The sync doesn't happen automatically.
• Can I duplicate an estimate? This feature is not currently available. You can build a new estimate quickly using the Service Picker to re-add the same services.
• How secure is my customer's estimate link? Each link uses a randomly generated, non-guessable token. It's not tied to a customer account and cannot be discovered by guessing. However, anyone who has the link can view the estimate, so treat it like a shared document.

For additional support, reach out through the in-app help or contact the support team directly.