How do you guys price installing plant material?

[leeslawncare]

How do some of you guys charge for planting plants?I've got to install 9 dwarf nandinas an 9 mums .i've already got the mulching job @ 70$ per yard .what would be a fair price to plant these .It is a commercial property if that matters.Thanks

 

[SJR Lawncare]

I typically charge 2x what I pay for the plant, & tack on a little extra for my travel time to pick-up the plants, gas etc.
SJR

 

[Ssouth]

A good formula to use for installations is to take the price of mechandise double it and add twenty percent. This formula is used by a lot of general contractors in my area and it has worked well for me. I always like to bid jobs at $40/ hr plus material and when I compare this figure to the before mentioned formula they usually come out pretty close. You should also consider whether you are buying wholesale or retail. I always buy wholesale unless it can't be helped.
Good luck,
Stuart H. South

 

[turfman99]

Ahh, some guys that know how to charge for their work. Excellent.

Plants material times 2. Charge your going rate ( I like that $ 40 per hour)on how long it takes you to plant the plants. Mininmum 1 hour of course. I always add at least 10% contingency to everything we do.

Add support time ( drive, shop etc) at the rate of 1 hour per 7 worked or a prorate portion of that.

Good price on the mulching also. Keep it up and you'll have a good year.

 

[Vibe Ray]

Hey Turfman99, i have to admit, your profile(life story) sounds pretty impressive. do you have any spare time??

 

[KirbysLawn]

I charge 2.5 times the price of the plant with 1-year warranty. The reason it's 2.5x instead of 2x is if a plant is replaced you break even, at 2.5 you still get something.

 

[TGCummings]

Very informative thread. Answered two questions I was going to research over the weekend, all in one fell swoop.

Thanks again!

-TGC

 

[GrassMaster]

Hello Profiteers:

This was the hardest things that I had to do was figure Landscape Installation. Then I got lucky & one of the old Pros told me.

Yep he said in most cases, 2.3 X materials. Well I went 2.5 sometimes 3 X cost of materials.

But if it was a lot of manual labor I would up it some! I stayed at 2.5 to 3 X's in most cases. It sure did save me a lot of time & head scratching. Folks like it when you crank out a quick professional Estimate. Makes you look like ya gots brains!

After I did it a few times, I then came up with similar figures using the good ole X's factor for aerating, fertilizing & etc...

I love it whenever I can save time? I'm crazy about it.

Money is Work Divided by Time!

 

[leeslawncare]

Thanks for the replys!

 

[HealthyLawns]

You guys just saved me a lot of figuring. Thanx for the info!