What do you pay your workers?

[Jason Pallas]

Just out of curiosity - what are you paying your workers this year? Crew chiefs? Regular Laborers? Experienced laborers?

[rodfather]

$12 for inexperienced, $15 - $20 per hour for guys that know what they're doing from the git go.

[Krimick]

When I worked as a labourer I was paid $8/hour for mowing and $10/hour for landscaping work

I've had my own business for 4 years now and I pay a flat rate of $10/hour. Those rates are in Canadian as well so thats only like 7 bucks american!

Keep in mind I'm in Northern Ontario so I can only charge about 15-18 CDN dollars an hour for my work.

the rates get much better closer to the major cities. The toronto area is usually around $20

[GLS]

Do you guys pay cash, or use a different method?

[Kent Lawns]

Credit Card

[LawnLad]

We pay our guys in chickens.

[ohiolawnguy]

we get hooters gift certificates-LOL

i run the lawn maintenace side of our company, and make 12 an hour during lawn season. my guys make anywhere from 6 to 7.50 an hour. during winter, work on commission, and depending on how much it snows, decides how much i make.

all our crew members, lawn, and landscape have around 2-3 years experience. myself, i have been with the company 13 years, and in some form of lawncare for almost all my life. i used to mow fairways during the summer for a small golf course when i was a kid, in exchange for free golf. (back when was a wee little lad-LOL)

[shawn'slawns]

$8.00 to $9.00 bucks cash!

[JimLewis]

We pay $8 per hour for guys with zero experience but who will work hard and are teachable.

My crew leaders make from $9 to $11 / hr.

Foreman makes $14.50 and bonuses and is worth every dime.

For you guys who are paying cash, you are being ignorant! Forgive me for being rude. But think about it. You actually LOSE money paying people cash.

The primary loss is in the lack of tax write-offs. Suppose you have 2 guys working for you who each make $2000 per month. If you pay them cash, under the table, than you have to count that $4000 as income YOU earned. Then YOU have to pay the taxes on $4000 that you never even saw!!! If you had paid them correctly (e.g. above-the-table) than you'd have a $4000 tax write off. Over a period of a year, that's $48,000 in tax write offs you are THROWING AWAY!

Let's say you pay just 20% tax. That's $9600 in one year in unnecessary tax liability. In this scenario, you LOSE, out of pocket, $9600 cash, for being ignorant.

If you don't have the money to hire employees the right way and pay their wages, taxes, etc. then you don't deserve to have them.

[Kent Lawns]

1.) People that pay cash don't claim/underclaim income anyway.

2.) By the time you pay FICA, State unemployment insurance, Federal Unemployment, Workers Compensation Insurance and Payroll Bookeeping service, you're still cheaper paying cash.

BUT,
Most guys who pay cash are loosers and there just aren't sucessful guys who run their business that way.

[JimLewis]

1.) People that pay cash don't claim/underclaim income anyway. Ok. Granted. But unless they are very clever at hiding this money, the IRS will still get them eventually. They aren't the brightest bunch of boys in government but they have ways to track down stuff like this I assure you. And when they do catch you it's not just a "hey, could you please pay us back now.." It's "Hmmm. Tax evasion? Bye bye!"
By the time you pay FICA, State unemployment insurance....you're still cheaper paying cash. I think that's a misnomer. I may be wrong. I don't have all of the figures here in front of me. But I'd be surprised if all of these things added up to the $9,600 in one year, with the scenario I laid out before.

My educated guess is that all of these things added up are equal to or less than what your tax liability would be.

[southside]

Lawnlad, good one.:D How many chickens an hour do you pay?
Seriously I pay about $12 p/h (AUD) for casual labourers.

[John Allin]

I know Lawn Lad personally, and I would imagine that he keeps the plump chickens for himself and pays with the skinny ones.

[southside]

John, $12 p/h (AUD) would be equivalent to about 6 US chickens
per hour. Over here we make our workers catch them themselves.

:cool:

[BGRANT]

Rodfather,
If you pay upwards to 20.00 a hr. for experienced
workers.I am selling the buisness and come and working for you.LOL
Brian Grant.:rolleyes:

[selively]

Down here in Lubbock Tx. if a labor worker is making $7.00 an hour he is Lucky!

[SCAPEASAURUSREX]

BEER..... Usually 2 per hour.... So by the end of they day they forget to get paid... LOL...

[olderthandirt]

I pay a percentage of the job, I'm not afraid to show my workers a contract and give them a percentage of it. I do mostly lawn installation beds etc. Ive had guys making $800 for 2 days work If they screw up it comes out of the next check. And I can say I've got the best workers a company could want. They go out and find work for me knowing I pay extra if its a job they lined up. I've tried hourly and salery and get tired of going through the trouble of training and all the other crap and paper work that goes with new employees just to lose them when they can make a $ more for another company. The way I do it they feel as though there part owner and have everything to gain and everything to lose.

[slplow]

Lewis, you can claim a cash pay roll legally its in the tax law book. Our Accountant would deduct what we paid as payroll and it would be a $50/surcharge for not 1099ing the employee. So basically they didn't have to claim it either. Worked out both ways. Now we take taxes out and my wonderful wife has learned payroll taxes and does all that on her own quarterly.

[bruces]

Originally posted by slplow
Lewis, you can claim a cash pay roll legally its in the tax law book. Our Accountant would deduct what we paid as payroll and it would be a $50/surcharge for not 1099ing the employee. So basically they didn't have to claim it either. Worked out both ways. Now we take taxes out and my wonderful wife has learned payroll taxes and does all that on her own quarterly.

Just because you (or your employees) don't get a 1099 doesn't make it legal to not claim the income.

As far as a $50 surcharge for not 1099ing the employee, if you get audited by the state or the IRS it could be substantially worse.

The state will make you play unemployment taxes, the IRS will make you pay payroll taxes, and you will be paying these out of your pocket because they caught you doing things wrong and not the employee.

Moral of the story, the right way to do it is payroll, withholding taxes, etc.

You can do cash, contract labor etc., and you are ahead if you don't get audited, but if you do, you could lose in a big way.

[awm]

if i could get a good helper for 7 dollars an hr.id no longer be solo.not really good smart helpers,that u can count on.
id also feel like he was underpaid.

[slplow]

Again read the laws. In 12 years of being in buisness I have never been audited. Also, our accountant use to work for the IRS and is a specialist in taxation laws. Also, my wife has worked for lawyers and accountants who have verified this as well. The IRS would not be happy about it, cause of course they want a cut and there is no guaranteeing the employee is going to do their part in claiming income, but we are covered. We only did that a few years anyway when we had more of a temporary situation with help. Now that we have increased our work and hire on a more permanent employment we take taxes out on the books.