So you did a search and youre about to post a new thread.
"Big commercial job, what do I bid"
Youre going to post the info about the job, and sit back and wait for guys to give you a price to submit. You;re looking for "the going rate"
Then PROCUT1 is going to post a "sarcastic" response to your thread saying something like.....,"Send me your last years tax return, a years worth of bank statements, an equipment list, a balance sheet, and itemized bills, then I can help you"
"What a jerk, you think" Others will post....."He just wants to give you a hard time, and doesnt want to help"
Well.....Let me tell you something.....If you get a price on here, and you submit that price......Youre on the road to failure.
I know....Youre staring at this bid package right now....You want this job....The big boys that do the condo complexes have these new trucks, fleets of mowers......Theyre rolling in it.....You want to be them....
All you need to do is get your foot in the door right? Wrong
If only you knew what they were charging, you could just go a little less, and get the job....Once they see the quality you give them.....More jobs will follow...Wrong again
Ill be ok as long as them Brickman or Valley Crest lowballers dont bid....
Wrongamundo
Nobody but nobody online can give you a price for that job.
Only you can
If youre a solo guy working out of your house mowing $30 lawns with no real business overhead. You may be profiting $25 on that lawn.
How about if you had 10,000 in overhead expenses a month.
Could you still charge $25 on that lawn?
Suppose it costs you $35 in expense to cut that lawn.
How does me telling you "The going rate is $25" going to help you.
If youre asking for prices....Youre asking the wrong questions. Youre setting yourself up to fail. You will forever rely on "I heard thats a $15,000 property" to submit a bid, not knowing if youre making or losing money.
Here are acceptable questions to start asking.
- How do I measure a property to determine the acreage?
- How do I determine how much mulch is on a property
- I have a 61" ztr. What is the production rate for that machine?
- How many feet per day should a weedwhacking man cover?
- How long does it take to install mulch per yard? What is your technique?
- How long would it take your crew to mow this property? What is the makeup of your crew and equipment?
- How long does it take to edge these beds?
Questions along those lines, are questions as a newbie, you need to ask.
YOU CANT BID WITHOUT THOSE ANSWERS
Not one of them has a price attached.
NOW.....Here is where that info that I ask for comes into play.
You need to take each one of those jobs, and put a time on them.
3 guys 8 hours per week to mow
3 guys a 40 hour week to mulch
3 guys 24 hours to trim the bushes
Dont forget drive time to and from your place
Etc
You need to add up all the manhours to complete the job.
Lets say 1000 man hours for the season to round off numbers
First.
Add up what those employees cost you.
Their salary, matching taxes, processing, workers comp.
Now you have the number what each employee COSTS you per hour.
Lets say you pay your guys $10 per hour that works out to $15 per hour with taxes etc.
So you have 1000 man hours in labor including drive time.
It costs you $15 per man hour.
Your payroll expense....COST TO YOU....Will be $15,000 for the season.
Now. Figure out your materials. The guys on lawnsite told you how to measure.
You come up with 100 yards of mulch. You know your employee expenses already.
Lets say you pay $25 per yard of mulch delivery included
Your mulch expense will COST YOU $2,500
So now your bid is up to $17,500
Now you look and see what each machine and truck burns for fuel. You know how many mowing hours it will be now. You take that hourly number, multiply it by the mowing hours......then by a "high" pump price and that will give you your fuel......
Lets say its $4000 for the season
Now youre at $21,500
Now. You need to add up all of your bills. Shop rent, electric, insurance,
maintenance items, anything that you have to pay thats not a DIRECT cost of doing the job. Add those up for the year.
Now. Figure out how many available working days you have total for the year. Figure out how many hours per day you plan to work. Take into account average number of rain days.
Lets say you can work 150 days per year. 8 hours a day
Thats 1200 regular hours or 3600 man hours for your crew
Lets say your bills add up to $30,000 for the year
Take that number, divide it by 3600
Your overhead is $8 per man hour
Now to figure that into your bid.
You figured 1000 man hours to work this place.
Your overhead will be $8,000
Now your price is at $29,500
THIS IS THE PRICE BEFORE PROFIT.
You are covering employees, overhead, and fuel.
NOW you figure in profit. Which is a number that YOU decide YOU want to make. This is what should be left over when the contract is done, free and clear just sitting in your bank account.
Lets say 20% which is high. But possible, maybe.
$5900
So after the job is done. Everyone and everything is paid. At the end of the season you should have 6 grand sitting in the bank.
YOUR BID IS $ 35,400.00 For this job.
Now......You hear that the "going rate is $29,000"
What do you do?
Ill tell you what most would do......Bid it at $27,000......Just a little cheaper to get the job.....
Do you see the problem here? It costs you 29,500......You cant possibly do the job for 27,000.
So now what? You want the job.
You have to go back to those items and see where you can adjust.
Do you really want to take all the profit off the table? Work all season for nothing in the end?
Maybe you can start with reducing the profit somewhat. You have that option as the owner.
Next.....How can you get those man hours down? Can you figure out how to cut manhours out and get the job done?
If you can, that reduces your bottom line price of $29,500
Can you lower your overhead?
Shop prices for insurance, phones, etc.....Can you save any money there?
Can you locate the material any cheaper? Save some money there?
Its the 29,500 that you have to reduce.
NOW....POST YOUR INFO ON LAWN SITE..
"Guys....My overhead is x per hour.......I calculated x man hours for this job......x amount of fuel......x materials......"
"How can I reduce my expenses?
NOW THATS A QUESTION THAT WILL HELP YOU.
Guys will tell you how to get the job done faster, save money on materials, save man hours etc.......
STILL NOONE GAVE YOU A PRICE
Now you take their advice and apply it.
Maybe between all those you figured out how to save $6,000 in expenses........
Now your bottom line is $23,500 to break even.
You wanted to bid it at $27,000
That would give you $3,500 in profit
8%
Are you happy with 8%? I would be.....Brickman works on 3-4%
Youre clearing double
If you are.......You can bid it at $27,000 and youre making money.
IF YOU CANT GET YOUR BASE EXPENSES LOWER YOU CANT DO THE JOB NO MATTER WHAT THE GOING RATE IS. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
Any questions?
"Big commercial job, what do I bid"
Youre going to post the info about the job, and sit back and wait for guys to give you a price to submit. You;re looking for "the going rate"
Then PROCUT1 is going to post a "sarcastic" response to your thread saying something like.....,"Send me your last years tax return, a years worth of bank statements, an equipment list, a balance sheet, and itemized bills, then I can help you"
"What a jerk, you think" Others will post....."He just wants to give you a hard time, and doesnt want to help"
Well.....Let me tell you something.....If you get a price on here, and you submit that price......Youre on the road to failure.
I know....Youre staring at this bid package right now....You want this job....The big boys that do the condo complexes have these new trucks, fleets of mowers......Theyre rolling in it.....You want to be them....
All you need to do is get your foot in the door right? Wrong
If only you knew what they were charging, you could just go a little less, and get the job....Once they see the quality you give them.....More jobs will follow...Wrong again
Ill be ok as long as them Brickman or Valley Crest lowballers dont bid....
Wrongamundo
Nobody but nobody online can give you a price for that job.
Only you can
If youre a solo guy working out of your house mowing $30 lawns with no real business overhead. You may be profiting $25 on that lawn.
How about if you had 10,000 in overhead expenses a month.
Could you still charge $25 on that lawn?
Suppose it costs you $35 in expense to cut that lawn.
How does me telling you "The going rate is $25" going to help you.
If youre asking for prices....Youre asking the wrong questions. Youre setting yourself up to fail. You will forever rely on "I heard thats a $15,000 property" to submit a bid, not knowing if youre making or losing money.
Here are acceptable questions to start asking.
- How do I measure a property to determine the acreage?
- How do I determine how much mulch is on a property
- I have a 61" ztr. What is the production rate for that machine?
- How many feet per day should a weedwhacking man cover?
- How long does it take to install mulch per yard? What is your technique?
- How long would it take your crew to mow this property? What is the makeup of your crew and equipment?
- How long does it take to edge these beds?
Questions along those lines, are questions as a newbie, you need to ask.
YOU CANT BID WITHOUT THOSE ANSWERS
Not one of them has a price attached.
NOW.....Here is where that info that I ask for comes into play.
You need to take each one of those jobs, and put a time on them.
3 guys 8 hours per week to mow
3 guys a 40 hour week to mulch
3 guys 24 hours to trim the bushes
Dont forget drive time to and from your place
Etc
You need to add up all the manhours to complete the job.
Lets say 1000 man hours for the season to round off numbers
First.
Add up what those employees cost you.
Their salary, matching taxes, processing, workers comp.
Now you have the number what each employee COSTS you per hour.
Lets say you pay your guys $10 per hour that works out to $15 per hour with taxes etc.
So you have 1000 man hours in labor including drive time.
It costs you $15 per man hour.
Your payroll expense....COST TO YOU....Will be $15,000 for the season.
Now. Figure out your materials. The guys on lawnsite told you how to measure.
You come up with 100 yards of mulch. You know your employee expenses already.
Lets say you pay $25 per yard of mulch delivery included
Your mulch expense will COST YOU $2,500
So now your bid is up to $17,500
Now you look and see what each machine and truck burns for fuel. You know how many mowing hours it will be now. You take that hourly number, multiply it by the mowing hours......then by a "high" pump price and that will give you your fuel......
Lets say its $4000 for the season
Now youre at $21,500
Now. You need to add up all of your bills. Shop rent, electric, insurance,
maintenance items, anything that you have to pay thats not a DIRECT cost of doing the job. Add those up for the year.
Now. Figure out how many available working days you have total for the year. Figure out how many hours per day you plan to work. Take into account average number of rain days.
Lets say you can work 150 days per year. 8 hours a day
Thats 1200 regular hours or 3600 man hours for your crew
Lets say your bills add up to $30,000 for the year
Take that number, divide it by 3600
Your overhead is $8 per man hour
Now to figure that into your bid.
You figured 1000 man hours to work this place.
Your overhead will be $8,000
Now your price is at $29,500
THIS IS THE PRICE BEFORE PROFIT.
You are covering employees, overhead, and fuel.
NOW you figure in profit. Which is a number that YOU decide YOU want to make. This is what should be left over when the contract is done, free and clear just sitting in your bank account.
Lets say 20% which is high. But possible, maybe.
$5900
So after the job is done. Everyone and everything is paid. At the end of the season you should have 6 grand sitting in the bank.
YOUR BID IS $ 35,400.00 For this job.
Now......You hear that the "going rate is $29,000"
What do you do?
Ill tell you what most would do......Bid it at $27,000......Just a little cheaper to get the job.....
Do you see the problem here? It costs you 29,500......You cant possibly do the job for 27,000.
So now what? You want the job.
You have to go back to those items and see where you can adjust.
Do you really want to take all the profit off the table? Work all season for nothing in the end?
Maybe you can start with reducing the profit somewhat. You have that option as the owner.
Next.....How can you get those man hours down? Can you figure out how to cut manhours out and get the job done?
If you can, that reduces your bottom line price of $29,500
Can you lower your overhead?
Shop prices for insurance, phones, etc.....Can you save any money there?
Can you locate the material any cheaper? Save some money there?
Its the 29,500 that you have to reduce.
NOW....POST YOUR INFO ON LAWN SITE..
"Guys....My overhead is x per hour.......I calculated x man hours for this job......x amount of fuel......x materials......"
"How can I reduce my expenses?
NOW THATS A QUESTION THAT WILL HELP YOU.
Guys will tell you how to get the job done faster, save money on materials, save man hours etc.......
STILL NOONE GAVE YOU A PRICE
Now you take their advice and apply it.
Maybe between all those you figured out how to save $6,000 in expenses........
Now your bottom line is $23,500 to break even.
You wanted to bid it at $27,000
That would give you $3,500 in profit
8%
Are you happy with 8%? I would be.....Brickman works on 3-4%
Youre clearing double
If you are.......You can bid it at $27,000 and youre making money.
IF YOU CANT GET YOUR BASE EXPENSES LOWER YOU CANT DO THE JOB NO MATTER WHAT THE GOING RATE IS. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
Any questions?