Pricing Question

[Robtbrehm]

Greetings Everyone!

Is there a particular formula that one may use to calculate how much to charge per square foot for mowing. Take into consideration that the terrain is relatively flat, there are few trees, and very little edging/trimming work would be required.

[Shoal]

greetings back at you. you might want to go to the archives and look over previous threads. there is more to it than meets the eye. there are many different formula's that you could use. good luck. shoal

[Scaper-S2k]

I doubt you could ever use the sq ft method. If you could, they numbers would have to come from your own times because one company may do the work faster than the next......or slower. The equipment used may vary.


Then, every company has different overhead. So a guy mowing on his own would likely be charging a different amount than an owner who has 2 employees on that job site.



Honestly, you can't use other peoples numbers in the sq ft method. And by the time you have calculated your own times, you will likely be good enough to look at a lawn and figure a cost. Now if you have larger lawns, sure, get out the measuring wheel. But it might be better to go with pricing scales that change with every 500 sq ft instead of 'X' number of cents per sq ft.


Just my opinion.

[OLD HAT]

everyone has thier own numbers, most of my stuff is done on how long I think it will take me. Example I have a one acre bid out for 100.00 quite a few trees, so I cant go as fast. Down the road I have 2 acres bid out for 120. because there is nuthing to mow around and I can go wide open.
so what I am trying to say is set a min price for unload, then figure out how long it will take you to mow say 1/4 acre sue that as your base, then you can use that as a base. that is still only an estimate.

[OLD HAT]

sorry messed up

[boazcat]

so what I am trying to say is set a min price for unload, then figure out how long it will take you to mow say 1/4 acre sue that as your base, then you can use that as a base. that is still only an estimate.

I agree. Find a minimum that you will show up for. After awhile, you will figure out about how long it takes to mow, edge, trim a yard. If it takes an hour, then you can think about that being how much you want to charge per hour. I try to stay in the $40-50 per hour range. Sometimes higher, sometimes a little lower. You will need to look at your individual overhead costs and that will help determine what you "need" to make per lawn.

Good luck,

Michael

[Shoal]

Michael, $40-$50 dollars? that is a 25% difference and by your own words it can be a little more or a little less that is a heck of a swing in pricing.... is that profit margin?...... shoal

[Shoal]

not michael, robtbrehm is who I meant to adress. shoal

[Jay Chatfield]

how much

I like to think of pricing each lawn in an overall spectrum. Meaning if I want to make 300 dollars a day I need figure a few things out first. Are you cutting residential or commercial lots, inner city, suburban, or country locations, as well as time from one job to the next. If you want 300 a day and charge 25$ on average for a residential property and a single person crew (you) can do 12 lawns a day with drive time for an estimated 10-12 hours a day you come out to 300 $ every day you work. Pricing to me is all about how much money you need to live after bills are paid. 3000 /day for 4 days a week is 1200 / wk gross for one person.. now add someone to the mix.. give them a truck trimmer, edger blower, and mower and do 40 each week 10 a day for 10$ /hr cash gives you ann extra 600/week for every single unit crew with 40 lawns a week..
2 crews and yourself you make 2400 every week after labor...