Sell a business · Electrical contracting
Sell your electrical contracting business, on your terms.
Electrical contractors are selling into a strong market: electrification, EV charging, panel upgrades, and a deep shortage of licensed electricians have made established shops attractive to both individual buyers and consolidators. The shops that command real premiums are the ones whose backlog and crew don't evaporate when the owner hands over the keys.
Buyers read an electrical business through three lenses: the mix of service versus project work, the license structure, and the backlog. A signed backlog of profitable projects plus a steady service division is the strongest hand an electrical seller can hold.
What buyers pay for
What moves your electrical contracting business toward the top of the band.
Backlog quality, not just size
A big backlog of underbid projects is a liability. Buyers want to see signed contracts with margins that match your history - bring job-level profitability, not just a revenue pipeline.
Licensed crew depth
Journeymen and a master electrician beyond the owner are what make the business transferable. Crew tenure and apprenticeship pipelines get asked about in the first meeting.
Service division share
Recurring service and small-works revenue smooths the project cycle and supports the upper end of the multiple band.
Prepare before you list
Diligence starts long before the buyer shows up.
Tie WIP to the financials
Work-in-progress accounting is where electrical deals get repriced. A clean WIP schedule that reconciles to your statements - percent complete, billings, cost to finish - prevents late surprises.
Document change-order discipline
Show a buyer how change orders get priced, approved, and collected. It is the clearest evidence that project margins are managed rather than lucky.
List bonding and insurance facts early
If your work requires bonding, gather your capacity, history, and broker contacts. Buyers financing the deal need this for their own underwriting.
Free valuation calculator
What is your electrical contracting business actually worth?
Two minutes, no signup. We start from the typical electrical contracting band of 2.2x to 3.0x owner profit, then adjust for your growth and track record. The math runs entirely in your browser - we never store what you type.
Estimate my business valueThe Slyced Exchange
Sell without telling the world.
When you are ready to ask the market, the Exchange is a private way to do it. Your listing is anonymous by default: built from ranges and categories, screened word by word for anything that could identify you, and reviewed by a person before it goes live.
Buyers verify their identity before they can request access, you approve every request, and a real NDA is signed before your name is revealed. Listing is a flat subscription - never a percentage of your sale.
The Exchange opens soon. Join the owners preparing to list.
Talk to us about sellingAnonymous by default
The public profile is built from ranges and categories. Your name and exact numbers have no field to live in.
Verified buyers only
Anyone can browse, but requesting access requires identity verification first. No anonymous tire-kickers.
NDA before any reveal
You see who a buyer is before they learn who you are, and a real NDA is signed before the reveal.
0% commission, ever
A flat software subscription. We never take a percentage of your sale - not at listing, not at closing.
Plain answers
Questions electrical contracting owners ask.
- What is an electrical contracting business worth?
- Typical small-business transactions put electrical contractors at roughly 2.2x to 3.0x SDE. Shops with a strong service division, licensed crew depth, and a profitable signed backlog price toward the top. Treat the range as an educated starting point - the market and your specific numbers decide the real price.
- How does backlog affect the sale?
- Signed, profitable backlog supports the price because the buyer's first year is already partly underwritten. Unprofitable or vague backlog cuts the other way. Expect a buyer to review job-level margins on every major open project.
- Do I have to stay on after selling?
- Most buyers ask for a transition period - commonly a few months of handover, sometimes longer if you are the license qualifier. The terms are negotiable, and planning the license transition early gives you more leverage on how long you stay.