Neither model pays better in general. Supply-and-install earns on the hardware as well as the labour, but it ties up cash in stock and makes you the first call when a unit fails. Install-only keeps your money out of the hardware, but you give up the product margin and the control over what you fit. Which pays better for you depends on numbers only your own books can supply.
Key Takeaways
- Neither model pays better in general; each trades margin for risk in a different place.
- Judge from your own records: realised hardware margin, stock days, callback time, fitting time, repeat work.
- A hybrid is a legitimate strategy: supply the standard jobs, fit customer-supplied units on stated terms.
- Write the warranty split down on every job, whichever model it runs under.
The Two Models Side by Side
| Variable | Supply-and-install | Install-only |
|---|---|---|
| Where the money is made | Hardware margin plus installation labour | Installation labour alone |
| Cash committed before the job | Units bought and held, or ordered against a deposit | Almost none — the customer buys the charger |
| Stock risk | Slow models and price changes sit on your shelf | None, but you fit whatever arrives |
| Warranty first response | The customer calls you for product and workmanship alike | Product faults belong to the seller; your work is still your problem |
| Control over the fitted unit | You choose models you know and can set up quickly | Any model, any quality, any instructions |
| Customer relationship | You own the whole result, and the repeat work that follows | You own the visit; the seller owns the product relationship |
Read the table as a set of trades, not a score: every row gives something and takes something.
Measure Each Variable in Your Own Books
The honest way to answer the title question is to price both models from your last few months of jobs:
- Realised hardware margin. What you actually kept per supplied unit after discounts, delivery and returns — not the headline difference between trade and retail price.
- Stock days. How long bought units sit before they are fitted. Cash parked on a shelf is the supply model’s quiet cost.
- Callback time. Hours spent on product faults under each model, paid or unpaid. Supply-and-install concentrates this on you; price it in.
- Fitting time by model. Units you know go in faster; time an unfamiliar customer-supplied model honestly before assuming install-only is simpler.
- Repeat and referral work. Which model brings the customer back for the second charger, the workplace job, the neighbour.
A purely illustrative example, with invented index numbers: say 100 identical jobs leave you 100 units of profit under install-only. Under supply-and-install the same jobs add hardware margin, but stock costs and callback time eat part of it, leaving 112. For another installer, with slower stock movement and more callbacks, the same arithmetic leaves 94. Both answers are real; the numbers decided, not the models.
A Decision Rule, Not a Winner
Supply the hardware where the realised margin, after stock days and callback time, beats the extra risk — typically the standard jobs you repeat every week. Take install-only work where the customer has already chosen a unit, or where stocking the model would be a one-off. Many firms run the hybrid deliberately: our guide to finding distributors and installers to work with covers the supply relationships behind the first model, and what installers want from charger hardware explains why control of the model matters.
Whichever model a job runs under, the hardware has to be supportable. EVDANCE supplies installers through its distributor program, with units such as the EV-ACT5006T 48 A wall charger and the EV-ACS4005T adjustable portable carrying a 3-year standard product warranty — backing that decides who answers the phone when something fails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I offer both models at once?
Yes, and many installers do. Price and document them separately: a supply-and-install offer carries your hardware and your aftercare route; an install-only offer states that the product warranty stays with the seller. Confusion starts when one job mixes the two without saying so.
Who is responsible when a customer-supplied charger is faulty?
The product warranty sits with the manufacturer and the seller. Your workmanship warranty covers your installation work only. Agree that split in writing before the job, especially who pays for a return visit if the unit, not the fitting, is at fault.
Does supply-and-install always need more working capital?
Some, yes — units are bought before they are fitted. How much depends on your stock policy: a short range of fast-moving models ordered against booked jobs is a different commitment from a full shelf. Measure your stock days before deciding the model is too heavy.
Related Reading
- How to Find EV Charger Distributors and Installers to Sell To
- Smart vs Non-Smart EV Chargers: What Installers Actually Want
- How to Choose the Best EV Charger Installation Company
- How Much Does It Cost to Install a Commercial EV Charging Station?
