aeration income

[Willdoit]

Something else to consider with indirect costs.. If you don't offer aeration and your client wants it, they'll have to find another lawn company to do it, and that's giving the competition a foot in the door of YOUR client. Never be the one to provide opportunity for the other guy at your expense! Just a thought!
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[rbljack]

Originally Posted by orangemower

You shouldn't worry about totals for the season. Just make sure you know your numbers so you make profit. What others make or even yourself doesn't matter. I didn't do any lawns this past season. The season before I did more then 20. I charge 2-3 times "MY" mowing rate. Obviously my rate will be different so again, monetary figures are useless. Oh yeah, I rent the aerator and still make out great on income.

right, i understand what your saying there. Ive heard numerous people stick to the 2x to 3x amounts. Is that for a single pass? And does that price include overseeding, or adding compost etc? Because I havent done this service before, im trying to get my quotes correct from the start. I dont want to loose a bunch of money on this service, and I know that this work will be harder than regular mowing services. Because of these two reasons, i dont want to get my inital quotes low on regular customers that will than expect the service cheap. I know what i can charge for lawn services in my area, and what wont work...so I already have an idea on what 2x or 3x will be....i just dont know if yall include overseediing, or topdressing services included in those 2x or 3x prices. And that makes a big difference in a quote.

[Gilmore.Landscaping]

I may look at this different then everybody else but i am usually the same cost to aerate as I am to mow. I do a ton of aerating probably 200-300 homes a year and it keeps a few guys busy for the spring. Most of these client are once a year some in the fall as well but many one time calls or the crews get asked to do the neighbors as well while on the street.

I have my hourly rate for services and I stick to it. To me it doesn't matter what piece of equipment we are running they all get billed out at the same rate.

This is simply a straight aerating x1...seed, fert. or compost are all extras.

[adam.neusbaum]

Originally Posted by Gilmore.Landscaping

I may look at this different then everybody else but i am usually the same cost to aerate as I am to mow. I do a ton of aerating probably 200-300 homes a year and it keeps a few guys busy for the spring. Most of these client are once a year some in the fall as well but many one time calls or the crews get asked to do the neighbors as well while on the street.

I have my hourly rate for services and I stick to it. To me it doesn't matter what piece of equipment we are running they all get billed out at the same rate.

This is simply a straight aerating x1...seed, fert. or compost are all extras.

I charge a $69 flat rate up-to 1/4 acre and was very busy this season from July thru October, probably 220+ services.
For the same lawn everyone(and I do mean every one) charges between $10-$12.50/cut because there are 100's of lawn services within this 15 mile radius of 80,000 residents so competition is fierce. A friend of mine that mows yards went with me on a few aerations & was shocked at the efficiency. He said, $69 for 30 minutes & you don't have to come back 3 more times either.

[khutch]

I try to go for an hourly rate and adjust if the property is difficult.
$75 an hour easy - $100 difficult. # of passes depends on customers budget. I can tell them 2 passes on an easy yard, about $50 takes 40 min. What to spend more money? More passes.
People seem to like the option of deciding how much to spend rather than me telling them what it we cost - but the HOURLY rate remains the same to me......

[larryinalabama]

Aeration is extremely hard work, I guess I make a couple of thousand per year with out trying to get the jobs.

Be sure to mark the SPRINKLERS

[newguy123]

Originally Posted by larryinalabama

Aeration is extremely hard work, I guess I make a couple of thousand per year with out trying to get the jobs.

Be sure to mark the SPRINKLERS

Great point! Make sure the sprinklers are marked. However the customer does that, not the LCO. If the customer wants you to do it, then that costs extra as it takes time...

[dstifel]

I refuse to mark them. If you mark them and happen to miss one it is your fault if they mark them and forget one it is 100% their fault. I also take a picture of the property and all the flags placement so they can't say anything about it being my fault. Dog fences are another one that is important to get marked.

[adam.neusbaum]

Sprinkler heads? I say Tines Down & hope for the best! ) But really I've found that as long as they are clean its better without a flag so I can just straddle them without bending up the little flags. I was getting soaked trying to flag all the heads after turning them on. They aren't the old single stream Hunters or Nelsons anymore. Was thinking of getting a pair of rubber wadder bibbed overalls/boots when doing this. On the stand-on types you get a great view anyway. 200+ aerations & flagged just the first 40. Only broke one head & it was the neighbors at a corner section.
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[RigglePLC]

Make it worth your while. Your price should plan to payback the cost of your equipment in two years. And it should cover the gas, repairs and maintenance. Pay for labor: by adding your labor per hour, labor burden (tax and benefits), and cost for travel and unproductive hours in the shop. Add more if if skillled (HS graduate), or if you have to sweat or do anything dangerous.

For overhead: say your overhead last year was $1000...and you worked 500 hours last year. You have to charge $2.00 per hour for overhead.

Don't you wish there was an aerator that would plant 10 seeds in each hole?