Can AI help run a UK electrical contracting business?

Guide for your tradeUKChecked 29 October 202622 primary sources8 min readUS version

The short answer

Yes. Greymill gives a UK electrical contractor 16 AI specialists who share one memory of the firm. They price jobs and call-outs, draft invoice chasers and enquiry follow-ups for you to send, and raise scheme renewals and landlord inspection dates before they fall due. Greymill files and sends nothing until you press Send yourself.

Who can self-certify notifiable work under Part P?

In England, a person registered for that work with an authorised competent person scheme self-certifies notifiable work within 30 days of completion. Otherwise you give building control a building notice or full plans, with the fee, before work starts (Building Regulations 2010, regs 12(6A) and 20(3)).

The government's list of 17 September 2026 names BESCA, Blue Flame Certification, Certsure trading as NICEIC, NAPIT and OFTEC for electrical work in dwellings (As of Oct 2026). Non-notifiable work must still comply. Wales and Scotland run their own systems (Scotland through the building warrant), so check before you work there. See the Academy lesson on registrations and notification.

Which certificate do I issue: EIC, minor works or EICR?

An Electrical Installation Certificate for new circuits and consumer units, a minor works certificate for additions, and an EICR for a periodic inspection, each on the BS 7671 model forms.

BS 7671 is a British Standard, not law, but it is how you show compliance. Amendment 3 was withdrawn on 15 October 2026, so design and certify new work to Amendment 4 (As of Oct 2026). A certificate signed for work the signer did not inspect and test is a false record and grounds for removal from the scheme.

How should I code an EICR?

Code to the facts and to Electrical Safety First's Best Practice Guide 4, never to sell remedials or to please a landlord.

C1 means danger present: make safe before you leave. C2 is potentially dangerous and needs urgent remedial action, C3 is improvement recommended, and FI is further investigation without delay. Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory. Never over-code or under-code, and agree the extent and limitations in writing first.

What do landlords need from me on electrical safety?

In England, a rented home needs an inspection and test at intervals of no more than 5 years, and remedial or further investigative work for C1, C2 or FI items is done within 28 days or the shorter period in the report (Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regs 3 and 11) (As of Oct 2026).

The landlord gives the report to tenants within 28 days and to the council within 7 days of a request. The maximum financial penalty is £40,000 (As of Oct 2026), and social landlords had to inspect tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 by 1 November 2026. Wales and Scotland also require an electrical report at least every 5 years under their own rules, and Scotland adds testing of portable appliances the landlord supplies. See the Academy lesson on landlord work.

What should I charge for a call-out or a rewire?

Price from the hours you bill, not the hours you pay, because travel, quoting and return visits are paid but never billed.

Divide your loaded hourly cost by utilisation, add overheads per billable hour, then divide by one minus your target margin. In an indicative example, three engineers on £18.00 basic with 25% on-costs, 2,000 paid hours each, 65% utilisation and £180,000 of overheads break even at £80.77 an hour, so a 20% net margin needs about £101. State the call-out fee before you attend: where no price was agreed, a homeowner owes only a reasonable price (Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.51). See how to price a quote and the Academy lesson on charge-out rates.

How do I chase an unpaid invoice?

A business customer owes statutory interest and fixed compensation on a late invoice; a homeowner does not, so there you send a letter before claim and then use the small claims track.

Interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 is 8% a year over the reference rate, 11.75% for debts falling due from July to December 2026, plus £40, £70 or £100 per invoice by size (s.5A) (As of Oct 2026). In England and Wales the small claims track covers claims up to £10,000 (CPR r.26.9, As of Oct 2026); see a solicitor before you sue above that or if the work is disputed. On a builder's subcontract, the notified sum is due unless a valid pay less notice reduced it, and pay-when-paid is ineffective except on upstream insolvency (Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, ss.111 and 113). See how to chase an unpaid invoice.

Does CIS apply, and which VAT rate do I charge?

CIS applies when you install power or lighting for a builder, developer or main contractor, because that is a construction operation (Finance Act 2004, s.74). Work for a homeowner is never under CIS.

The payer deducts 20% of your labour if you are registered, 30% if not, or nothing with gross payment status (As of Oct 2026), and builder work can fall under the VAT domestic reverse charge (Value Added Tax Act 1994, s.55A). Rewires and repairs are 20%, while installing solar panels and batteries in homes is zero-rated to 31 March 2027, then 5% (Sch 8 Group 23) (As of Oct 2026). See the Academy lesson on VAT by job.

What rules apply to EV chargers, solar and batteries?

Private charge points sold in Great Britain must be smart, with default charging outside 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays (the owner can change it) and a randomised delay (Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021, regs 10 and 11).

The EV chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners pays 75% of the cost, up to £500 per socket, with funding available to 31 March 2027 (As of Oct 2026). For a charge point or heat pump, send the network operator the ENA form within 28 days of installing, or before you install where the operator must approve first. Type-tested microgeneration up to 16 A per phase goes under G98, notified within 28 days of commissioning; G99 applies otherwise. Solar up to 50 kW needs an MCS certificate, or equivalent, for Smart Export Guarantee payments.

Greymill

How Greymill helps

Explain the firm once, connect Xero or QuickBooks and Outlook, and ask in your own words.

  • Cash & Profit works out your hourly rate and call-out fee, and shows who owes you what.
  • Sales & Quotes writes quotes and follow-ups; Writing drafts chasers in your tone.
  • Rules & Licensing lists the scheme, insurance and landlord dates you must not miss, and your overnight brief raises renewals before they are due.
  • Tax & Bookkeeping answers VAT and CIS questions; Contracts & Disputes checks a builder's subcontract before you sign.

Greymill only changes your books when you press Approve, and an email goes only when you press Send. Greymill files nothing unless you send it yourself, owes no professional duty, and says when a regulated professional must sign something off. Try it free for 7 days with full Scale access, no card needed; plans start at £100 a month plus VAT. See pricing, how it works, how to follow up enquiries and plumbing, heating and electrical.

Start free trialHow it works7 days free with every specialist. No card needed.

Questions owners ask

Can Greymill sign an EIC or an EICR?

No. The scheme electrician who inspected and tested the work signs it. Greymill files nothing unless you send it yourself and owes no professional duty; it can draft quote wording and landlord letters for you to check.

Are my subcontract electricians self-employed?

Not just because they hold a CIS card. In Pimlico Plumbers v Smith [2018] UKSC 29 a plumber taxed as self-employed was still a worker, because he worked personally under tight control. How the work is done decides it.

How much does Greymill cost for a UK electrical firm?

Plans start at £100 a month plus VAT. Starter has 4 specialists, Growth 10 and Scale all 16. Every account starts with a 7-day free trial on full Scale access, with no card needed.

Is my business data used to train AI?

No. Nothing you share is used to train AI, and your conversations are not visible to other customers.

Sources

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