[Swordfish3081]

Hey everybody. This is my first year in my own lawncare business and I was hoping for some input on how to charge for different services. Is a $1 a minute sound ok? So if i go to give a quit on a lawn to mow and I walk it and look at everything and determine its going to take me an hour to mow, trim, and blow, I would quote them $60. Also I am getting ready to put in a bid on an apartment complex. What should I charge for trimming and pruning bushes. What about edging sidewalks and walk ways. They have alot of them and they want it done 4 times a year, do I just use what I want to make an hour? So if I think its going to take me 3 hours to edge and blow everything should I charge them $120 everytime I do it. Any input would be greatly appreciated !!

 

[Darryl G]

What you charge depends on what equipment you have, how productive you are, what your overhead is and how much money you need or want to make. An inexperienced operator is not worth the same amount of money as an experienced one, nor is a craftsman lawn tractor worth as much as a commercial 60 inch zero turn mower. You'll find that your pricing is limited by the market and what your competition charges. I wish I could make $1/minute doing everything I do.

In general, I have a base hourly rate that I need to get for myself and the more expensive the equipment I'm using, the more I look to make per hour. Every hour you put on a piece of equipment has a cost. So I may be happy making $40/hour doing weeding with a cultivator and a trash barrel but if I'm on my landscape tractor, obviously that isn't going to cut it.

There are numerous threads here discussing this very issue. You may be better served in doing a search and reading through them..there is a "just starting out" section here too.

http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

 

[ALC-GregH]

I'm not biting, it smells like a troll in here.

 

[kylecal91]

Don't base your pricing on what other people charge. Figure out what it costs you to run per hour (fuel, labor, employees, rent, insurance, etc.) then add those all into what you need to charge to make a profit.

 

[JB1]

I'm not biting, it smells like a troll in here.

no, not on this site.

 

[MikeKle]

Another pricing question with only a vague description of the property. Hopefully a moderator will take note and consider my idea for a "what should I charge for this.." board!
Seriously, How can anyone give you an accurate estimate without seeing the property? It is impossible. I do not understand why all these new guys have trouble pricing, I never had any problems with that when I got started? It is sooooo simple, just figure out how long it will take you to service it, then figure out how much you need to make to turn a profit, then charge accordingly, and NO LOWBALLING just to get the account!!! That will hurt everyone in the long run. I know it is tempting to do this in the beginning just so you can have some work, but do not give in!

 

[brucec32]

Post pics of your sister and we'll think about it.

 

[Darryl G]

The problem I had with pricing at first was I wasn't charging enough. A rough guide of what to charge is to figure out how much you want to pay yourself per hour and then multiply by 2.5 to 3.0. That should cover general business expenses. So if you want to pay yourself $15/hr, you should be billing out at $37.50 to $45/hr. Once you have an hourly rate, then you can estimate how long a job will take you and how much to charge. Everyone will say figure out what your costs are..but the problem is that when you're just starting out, you may not have an accurate picture of what your costs are.

 

[kylecal91]

Everyone will say figure out what your costs are..but the problem is that when you're just starting out, you may not have an accurate picture of what your costs are.

If he is paying his taxes he's going to have to do them based on estimated income so he should just start there and use that to determine his cost. And I hope you are keeping track of what you make and spend otherwise good luck with that!

 

[Darryl G]

Loosing money at first in not necessarily a bad thing. Good tax write off.

 

[HeartOfTexas]

I disagree with the idea of pricing a service solely based upon what you want or need to make. For sure you need to estimate the time it will take you but also keep in mind what others are charging. Charge what the market will bear.

For example, say the result of your formula says that you want or need to make $15 for a lawn or $60 for a lawn but the going rate is $30 to $35 for that particular lawn. Well then your stupid to only charge $15 and you won't get much business if you want to make or need to make twice what others are charging.

I think estimating lawn mowing charges is usually easy. Where I have often estimated too little is for yard clean-ups, trimming and other projects. I now try to estimate my time but quote a price that is somewhat higher because I have learned the hard way that I tend to estimate on the low side.

 

[Big C]

Hey everybody. This is my first year in my own lawncare business and I was hoping for some input on how to charge for different services. Is a $1 a minute sound ok? So if i go to give a quit on a lawn to mow and I walk it and look at everything and determine its going to take me an hour to mow, trim, and blow, I would quote them $60. Also I am getting ready to put in a bid on an apartment complex. What should I charge for trimming and pruning bushes. What about edging sidewalks and walk ways. They have alot of them and they want it done 4 times a year, do I just use what I want to make an hour? So if I think its going to take me 3 hours to edge and blow everything should I charge them $120 everytime I do it. Any input would be greatly appreciated !!

This is your 1st year in business and asking questions on how to price jobs...that's understandable....what I don't understand is why would you want to bid on an apartment complex when you don't have a clue on how to bid it....I would start with residentials for a few years and then small commercials, and work your way up....don't get in over your head too fast!

 

[HeartOfTexas]

I just thought of something else to keep in mind when you provide an estimate. It is much much easier to come down in price than to go up.

My thinking now is to give an estimate that is a little higher than what I may willing to do the job for. Say I think a fair price on a certain lawn would be $34 but my quote is for $37. If they go with $37 that's great because they may be my customer for the whole season or for years to come and I did well. If they tell me that they used to pay $30 I tell them that I based my estimate upon the taxes that I pay, etc, etc. but that I think I could do it for $34. Most often I will get the business and it is still a fair price.

Sometimes the homeowner says that they can't do more than $30 or whatever. In that case I tell them that I couldn't meet that price. I don't get the business but that's fine.

 

[HeartOfTexas]

I just thought of something else to keep in mind when you provide an estimate. It is much much easier to come down in price than to go up.

My thinking now is to give an estimate that is a little higher than what I may willing to do the job for. Say I think a fair price on a certain lawn would be $34 but my quote is for $37. If they go with $37 that's great because they may be my customer for the whole season or for years to come and I did well. If they tell me that they used to pay $30 I tell them that I based my estimate upon the taxes that I pay, etc, etc. but that I think I could do it for $34. Most often I will get the business and it is still a fair price.

Sometimes the homeowner says that they can't do more than $30 or whatever. In that case I tell them that I couldn't meet that price. I don't get the business but that's fine.