Why divide by efficiency?

Efficiency is standard minutes earned over minutes paid. At 85%, every standard minute takes 1.18 paid minutes, so a lower efficiency means more labour cost. The live Wire Harness Cost calculator multiplies by its efficiency factor instead; at 100% the two give the same answer (45 minutes at 0.85 a minute + 32 = 70.25).

What are minutes per circuit for?

A check on the time standard: standard minutes divided by circuits. Harnesses of similar construction should land close together; one far from the rest is worth a second look before it goes in a quote.

What should the loaded labour rate include?

Wage plus payroll costs and the labour overhead your costing applies, per paid hour. Enter any other overhead per harness in the Overhead column so it is not counted twice.

Does it include setup and first-article costs?

No. It costs one harness at a steady rate. Add setup, first-article inspection and any tooling for a new harness to the quote, spread over the order.

Does the workbook use macros?

No. It is a plain .xlsx with ordinary formulas, tables and native charts. The Verify sheet re-checks the formulas against fixed test harnesses and shows Self-check: PASS.

Industry Cost Kits

Wire Harness Cost Excel Template

Wire harness cost = standard build minutes ÷ labour efficiency × loaded rate + wire and cable + connectors and terminals + other materials + overhead. Give every harness part number a row and see its total cost, where the price goes, and its margin against your target.

Free, and a plain .xlsx with no macros to enable. A CSV with live formulas and a printed how-to guide come with it.

Overview

This wire harness cost template is a working Excel workbook for estimators, cost and manufacturing engineers at harness, cable assembly and electromechanical assembly shops. Each part number is one row with its circuits, its standard build minutes from your time study or routing, the efficiency your operators achieve on it, its wire, connectors and terminals, other materials and overhead, and the quoted price. The workbook turns standard minutes into paid minutes, so a lower efficiency costs more, prices them at your loaded labour rate, and compares the total with the price. It ships with ten part numbers at a fictional harness shop, so every tile and chart is filled in when you open it.

In the example a pump control harness takes 45 standard minutes; at 85% efficiency that is 52.9 paid minutes, 45.00 of labour at 51.00 an hour, and 77.00 with 32.00 of materials and overhead, a 33% margin at 115.00. A new control panel harness is running at 75% efficiency: 200 paid minutes for 150 standard, 17.4% margin against a 22% target; at 85% it would make 23.9%. A battery cable priced on its materials loses money once its labour is counted. Labour is 60% of the cost across the ten harnesses.

The live calculator multiplies labour by its efficiency factor; this workbook divides by efficiency, so the two agree at 100% and the workbook is checked against the calculator's engine there. The download is a plain .xlsx with no macros. A CSV with live formulas is also included for other tools; the dashboard, charts and self-check are in the .xlsx.

What this template includes

Setup sheet with your company, currency, loaded labour rate per hour, target margin and near band
Harnesses table, one row per part number: application, circuits, standard build minutes, labour efficiency, wire and cable, connectors and terminals, other materials, overhead and quoted price, with a Check column
Per harness: paid minutes, minutes per circuit, labour cost, materials, total cost, labour share, margin and a status in words
Dashboard with four tiles (harnesses, labour share of cost, harnesses below target margin, lowest margin), cost as a share of price split into labour, materials and overhead, margin above or below target, and the harness table
Method sheet with every formula, and a Verify sheet that re-checks the formulas against an independent reference and the Wire Harness Cost calculator (Self-check: PASS)
CSV with live formulas for the Harnesses table; the dashboard, charts and self-check are in the .xlsx

Suggested use case

Use it to quote wire harnesses and cable assemblies, to review the margin on every part number you build, or to see what a new harness's low efficiency costs until the operators learn it.

How to use it

On Setup, type your company, currency, loaded labour rate per hour and target margin.
On Harnesses, give each part number a row: circuits, standard build minutes, labour efficiency, wire, connectors, other materials, overhead and quoted price.
Fix anything the Check column names.
Open the Dashboard: where each harness's price goes and its margin against your target.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate wire harness cost?: Divide the standard build minutes by the labour efficiency to get paid minutes, multiply by the loaded labour rate per minute, and add the wire, connectors and terminals, other materials and overhead. 45 standard minutes at 85% is 52.9 paid minutes, 45.00 at 0.85 a minute; with 32.00 of materials and overhead the harness costs 77.00.
Why divide by efficiency?: Efficiency is standard minutes earned over minutes paid. At 85%, every standard minute takes 1.18 paid minutes, so a lower efficiency means more labour cost. The live Wire Harness Cost calculator multiplies by its efficiency factor instead; at 100% the two give the same answer (45 minutes at 0.85 a minute + 32 = 70.25).
What are minutes per circuit for?: A check on the time standard: standard minutes divided by circuits. Harnesses of similar construction should land close together; one far from the rest is worth a second look before it goes in a quote.
What should the loaded labour rate include?: Wage plus payroll costs and the labour overhead your costing applies, per paid hour. Enter any other overhead per harness in the Overhead column so it is not counted twice.
Does it include setup and first-article costs?: No. It costs one harness at a steady rate. Add setup, first-article inspection and any tooling for a new harness to the quote, spread over the order.
Does the workbook use macros?: No. It is a plain .xlsx with ordinary formulas, tables and native charts. The Verify sheet re-checks the formulas against fixed test harnesses and shows Self-check: PASS.