Paying help by the lawn

[stexasrookie]

Has anyone tried to pay help by the lawn? I base my pricing on square footage with a minimum of 10k being the minimum. Seems to me it would get the crw on the ball about getting the job done on or under the time alloted, but would I be risking quality? I was think $5 for a helper and $7 for the driver. Thanks

[Metro Lawn]

We have done this for years with good results. The only thing you need to watch is the quality. We generally have a salaried foreman that checks up on the guys and they do a decent job. It gives them a feeling that they are making more money too. Figure 3 jobs an hour.. that's $21.00 for the driver and $15.00 for the helper... not a bad selling point.

[Ability]

I train new employees this way because they are often very slow. When they get up to speed I start paying them by the hour and they make much more.

[leadarrows]

Well not yards as of yet but that is how I pay for scraping drywall out of new construction houses. Works out real well for them and me. The harder they work the sooner there done. Sometimes it means as much as $65.00 in their pockets four four hours work. Sometimes they goof off some and don't do so well but thats on them this way not me. I don't get quality work unless I'm there any way I do it so ..... if you got the answer to that one I'm all ears.

[grassrootsinab]

When I started I worked for a guy and he paid me $8 per lawn (very small residential, he was charging 18-25) with a 21". The wage worked out better than $12 a hr which for a summer job in a university town 12 years ago wasn't too bad.

I posted a thread on this a while back and some guys were saying it was illegal to pay this way (labour code or something). I never did get a definitive answer. As an employeee I sure liked it cause I could make better money and as an employer I would like to (now paying a HS student $7.50/hr to help) I think it would motivate them a little more. Just my .02

[leadarrows]

In QuickBooks I just set up hourly and by the job. It still goes thu payroll and taxes still get paid either way so thats not a problem. It's paying them as a subcontractor and not with holding taxes that is a problem.

[Tobruk79]

could you (legally) pay them minimum wage hourly plus a smaller comission per yard?

[mtdman]

Originally Posted by Tobruk79

could you (legally) pay them minimum wage hourly plus a smaller comission per yard?

I kinda like that idea. That way, you meet the min wage laws and still motivate them to work faster.

Good idear.

[J.Gordon]

Originally Posted by Tobruk79

could you (legally) pay them minimum wage hourly plus a smaller comission per yard?

Very good idea! thanks!!!
Jeff

[rodfather]

My very first employee was given a truck, trailer, all the equipment he needed and paid a % of each job.