I got my license and started spraying yards for the public this year as a side job to make extra money. Business has been great and I'm staying busy spraying for weeds and ants but I keep getting asked by ppl if I can apply fertilizer. So I guess I'm about to attempt my first fertilizer job on a 4 acre centipede yard. This is what I told the guy: I'm going to pull a soil sample to fig out if I should apply 16-4-8 or 15-0-15, looks like it'll take a little over 6lbs per 1000 square feet to put out 1lb of nitrogen on that area. That means it will take between 270 / 290 lbs per acre. I'm estimating my cost around 75 per acre if my math on the amount needed is correct. Give me some feed back on how much should I charge for this. What should my profit be and any tips would be appreciated to help me get started adding this as one of my services.
Southgaturfman
That's everything. I do the same price for spraying too. I make a ton of money on spraying and nitrogen apps. Don't make much on my 12/12/12 app but that's ok.
Typical companies around here charge about 32 as a 4000 sqft minimum, and about 2.75 per thousand sqft for 4 thousand and up. But the salesman often measure at about 30 percent low, so sometimes big company's real price is about $2 per thousand after the minimum.
I won't even put on my spraying gear for less than 40 dollars. After 4000sqft I charge 3.50 per 1000
If I told you guys we have a $49 minimum and $5+ per k.
You'd fall over.
Depends on what spraying or spreading at the time.
I ask customers for their trugreen reciepts. One customer has a 1200k lawn $900 with Aeration and 7 apps! Yes! Receipt said Gold package, they only applied around one gallon each visit.
Old Next door neighbor had 35k turf. $1200 year 5 apps. All liquid. Lawn still looks terrible.
Spring Green Company $380 under 10k 5 apps flat rate. 2k 5k 10k= same price and they do a lot around here, lots of mailers and stuffers and targeted letters.
Can't always price off your costs but what the market will bear. Why limit profits to be the lowest?
You'd fall over.
Depends on what spraying or spreading at the time.
I ask customers for their trugreen reciepts. One customer has a 1200k lawn $900 with Aeration and 7 apps! Yes! Receipt said Gold package, they only applied around one gallon each visit.
Old Next door neighbor had 35k turf. $1200 year 5 apps. All liquid. Lawn still looks terrible.
Spring Green Company $380 under 10k 5 apps flat rate. 2k 5k 10k= same price and they do a lot around here, lots of mailers and stuffers and targeted letters.
Can't always price off your costs but what the market will bear. Why limit profits to be the lowest?
My minimum is $90 a treatment up to 5k sq ft and $18 per 1k after that. I won't get out of bed for anything less and everyone around me told me I was crazy for pricing that way, yet I now have right under 800 customers in 3 years this month. Pricing yourself according to others is ridiculous, offer a superior service and charge accordingly.
Edit: I do give a break on price over 25k so if price this one at $1218 per app and it's a 6 application program. If they can't afford it, then it's not the clientele I'm looking for.
Edit: I do give a break on price over 25k so if price this one at $1218 per app and it's a 6 application program. If they can't afford it, then it's not the clientele I'm looking for.
I cant tell if your serious or joking.
But if your serious I APPLAUD you sir! :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping
ayuppayuppayupThumbs Up
But if your serious I APPLAUD you sir! :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping
ayuppayuppayupThumbs Up
I mark up my material wether it be fertilizer or lime 20%, then charge $50 an acre to spread.
If I understand your pricing, for a 352 M site (8.08 A) you would charge $791.12? I did one yesterday - granted, it was a heavy application of a MESA fertilizer - for $1,938.72. My materials alone was $122.50/acre at my cost and I marked it up a little.
I try to look at these things as "what do I need to charge to go over the area with the machine empty" then build the price from there. Once I'm spreading granular, what is in the hopper and how wide the chute is open affect the price of the application labor very little, if at all. How often I have to refill is about the only variable and at that point, for me, it's splitting hairs.
I am interested in your opinion, not criticizing you, because it sounds like you know what you are doing.
I used to agree. However on turf that is having troubles you need to find out what is going on. This opens the door for you to sell what is needed, and not using the shotgun approach.
To me, for the customer, it is a no brainer. Because the other way you are guessing. If however you have a heathly turf there is less need.
Where I used to work they charged a base of $20 to cover labor and gas and then $4 per 1000. When I started my company I started using that formula. Is it too high or too low? Well.....300 customers later...they are paying so I'm staying. It really depends on what part of the country you're to be truthful.
So find a supplier.
Figure out what a bag costs
Add 20% to that price.
Example $20 per bag is now $22.
Then multiply by 2
That's $44 per bag.
Find out your spread rate, which usually works out between 7 and 10k sq ft per bag.
If 44 bucks covers 10000 sq ft
That gives you $4.4O per 1000 sq ft.
You can measure most lawns on findlotsize.com to get your sq ft.
But most customers know there lot size, you'll learn it over time.
But you say , what do you have here? About a quarter acre?
Then guess the percent of the lot that is lawn,
For example if they have a half acre and half of it is house , driveway and patio/plant beds.
You've got 10,000 sq ft.
That's one bag
So you tell the customer $44.00
If you find a big property like an acre
That's 4 bags which is $176, round down on bigger properties, so tell them $170.
That's a super fast and lazy way to do it, but it gets you moving and you will learn the rest as you go.
Figure out what a bag costs
Add 20% to that price.
Example $20 per bag is now $22.
Then multiply by 2
That's $44 per bag.
Find out your spread rate, which usually works out between 7 and 10k sq ft per bag.
If 44 bucks covers 10000 sq ft
That gives you $4.4O per 1000 sq ft.
You can measure most lawns on findlotsize.com to get your sq ft.
But most customers know there lot size, you'll learn it over time.
But you say , what do you have here? About a quarter acre?
Then guess the percent of the lot that is lawn,
For example if they have a half acre and half of it is house , driveway and patio/plant beds.
You've got 10,000 sq ft.
That's one bag
So you tell the customer $44.00
If you find a big property like an acre
That's 4 bags which is $176, round down on bigger properties, so tell them $170.
That's a super fast and lazy way to do it, but it gets you moving and you will learn the rest as you go.
Are you adding in other factors such as chemicals ?
what if you are adding in insecticides ??
Product, gas and labor are not your only costs.
What about other factors such as repairs, rent, new equipment,
insurance, etc?
What about other factors such as repairs, rent, new equipment,
insurance, etc?
4 $ per 1000 plus 20 for labor/ gas. Thats 60$ to treat a 10K lawn.
seems low to me.
The medium sized companies here in the south east, I shopped around:
competitor 1 - 82 $ for 10k sq feet
competitor 2- 78 $ for the same
TG- 78 dollars for about 12k sq feet.
Competitor 1 again, charged 240 for an acre residential lawn.
These are residential lawns.
ON the commercial side, I spoke to the lawn guy cutting a commercial lot, about 33K sq feet. TG is charging 110. That is really cheap.
For athletic fields, the competitive cut throat range is in the 120-140 an acre.
seems low to me.
The medium sized companies here in the south east, I shopped around:
competitor 1 - 82 $ for 10k sq feet
competitor 2- 78 $ for the same
TG- 78 dollars for about 12k sq feet.
Competitor 1 again, charged 240 for an acre residential lawn.
These are residential lawns.
ON the commercial side, I spoke to the lawn guy cutting a commercial lot, about 33K sq feet. TG is charging 110. That is really cheap.
For athletic fields, the competitive cut throat range is in the 120-140 an acre.
I should be certified next year...but ideally getting an employee to get certified. Only looking to service my regular customers + a maybe few extras. My idea anyway is that Staying smaller would allow the employee or myself to do (most) apps the same visit as we are there lawn mowing : which would really bump up my hourly income $$ on those lawns. Anyone do it this way ? Pros vs cons ?
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