How to follow up on electrical panel upgrade quotes?
By the Escloser team · Last updated
Pull every open panel-upgrade quote from ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro or Workiz, call the same business hour it went out, then days 2, 4, 7 and 14. Compare permit, utility, and amperage line by line, not the totals.
This is the habit for a 2-to-10 truck electrical shop whose 100-amp to 200-amp upgrades, meter-mains, and panel swaps go quiet after the visit.
What an unsigned panel-upgrade quote actually is
An unsold panel quote is still open until someone sells it, dismisses it, or the customer approves it. On r/AskElectricians, homeowners still collect two or three quotes because the numbers swing so hard. Silence is that stall.
| Status | Follow up? |
|---|---|
| Sent, awaiting response, or Open | Yes |
| Second bid, insurance, inspector, utility, or permit | Yes, on the date they gave you |
| Sold or approved | No. Book the install and the outage window |
| Lost, declined, or hired someone else | No. Log the reason and stop |
ServiceTitan’s Follow Up screen (updated 2026-07-11) uses Open, Contacted, Won, or Dismissed. Dismiss the ones they confirmed they do not want.
Pull the open list
Filter Follow Up, awaiting response, Pipeline, or Pending for panel upgrade, service upgrade, meter-main, and 200-amp. Pull amount, age, amperage, permit, utility, and last call.
ServiceTitan: Follow Up, then Call the customer (help, updated 2026-07-11). Jobber quote follow-ups (updated 2026-08-06) on Connect and up email or text up to twice. Housecall Pro Pipeline (dated 2026-08-06) can resend, then decline. Workiz Automations (updated 2024-01-31, read 2026-10-12) emails three days after send.
Why a panel quote goes quiet
Name which clock this is before you pitch.
| What they said | What it usually is | Next date |
|---|---|---|
| Need to think about it | Unnamed hold-up, often a second bid | Stay on the cadence until they name it |
| Getting other quotes | The usual two or three | The day the other bid lands |
| Insurance, inspector, EV, heat pump, or solar | The panel is a step, or a third party has to bless it | The date they hear back |
| Waiting on the power company | Disconnect sits on the utility calendar | The date they or you were given |
| The house will be without power | Scheduling | The two open install days that work |
What to say when a customer needs to think about the quote names the hold-up. How to follow up when the customer is waiting on financing is that callback. If a utility incentive is on the estimate, name the program and the date. Never invent one.
A cadence a small shop can run
One CSR job post for this work asks for a callback within 30 minutes, then days 2, 4, 6 and 7. Five live attempts over two weeks is enough. Leave the FSM reminders on.
| When | What you do | What you are trying to learn |
|---|---|---|
| Same business hour (day 0) | Call. Confirm the estimate arrived | Did they get it, and is there a first question |
| Day 2 | Call. Text if you cannot reach them | Who else needs to see it, and is a second bid in play |
| Day 4 | Call. Offer the next two open install slots and the outage window | Timing vs price vs the other bid |
| Day 7 | Call. Ask what is stopping them | Permit, utility, insurance, or a polite stall |
| Day 14 | Last call. Close it won or lost | A reason in the notes, then dismiss |
If they already gave you a date, park it and call then. If nobody answers, leave a short voicemail with your name, the shop, the address, and a callback number. Do not pitch into the mailbox. How many times should a contractor follow up on an estimate? is the count. There is no reliable public number for close rate. Score it from your own FSM.
What to say on the call
Call as the shop, by the company name. Read the electrician’s notes first.
Day 0. “Hi, it’s Maya from Northside Electric. Luis was out at 18 Maple this morning on the 200-amp panel. I wanted to make sure the estimate came through.”
They need to think about it. “What’s the one thing you’re still weighing?” Then stop talking. Price, the spouse, a second bid, the utility date, and insurance are different next steps. Log the actual one.
Another bid. “When do you expect the other quote? I’ll call then and we can line up amperage, spaces, permit, utility, grounding, and breakers, not just the totals.” Stay on the cadence if they never name a day.
Utility, permit, or power off. “Have they given you a disconnect date, or is that still with us to file?” The shop pulls the permit and files the utility work order. For the outage, offer the two open days around the window Luis wrote. Do not guess the hours.
A different panel size or a new price. “I can have Luis call you back on that.” The CSR does not rerun the load calculation. The National Electrical Code is the rule the electrician already used in the house.
Day 14. “I’m closing open estimates and wanted a last look at 18 Maple. If you went another direction, I’ll mark it so we stop calling.” Then dismiss it with a reason.
Estimate follow-up email and text templates is the written version.
Compare the other bid line by line
On r/AskElectricians, a $15,000 panel quote and a $3,500 one can sit on the same table in the same week. On r/electricians, shops still open the cheaper bid and find half the work. Compare these lines.
| Line | What to ask | Why the totals diverge |
|---|---|---|
| Panel swap, same amperage | Same service size, new can? | Smaller job than a service upgrade |
| 100-amp to 200-amp | New conductors, often a new meter? | Utility is in the job |
| Permit and inspection | Is a permit in the price? | A bid without one is a different job |
| Utility disconnect and reconnect | Who files it, and when? | Their date, not yours |
| Ground rods, bonding, AFCI or GFCI | Included when the panel is touched? | Code items a thin bid skips |
A panel swap and a service upgrade are different tickets. Log hired-someone-else, different-scope, or price. How to track why customers turn down estimates is that note.
What the FSM already sends
The field-service app wins the reminder. It is already in the plan, and it does not forget. Jobber’s two quote follow-ups and Housecall Pro’s Pipeline resends never miss a day. Workiz’s three-day template is the same once the add-on is on. ServiceTitan’s path is a person clicking Call the customer. Keep the reminders on. Add the five calls.
When to stop
Stop the day they decline, hired someone else, reply STOP, or ask you not to call. The FCC (updated 2026-02-27) prohibits telemarketing calls to the home before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. local time, and says telemarketers must comply immediately with a do-not-call request. This is not legal advice. Check with your own counsel. Five attempts in two weeks, then a logged no, ends this estimate.
Four ways shops actually keep panel quotes moving
The electrician who was in the house wins the first call when they can make it. A CSR can run days 2 through 14 if the notes are in the ticket. One person has to own the list.
1. Run the FSM as designed
Work Follow Up, quote reminders, Pipeline, or Pending every morning, highest dollar first. Right answer when someone is at the desk. It breaks the first full week.
2. The electrician calls from the truck
Same-hour check-in from the person who wrote the quote. Best first call. It stops the afternoon they have three more houses.
3. Hire someone whose job is the list
Job posts from 2025 list a sales VA for estimate follow-up at about $700 a month and an estimator or lead converter at about $400 a month. You still hire, train them, and check that they log permit, utility, second bid, or price instead of “thinking.”
4. Put unsigned panel upgrades on a daily call list
The open 200-amp quotes are already in the FSM. Someone still has to dial, line up the other bid, and write the hold-up. We make Escloser, which does this, so weigh that suggestion accordingly. Ask who is on the phone, and whether every no names the actual reason.
How to tell this week
Yesterday’s unsold panel upgrades should have a same-day call, second bids and utility dates a next date, and lost jobs a reason. If Friday’s open list is longer than Monday’s, the reminders are sending and nobody is calling.
Open last month’s panel and service-upgrade estimates. Lay the open ones next to the phone. Start there. They already exist.
Frequently asked questions
Does ServiceTitan or Jobber already follow up on panel upgrade quotes?
They give you a list and, on some plans, they send reminder emails or texts. ServiceTitan's Follow Up screen is built so a person clicks Call the customer. Jobber can send up to two quote follow-ups on Connect and up. None of that picks up the phone, compares the other bid's scope, or writes down why they said no.
Should I drop the price when they say they got a cheaper panel bid?
No. Ask when the other quote lands, then line up amperage, spaces, permit, utility disconnect, ground rods, and AFCI or GFCI breakers. On r/AskElectricians, homeowners still post numbers that swing from a few thousand to five figures for what they think is the same job. A different panel size or a missing permit goes back to the electrician.
What if they are waiting on the utility or a permit before they book?
Keep it open. A utility disconnect date is a parked call. Write that date on the estimate and call then. The shop files the permit and the utility work order. If they never named a day, stay on days 2, 4, 7 and 14 and ask which of those is holding them.
Can a CSR make this call, or does the electrician who was in the house have to?
The person who was in the house wins the first call when they can make it. A CSR can run the rest if the notes name amperage, permit, utility, and the hold-up. A different panel size, a new load calc, or any new price goes back to the electrician. The CSR books, parks a date, and writes the reason down.