How to price leaf removal?

[wolfe04]

How do you pro's out there handle leaves? I've heard some that pick them up with a bagger as you mow in the fall. If you do this, how much extra do you charge for pick up?
Or if you pick them all up after they have fallen, how do you charge?
I've really misjudged the amount of hours it takes to pick up leaves in the past and dont want to make the same mistakes this fall. Thanks guys.

[stevenf]

I plan to charge the same price as cut + $5.00 for supplys and bagging. would be for that yard. I figure I will actually be making better money that way because im getting paid what a cut would cost, minus the heat and trimming.
Im going to ride my mower with blades engaged to pile up the leaves then bag them by hand/

[hackitdown]

The answer changes depending on location. In the northeast, we clean up leaves in November, long after the lawn stops growing. My method is to blow as much as I can into piles, rake the piles onto tarps, and drag it away. I then run the mower/bagger over it to get the rest.

[BillyRgn]

I plan to charge the same price as cut + $5.00 for supplys and bagging. would be for that yard. I figure I will actually be making better money that way because im getting paid what a cut would cost, minus the heat and trimming.
Im going to ride my mower with blades engaged to pile up the leaves then bag them by hand/

i agree with you some what. i have many customers that want there leaves done several times so there lawn always looks good. i blow the beds out quick and suck it all up with my lazer / ultra-vac, i also have a jrco tine rake on the front of the mower which helps with the wet leaves and leaves that get stuck in the grass, i then suck the leaves from the bagger into my leaf box. i generally charge around 5 - 15 dollars more per cut, plus the disposal fee which depends on the amount of leaves / debris removed. i also have several that only want there leaves done once or twice. i blow the beds out with the backpack blower, then blow the bulk of the leaves off the lawn to the street or area reachable with the truck with a push blower. i also have a jrco leaf plow on the front of another one of my lazer's for when the pile being blown gets to large or to push the leaves to the sucker on the truck (the leaf plow was a great investment and very valuable to my productivity). i then go over the lawn with the lazer/ultra-vac/jrco tine rake combo and pick up the remainder of the leaves. the tine rake is also another valuable asset to my production, removing leaves that are stuck in the grass that usually take several man hours with a back pack blower to remove, and it also removes the dead grass and the thatch, by the time i am done, there is not a single leaf left on the lawn. i usually charge a small start up fee to cover expenses (depending on the size of the clean up) and the charge per man hour which is generally $40 per man hour or more if alot of hand work is required. the vacuum truck is a F-350 mason dump with a wood leaf box i made and a 16 hp giant leaf - vac. last year if i filled up the whole truck at one location i usually charged $175.00 per load. if it took a few stops to fill it i would charge each customer accordingly but it would be generally in the $200 - $250 range per load if it were more than one stop.

[verant]

I charge $45 - $50 per man hour for leaf clean up plus the time it takes to dump. If it's realitively easy and can use the ZTR/blower for all of it I'll keep the price down, if there's some picky hand mowing/bagging I'll keep the price on the high end, all depends. Don't short yourself on estimates, i learned that lesson my first year awhile back. Remeber that this is a service that many homeowners hate to do

[super1]

Get the money! My average leaf removal was $175 last year and i don't have to pay a disposal fee. It is more physical than mowing in my opion. Not to mention everyone hates to do it.

[flattoplawncare]

Yes get the money!! I get on average $175-$250 for my time.

[bohiaa]

run the mower over them

[milkie62]

There is no such thing as an average in the Northeast......

[milkie62]

Especially when you are half way up to your knees in damp leaves in a FENCED yard

[Chilehead]

I price hourly for any job too thick and wet for my mower. If my mower can collect them in the same time it would take to collect grass clippings(very light leaf clutter), it's the price of a mow plus 15%, plus $50.00 for disposal. I can't dump for free down here, and only one dump will allow me entrance. To dump any where outside my county you have to be a resident, or no admittance allowed.

[M RASCOE&SONS]

$45 to $65 per man hr.make sure you specify per man hr so you dont have issues with billing.good luck

[BillyRgn]

i agree with you some what. i have many customers that want there leaves done several times so there lawn always looks good. i blow the beds out quick and suck it all up with my lazer / ultra-vac, i also have a jrco tine rake on the front of the mower which helps with the wet leaves and leaves that get stuck in the grass, i then suck the leaves from the bagger into my leaf box. i generally charge around 5 - 15 dollars more per cut, plus the disposal fee which depends on the amount of leaves / debris removed. i also have several that only want there leaves done once or twice. i blow the beds out with the backpack blower, then blow the bulk of the leaves off the lawn to the street or area reachable with the truck with a push blower. i also have a jrco leaf plow on the front of another one of my lazer's for when the pile being blown gets to large or to push the leaves to the sucker on the truck (the leaf plow was a great investment and very valuable to my productivity). i then go over the lawn with the lazer/ultra-vac/jrco tine rake combo and pick up the remainder of the leaves. the tine rake is also another valuable asset to my production, removing leaves that are stuck in the grass that usually take several man hours with a back pack blower to remove, and it also removes the dead grass and the thatch, by the time i am done, there is not a single leaf left on the lawn. i usually charge a small start up fee to cover expenses (depending on the size of the clean up) and the charge per man hour which is generally $40 per man hour or more if alot of hand work is required. the vacuum truck is a F-350 mason dump with a wood leaf box i made and a 16 hp giant leaf - vac. last year if i filled up the whole truck at one location i usually charged $175.00 per load. if it took a few stops to fill it i would charge each customer accordingly but it would be generally in the $200 - $250 range per load if it were more than one stop.

also i meant to mention, if a customer request ""Hand Raking"" even though the normal way i do it is quicker and just as efficient as well as cheaper, you will always come across a customer that wants hand raking. i charge same start up fee, disposal fee, and no less than $75.00 to $100.00 per man hour and if they do not like it to bad, it is what it is. hand raking takes a long time and really wares out the workers. They end up shot for the rest of the day and depending on how much raking was required, there shot for the next day therefore slowing down production for the remainder of the day and some times the next day. So you have to charge them to make up for it, and generally if my guys have to hand rake alot, i usually throw them a few extra bucks for the hard work

[Kglenn04]

Especially when you are half way up to your knees in damp leaves in a FENCED yard

the fenced yard they are the worst

[Kglenn04]

this is the way I do if they are going to be good about it a call you during a reasonible time example if they are going to call you 2-3 times in the fall season you can give them a better rate. however you should never forget your location in some areas you can get more$ in some area you will have to bottom dollar meaning take less. and last but not least if the call you and there is a crazy amount of leaves you have to charge what you feel is right, remember aim high you can talk your price down but you can never talk your price back up. understand?

[Kglenn04]

$45 to $65 per man hr.make sure you specify per man hr so you dont have issues with billing.good luck

what do you mean man hr? if you have 2 men working with you and the job takes 3 hrs all 3 workers get 65 an hr totaling $585? or do you mean $65 an hr so if the job takes 3 hrs you walk away with $195

[hackitdown]

this is the way I do if they are going to be good about it a call you during a reasonible time example if they are going to call you 2-3 times in the fall season you can give them a better rate. however you should never forget your location in some areas you can get more$ in some area you will have to bottom dollar meaning take less. and last but not least if the call you and there is a crazy amount of leaves you have to charge what you feel is right, remember aim high you can talk your price down but you can never talk your price back up. understand?

No, this is really tough to understand due to a lack of puncuation.

[hackitdown]

what do you mean man hr? if you have 2 men working with you and the job takes 3 hrs all 3 workers get 65 an hr totaling $585? or do you mean $65 an hr so if the job takes 3 hrs you walk away with $195

Yes, 3 guys at $50 per man/hr is $150/hr. Three of those hours (of 3 men) of work costs $450.

Who's on first?

[Kglenn04]

who's on first lol

[jrc lawncare]

Especially when you are half way up to your knees in damp leaves in a FENCED yard
So true. We do many jobs like this, $50 per manhr minimum.

[BillyRgn]

what do you mean man hr? if you have 2 men working with you and the job takes 3 hrs all 3 workers get 65 an hr totaling $585? or do you mean $65 an hr so if the job takes 3 hrs you walk away with $195

you bill the client $65 for every hour that one worker works. (example) 2 workers work 5 hours
5 hours x $65 per hour = $325
$325 x 2 men working = $650 - and that is what you charge

the workers don't get the $65 an hour.
generally i pay my workers about $15 an hour for leaves.
$65 - $15 = $50 --- So you make $50 per hour for every worker you have working and that is your profit.

this is how you are supposed to figure out how much to charge (at least this is how i do it and that majority of people) for leaves. i call it the 3 step because you basically have to add up three figures to come up with how much to charge.

you take how many hours it took you - 6 hours
your hourly rate is $50 per man hour
you had 4 men doing the job
$50 per man hour multiplied by 6 hours equals $300
$300 multiplied by 4 men equals $1200
--------$1200 is your total for Labor-----------------------------
then you figure out the disposal / removal cost
i generally charge $175 per load for the leaves that i sucked up and dumped
So the job was 2 full loads
$175 multiplied by 2 loads equals $350
--------$350 is your total for disposal / removal------------------
Then you have to figure out your start up cost which is a combination of your costs .
you figure out the price for gas / diesel - $150 for the job
operations cost - insurance, licensing, maintenance, equipment depreciation and any other business expenses you may have - $50 for the job
then the final thing is incidentals, which is a small fee that you incorporate in to cover an unexpected cost - $15.00 for the job
$150 fuel plus $50 operation cost plus $15 incidentals equals $215
--------$215 is your total start up charge---------------

Add up the three sums
$1200 (labor) plus $350 (disposal) plus $215 (start up) equals $1765
$1765 is your sub total
$1765 multiplied by 6% sales tax equals $105.90
$105.90 is the tax amount
$1765 (sub total) plus $105.90 (tax) equals $1870.90

--------------------$1870.90 is how much to charge----------------

the job took the hole day

the company's daily operating cost is $215, which the start up charge covers

the dump charges $25 per load to dump, two loads, $50 cost to dump

Workers are paid $15 per hour -
$15 x 6 hours = $90
$90 x 4 workers = $360 -- $360 is paid out to workers

$105.90 is paid to the government for sales tax

add them all up $215 + $50 + $360 + 105.90 = $730.90
$1870.90 (amount charged) minus $730.90 (expenses) equals $1,140.00

$1140(profit) x 30%(amount to set aside for income tax) = $342.00
$1140-$342= $798

----------$1140.00 is the total amount made----------------
----------$342.00 is roughly going to be income tax----------
----------Your total profit is $798.00------------------------

this is just an example, but i hope this explains to you what per man hour is, and a general idea on how you should be figuring out how much to charge your customers for leaf clean ups

[Kglenn04]

you bill the client $65 for every hour that one worker works. (example) 2 workers work 5 hours
5 hours x $65 per hour = $325
$325 x 2 men working = $650 - and that is what you charge

the workers don't get the $65 an hour.
generally i pay my workers about $15 an hour for leaves.
$65 - $15 = $50 --- So you make $50 per hour for every worker you have working and that is your profit.

this is how you are supposed to figure out how much to charge (at least this is how i do it and that majority of people) for leaves. i call it the 3 step because you basically have to add up three figures to come up with how much to charge.

you take how many hours it took you - 6 hours
your hourly rate is $50 per man hour
you had 4 men doing the job
$50 per man hour multiplied by 6 hours equals $300
$300 multiplied by 4 men equals $1200
--------$1200 is your total for Labor-----------------------------
then you figure out the disposal / removal cost
i generally charge $175 per load for the leaves that i sucked up and dumped
So the job was 2 full loads
$175 multiplied by 2 loads equals $350
--------$350 is your total for disposal / removal------------------
Then you have to figure out your start up cost which is a combination of your costs .
you figure out the price for gas / diesel - $150 for the job
operations cost - insurance, licensing, maintenance, equipment depreciation and any other business expenses you may have - $50 for the job
then the final thing is incidentals, which is a small fee that you incorporate in to cover an unexpected cost - $15.00 for the job
$150 fuel plus $50 operation cost plus $15 incidentals equals $215
--------$215 is your total start up charge---------------

Add up the three sums
$1200 (labor) plus $350 (disposal) plus $215 (start up) equals $1765
$1765 is your sub total
$1765 multiplied by 6% sales tax equals $105.90
$105.90 is the tax amount
$1765 (sub total) plus $105.90 (tax) equals $1870.90

--------------------$1870.90 is how much to charge----------------

the job took the hole day

the company's daily operating cost is $215, which the start up charge covers

the dump charges $25 per load to dump, two loads, $50 cost to dump

Workers are paid $15 per hour -
$15 x 6 hours = $90
$90 x 4 workers = $360 -- $360 is paid out to workers

$105.90 is paid to the government for sales tax

add them all up $215 + $50 + $360 + 105.90 = $730.90
$1870.90 (amount charged) minus $730.90 (expenses) equals $1,140.00

$1140(profit) x 30%(amount to set aside for income tax) = $342.00
$1140-$342= $798

----------$1140.00 is the total amount made----------------
----------$342.00 is roughly going to be income tax----------
----------Your total profit is $798.00------------------------

this is just an example, but i hope this explains to you what per man hour is, and a general idea on how you should be figuring out how much to charge your customers for leaf clean ups



Yes this helps a great deal I'm going to look it over again if I have anyquestions I will let you know