What to charge?

[Mowman]

How much would you all charge for a 2 acres with farm house,few trees,and a barn on the property. Not sure how much to charge. Most of my lawns are between 10,000 & 20,000 sq.ft. Any help will be greatly appreicated. Thanks for your input. Mowman

 

[little green guy]

It depends on how much trimming and obstcals and how much is acually grass but i would probly get between 60.00 and 80.00 for that. But it's hardto say without seeing it. good luck

 

[Victor]

I have a customer with a 2-acre lot. I charge him $125 for cutting, trimming, and blowing the clippings off his driveway. A 2 acre cut is no joke Mowman. I don't know how much you make on smaller yards, or what equipment you use, but in the amount of time it would take to cut 2 acres, you'd probably be losing money if you charged much less. For example. I average $125 per hour because I target smaller yards (close together), and have equipment that's better suited to small to medium sized yards. With the smaller yards, we can bang them out in no time, and get at least $25 per yard. I believe that the big money in mowing is in the coin drop. I've found that I can make so much more money by hitting the small yards than the big ones. It's been much easier for me to get $25 for a small yard than $50 for a yard twice the size of the $25 one.<br>The moral to this story is this. If I'm going to be servicing a big yard. The owner had better get their check-book ready. Lazer who's ideas I'm very fond of said that he has a customer that he charges $49.99 for a half-acre cut. Like he says. Charge a lot.<p>Victor <p>Victor

 

[lawrence stone]

The max for two arces would be $85 or $1/1000<br>sq ft.<p>If you have real equipment min 52&quot; mowers preferably 62&quot; mowers and if the account is on your route you can still make good money<br>at $65.<p>One must take into consideration how these big sites effects the customers pocketbook.<p>Once Victors $125 sucker wakes up from his nap that account will be history.

 

[Keith]

Perhaps you could get $125 from 1 out of 20 people. But around here, for the most part you would be laughed off the property for quoting a price like that. $60-90 seems more acceptable. I have a property that I mow year round that is over 2 acres. With one mower it takes about an 1 1/2 hours total w/ trimming. I get $150/month year round. Sounds low but considering the 1-2 cuts a month from November till March, I still make decent money.<p>Every account is different, you need to find what works for you and that customer.

 

[Charles]

I go with the 60 to 90 price too

 

[Victor]

There are some things you should know about that account Larry. 8) I never expected to get that account. I was actually hoping he would laugh at the bid I gave him, because I didn't want that his business. I never turn down a customer's request for an estimate (even if I don't want it). I just submit a bid that's so high they wouldn't be very likely to accept it. I thought this customer would be history when I gave him my price. He jumped at it instead. I didn't want the job because I make much more money on small yards, than on big ones. The second reason was driving time. His residence is 30 minutes from my nearest customer. <br>You're telling me that you guys don't charge for your drive time? You can do business how you like, but I believe in being compensated for all of my time.<p>Victor

 

[MOW ED]

I have to agree with Victor on bidding higher having got caught bidding low on a large yard when I started out 5 years ago. Its all what the market will bear in your area and the percieved value the customer thinks he is getting. <br>If you don't know what it costs you per hour to go to a site, run your machines and bill the customer you may be losing money. I have tracked all of my expenses over the last few years and I know what it costs to run each piece of equipment per hour based on the estimated life of the equipment. The large yards are a killer for someone set up to run solo with midsized equipment. You can make much more on the smaller yards with less wear on your equipment (less actual run time) but if you take large yards you better make it worth your while because eventually you are going to run out of hours on that mower and you know what replacement costs are. Figure out what you need and bid high. Good Luck.