Electrical Maintenance Plans: How Electricians Build Recurring Revenue

Electricians have something most trades would love: work that customers are legally required to have done, on a schedule. Rental safety checks. Smoke alarms. Safety switch testing. The problem is that customers don't remember when it's due, and they call whoever's first in the search results.

A maintenance or compliance plan fixes both. You remember for them, and they stay with you.

The compliance anchors

Victoria: two-yearly rental safety checks

Consumer Affairs Victoria says rental providers must have all electrical installations, fixtures and fittings checked by a licensed or registered electrician every 2 years. The check must be done by a licensed or registered electrician, working for a business registered with Energy Safe Victoria as a Registered Electrical Contractor. (Gas safety checks are also required every 2 years, by a suitably qualified gasfitter.)

That's a recurring, mandatory job for every rental in Victoria. A plan for landlords and property managers that schedules the check, issues the report and handles any remedial quotes is a strong offer.

Queensland: smoke alarms in every home by 1 January 2027

Queensland Fire Department says existing private homes, townhouses and units require interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms by 1 January 2027, complying with AS 3786-2014 and without ionisation sensors. Rentals and homes sold have had to comply for years already.

That's a one-off upgrade for many households, and a natural start to a plan: install compliant alarms now, then test and maintain them every year.

Everywhere: safety switches, switchboards and ageing homes

Safety switches (RCDs) should be tested regularly, and older switchboards and wiring are a common source of call-outs. An annual safety inspection is easy for a household to understand.

What to include

These are illustrative. Price from your own costs. Commercial sites may also need emergency and exit lighting tests and test and tag of portable appliances, which can be scheduled under the same plan.

How to price it

A worked example: a landlord plan

A Melbourne electrical contractor designs a landlord plan: one annual safety inspection and smoke alarm test, plus the full rental electrical safety check every second year.

The margin is thin. What makes it worthwhile is that a property manager with 120 rentals on the plan gives you 120 scheduled visits a year, plus the remedial work, tenant call-outs and upgrades those visits find. Run your own numbers in the maintenance plan calculator.

Who to sell it to

1. Property managers. One relationship, dozens of properties. They want compliance handled and documented.
2. Landlords with a few properties. They're often unsure of their obligations and happy to pay someone to remember.
3. Households in older homes. Annual safety checks and smoke alarm maintenance.
4. Small commercial sites. Offices, shops, clinics.

How to launch

1. Build a list of every rental you've worked on in the past two years.
2. Approach your top property managers with a simple per-property price.
3. Add a plan offer to every compliance report and invoice.
4. Schedule visits in your quiet months, with reminders to tenants.
5. Bill monthly or annually by direct debit or card.
6. Track: properties on plan, visits completed, remedial work generated, cancellations.

The rules to get right

A maintenance plan is a subscription, so the same rules apply as for any other subscription sold to Australian households. Here's the short version, as at October 2026. It's general information, not legal advice.

• Consumer guarantees still apply. Your plan can't take away customers' rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Don't describe it as a "warranty" that replaces those rights.
• Be careful about promising to pay for repairs. A plan that sells your electrical services (inspections, servicing, priority attendance, discounts) is a service contract. A plan that promises to cover the cost of repairs or replacement if something breaks starts to look like an extended warranty, which ASIC says can be a financial product. If you want to include repair cover, get legal advice first.
• Clear terms. State the price, what's included, how often, the term, renewal and how to cancel, before the customer signs up. Unfair terms in standard form contracts can be void, and using them can attract penalties.
• GST. If you're registered, plan fees are generally taxable. On an annual plan paid upfront, the GST is generally reported when you're paid or invoice. See GST on subscriptions.
• Direct debit. If you collect by direct debit, follow the direct debit rules.

• From 1 July 2027, the national subscription-trap rules add disclosure at sign-up, prescribed notices and an easy way to cancel. They apply to plans entered into from that date, and to earlier plans once renewed or varied. Build them in now. See subscription trap laws.

• Licensing. All work must be done by licensed electricians in your state. In Victoria, rental safety checks must be done by a licensed or registered electrician working for a Registered Electrical Contractor. Plans don't change your licensing or certification duties.

• Responsibility stays with the owner. Your plan helps landlords meet their obligations, but don't claim it transfers their legal responsibility to you.

Why your accountant cares: a business worth more

Recurring revenue changes what your business is worth. Two electrical businesses with the same profit can sell for very different prices if one has hundreds of customers on automatic plans and the other relies on the phone ringing. Buyers pay more for revenue they can see coming, that's billed automatically and that doesn't depend on you.

It also changes the day-to-day. Plan revenue arriving every month covers wages and vehicle costs before the month starts, and scheduled work fills the quiet weeks. See how much is my business worth and how to value a subscription business.

What to do next

Pick the anchor that fits your market: rental checks in Victoria, smoke alarms in Queensland, or annual safety inspections anywhere. Build one plan around it, price it properly, and take it to your three biggest property management clients this month.

Free Subscription Profit Review

Australian business owners can book a free 30-minute review with a BPAG Accountants adviser. An honest conversation about:

• whether a subscription model could work for your business
• how recurring revenue could cover your fixed costs each month
• how it could lift what your business is worth

Book my free review Call 1300 272 422

No cost, no obligation. General information only until we understand your situation.

Frequently asked questions

Robert Coorey, MBA

Robert is the author of The Subscription Playbook and Feed a Starving Crowd and a Director at BPAG Accountants in Sydney. More about Robert.