Is this how to bid?

[bodypilot]

Ok, last year I started mowing lawns part-time. There were a few of the jobs I just couldn't stand to go to because I under bid them. This year I'm going to attempt it full time. I'd like to focus more on bidding what it's worth, not bidding to ensure getting the job. Heres my idea of how to bid so far....
I went and stepped out my yard front to back, side to side. It was about 45 steps X 35 steps. I figured each of my steps were approximately 3 feet/1 yard. I then came in and mulitplied 45 X 35= 1575 That is 1575 square steps/yards. So I took 1575 X 9= 14,175. That would be approximately 14,000 sq. feet, correct? I then thought maybe I'd charge $2 per 1000 square feet for the base of my bid. Then I'd look at how much trimming would be involved and add that accordingly. On my yard for instance the total of my base bid was $28.00. There is a considerable amount of trimming so I thought I'd add another $7 for trimming. Giving me a total of $35.00 for the complete job.
How does all this sound? Does it seem high? Where might I run into problems using this method? Any comments, advice, or lessons would be greatly appreciated.

[tulsa lawn guy]

You've got the right idea... I would also do this:


Get a measuring wheel. Maybe I'm a little anal retentive, but you have to know exactly how many square feet your going to mow.

You also need to estimate your expenses as accurately as possible, and then figure out what you need to charge on an hourly basis to turn a reasonable profit.

Next, get your equipment out and do time trials in your own yard. Remember to time the same size plot of land with both the push mower and walk-behind.

After you figure out what you need to charge per hour, and how many sq. ft. you can mow on a per minute basis with both mowers, you will be well on your way to figuring out your "bidding system".

Also, don't forget to consider that is will take you less time to mow a plot of land with no obstructions than it will to mow the same size plot with 50 trees on it.

Good luck!

[jagmagic]

That formula is very close to what I use myself, but one thing I think you are leaving out is the sq. footage of the house or buildings on the property. I charge about $5.00/ 1500 sq ft. but I always bid high to see the reaction I get then I can always go down a little if needed.

[tulsa lawn guy]

but one thing I think you are leaving out is the sq. footage of the house or buildings on the property.

??

I'm not sure if I'm following you.

I measure the total grass area of the yard first, and then the area that needs to be trimmed around the house, fence, etc...

[jagmagic]

no, take the sp. footage of the house out of the total sq. footage of the lawn being price. In other words if you pace off the lawn or measure the lawn to get the sq. footage of the property overall then you must measure the sq. footage of the house and subtract that from the total sq. footage. At least that is how I do it, does everyone else take the size of the house into consideration when measuring the yard or do you just measure the lot size and keep it at that?

[tulsa lawn guy]

Jag...

I'm still not sure why the size of the house matters?? We're not mowing over the house, so what difference does it make?

I simply measure the square footage of the area that I'm going to mow. Front, back, and sides. Then, of course, I measure all the trimming and edging as well.

[CCLS]

For mowing, sell time not feet.

[tulsa lawn guy]

For mowing, sell time not feet.

This seems to be a common misconception...

Those of us who measure are still selling time... The question is, how long does it take to mow X amount of sq. footage? When you know this information, based on time trials, what you end up with is an (almost) foolproof bidding system.

You can either guess how long any given property will take to mow, or measure it and know for sure. The choice is yours.

[bodypilot]

When I'm going to measure a rectangle yard, i'll take two measurements, front to back and side to side. Figure the total square footage including whats under the house. Say the total equals 15,000 sq. ft., I'll figure $2.00 a 1000 sq. ft.. I was thinking the time it would take me to trim around the house and driveway, it would probably take about as long as it would to just mow that area. (if there was no house and driveway) Then if there is a condsiderable amount of trees and other areas of trimming, or steep hills, i'd figure that on top my total sq. ft. total. Figures up about right on my yard anyways.

[jagmagic]

Well, I think this goes to show that everyone has their own system and what works for one does not always work for another. I do 2 measurements front to back and side to side, when I do those I'm also measuring the sq ft of the house on the property. This way I present to the customer an actual sq footage size and they seem comfortable with the fact that I deduct from the sq footage the size of the house since I'm not mowing the sq footage that the house is sitting on.


Since we are on the subect of pricing, what rate does everyone use for scalping??? I do about 3 times the price of one cut...

[tulsa lawn guy]

Well, I think this goes to show that everyone has their own system and what works for one does not always work for another.

Agreed. You know what they say, "Whatever floats your boat!"

Since we are on the subect of pricing, what rate does everyone use for scalping??? I do about 3 times the price of one cut...

That's a good question.. I'm actually getting ready to do that for a couple of my lawns...

Do any of your customers have a problem with 3x pricing? It sure is a lot of work!!

[lclandscapes]

Is this how to bid?

This may sound stupid, but how did you get 9 as a multiplier?

[bodypilot]

This may sound stupid, but how did you get 9 as a multiplier?

Total sq. feet in a sq. yard

[Armando]

I have a measuring wheel and measure just about every yard . I dont bother taking out the house measurements i do scetch them down for my own records. I dont charge for weedeating around the house and I give 10-15 items (perminate or not) to be weedeated around free, (poles,fire hyd.,big trees) I have these one homeowners that keep putting things in the yard plants trees on that house i have 58 things to weed eat around and every time i go to mow it there is at least 1 more thing to go around. This is what gave me the idea 10-15 items max every thing else is going to be a $2.00 increase.