The Invoice Illusion
Here's the trap that catches every portfolio manager at least once: you compare the hourly rate of a solo electrician ($95/hour) against the hourly rate quoted by a multi-trade provider ($110/hour) and conclude that individual contractors are cheaper.
They're not. The hourly rate is the smallest component of your total maintenance cost.
"When we first pitched to a 150-building portfolio manager, she said 'Your rates are 15% higher than my current electrician.' I asked her to calculate her total electrical maintenance cost including coordination time, failed call-outs, duplicate visits, and damage from delayed response. The real cost was 38% higher than our all-inclusive proposal." — Ryan Cole, Head of FM & Reactive Services, Cable Co
The Complete Cost Model: What You're Actually Paying
Direct Trade Costs (The Visible Part)
This is what appears on invoices — the part everyone compares:
| Trade | Solo Contractor Rate | Multi-Trade Provider Rate | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician (business hours) | $95–$120/hr | $110–$130/hr | +15% |
| Plumber (business hours) | $100–$130/hr | $115–$135/hr | +12% |
| Locksmith/Security | $110–$150/hr | $120–$145/hr | +8% |
| Carpenter | $85–$110/hr | $100–$120/hr | +15% |
| After-hours premium | +80–120% | +50% (included in retainer) | -30–70% |
On paper, solo contractors win by 8–15% on hourly rates. But this comparison is meaningless without the hidden costs below.
Hidden Cost 1: Coordination Overhead
Every time a multi-trade job occurs (which is 35–45% of all strata maintenance), someone has to coordinate between contractors. That someone is your team.
Time spent per multi-trade job:
- Identifying which contractors are needed: 10 minutes
- Calling/emailing each contractor for availability: 15–30 minutes
- Coordinating arrival sequence: 10–15 minutes
- Following up when one contractor doesn't show: 20–45 minutes
- Reconciling multiple invoices: 15–20 minutes
Total coordination time per multi-trade job: 70–120 minutes
Average multi-trade jobs per month (100-building portfolio): 80–120
Annual coordination cost (at $75/hr loaded staff cost): $120,000–$180,000
With a multi-trade provider: $0. Internal coordination is their problem.
Hidden Cost 2: Emergency Response Failures
When your regular contractor can't respond after hours (sick, on holiday, already on a job), you're scrambling:
| Failure Scenario | Frequency (100 buildings) | Cost per Incident | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| No answer after hours | 40–60 times/year | $500–$800 (premium emergency rate) | $20,000–$48,000 |
| Delayed response causing damage | 15–25 times/year | $2,000–$5,000 (water/electrical damage) | $30,000–$125,000 |
| Wrong contractor dispatched | 10–15 times/year | $350–$500 (wasted call-out) | $3,500–$7,500 |
| Total | $53,500–$180,500 |
With a 24/7 Command Centre: Emergency failures drop to near-zero. Guaranteed response with backup crews.
Hidden Cost 3: Duplicate Site Visits
A water leak damages an electrical distribution board. Under the multiple-contractor model:
- Visit 1: Plumber attends, isolates water, reports electrical damage
- Visit 2: Electrician attends, assesses damage, reports carpentry needed for access
- Visit 3: Carpenter opens wall, plumber repairs pipe
- Visit 4: Electrician repairs DB
- Visit 5: Carpenter patches wall
Five visits. Five call-out fees. Five travel charges. Five disruption events.
Under a multi-trade model: one crew attends with plumber + electrician. Carpenter follows same day. Three visits maximum, often two.
Annual duplicate visit cost (100 buildings): $50,000–$72,000
With multi-trade provider: $0–$10,000
Hidden Cost 4: Insurance and Compliance Tracking
Every contractor working in your buildings needs:
- Current public liability insurance (verify annually)
- Workers compensation certificate (verify annually)
- Relevant trade licences (verify annually)
- Working with Children Check (if applicable)
- Asbestos awareness training (if buildings pre-2000)
- Site inductions (per building)
For 12 individual contractors: 12 × 5 documents = 60 certificates to track, verify, and chase renewals.
Annual compliance tracking cost: $30,000–$45,000 (staff time + systems)
With one multi-trade provider: 1 set of certificates. Their internal compliance is their responsibility.
Annual cost: $3,000–$5,000 (annual verification only)
Hidden Cost 5: Invoice Processing
| Factor | Multiple Contractors | Single Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Invoices per month | 150–250 | 12–15 (consolidated monthly) |
| AP processing cost per invoice | $15–$25 | $15–$25 |
| Annual AP cost | $27,000–$75,000 | $2,160–$4,500 |
| Disputes/queries per month | 8–15 | 1–2 |
| Dispute resolution time | 2–4 hours each | 30 min each |
The Full Picture: Total Cost Comparison
For a real 100-building strata portfolio in Sydney:
| Cost Category | Multiple Contractors (12) | Cable Co Multi-Trade | Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct trade costs | $960,000 | $1,020,000 | -$60,000 (+6%) |
| Coordination overhead | $150,000 | $0 | +$150,000 |
| Emergency response failures | $95,000 | $8,000 | +$87,000 |
| Duplicate site visits | $62,000 | $5,000 | +$57,000 |
| Insurance/compliance tracking | $38,000 | $4,000 | +$34,000 |
| Invoice processing | $45,000 | $4,000 | +$41,000 |
| Property damage (slow response) | $75,000 | $10,000 | +$65,000 |
| TOTAL | $1,425,000 | $1,051,000 | $374,000 (26%) |
The multi-trade provider costs 6% more on direct trade rates but saves 26% on total maintenance spend.
When Does Consolidation NOT Make Sense?
To be fair, there are scenarios where individual contractors remain appropriate:
- Portfolios under 20 buildings — Volume doesn't justify retainer model
- Single-trade portfolios — If you only need electrical, a specialist is fine
- Remote/regional buildings — Multi-trade providers may not cover the area
- Highly specialised work — Heritage restoration, high-voltage, specific manufacturer warranties
For portfolios of 50+ buildings in Greater Sydney requiring multiple trades, the consolidation case is overwhelming.
How to Evaluate a Multi-Trade Provider
Before signing, verify these capabilities:
Non-Negotiable Requirements
- 24/7 Command Centre — Staffed operators, not an answering service
- All core trades in-house — Electrical, plumbing, security, carpentry, building
- $20M public liability — Minimum for strata work
- NSW contractor licences — Electrical, plumbing, building (not just one)
- GPS-tracked crews — For SLA verification
- Monthly reporting — Job volumes, SLA compliance, cost breakdown by building
- Financial penalties for SLA breach — If they won't accept penalties, their SLA is meaningless
Red Flags
- "We subcontract most trades" — You're paying a margin for coordination you could do yourself
- "Best efforts response time" — No commitment, no accountability
- "We'll send whoever's available" — No quality control, no building familiarity
- No monthly reporting capability — You can't manage what you can't measure
Make the Switch: 90-Day Transition Plan
Cable Co's FM Division provides a structured 90-day transition for portfolio managers moving from multiple contractors to our multi-trade Command Centre model. We handle the complexity so you don't have to.
Step 1 (Free): Portfolio assessment — we analyse your current spend, response times, and contractor structure
Step 2: Proposal with guaranteed savings target and SLA commitments
Step 3: 90-day parallel transition with zero disruption to your buildings
Call us: 1800 117 177 | Email: fm@cable-co.com.au