Am I in the Ball Park?

[Big Hoss]

We are moving into the commercial end and we have the opportunity to bid on a commercial account that has two sites about 10 minutes apart.
Site 1 : 30 acres grass, 3500' chain link fence to weed eat, 1hr blower time.
Site 2 : 20 acres grass, 2100' chain link fence to weed eat, 1/2hr blower time.
I am guestimating about 25 man hrs and proposing a bid of about $1,250 per week.
Am I in the ball park for commercial work?

[lorenzo piedra]

Fifty cents per thousand would be $1087.

You need mowers that can cut 4-5 acres per hour to be able to sit at the big table.

[Big Hoss]

Fifty cents per thousand would be $1087.

You need mowers that can cut 4-5 acres per hour to be able to sit at the big table.

Have 2 Kubota ZD28's 72inchers and 2 Hustler Super Hydro walk behinds with 54 inchers . I believe that these should be up to the task.
How is the pricing though?

[Scaper-S2k]

Are these sites just flat open fields? Or are there other obstacles to work around?

[GrassMaster]

Yo Big Hoss...

You can't find out from anybody what the going rate is for that many acres on the average?

Around here the Big Boys charge about $25 per Acre! Your prices would be in line down here.

[Big Hoss]

Erich, These site consist about 70/30 floodwall type embankments/flats.

[Big Hoss]

Grassmaster, The potential client wants the bid in dollars per man hour and the estimate of total hours. We are already entrenched in the $25 an acre minimum.
Thanks

[Phil Nilsson]

We are moving into the commercial end ?

If you have to ask questions about how to price commercial you are not ready for large scale commercial and should NOT use numbers gotten from a chat board on which to base your bid ...

To do so is simply ... unprofessional

"Nothing personal ... it's just business."

[Scaper-S2k]

Big Hoss, if I were you, I would hate to have to break down those hours for the client. I know around here that bid would be around $1500 - $1800. And more if real quality was desired.

[lorenzo piedra]

Have 2 Kubota ZD28's 72inchers and 2 Hustler Super Hydro walk behinds with 54 inchers . I believe that these should be up to the task.
How is the pricing though?

You need to price out all your hours per task, equipment costs for the task, with YOUR labor and overhead numbers then calculate gross profit desired.

If you really want the job you should bid accordingly to secure it.

With those mowers you are pretty much like an 800 lb gorilla so don't be afraid to throw our weight around if needed.

[Phil Nilsson]

What Lorenzo said ... plus

Very few people at this board are into "big commercial" ... Bidding commercial is much more than getting a "per mow" cost and price together ... frequency of service, terrain ... a lot goes into it. Equipment efficiency ratios ... fixed contract incentives ... allied services offered ... and contract negotiations.

And remember that commercial customers can be "sharks" ... they go looking for new "sucker fish" every season to get a low price "meal" so you be careful out there!

[dancom]

With the size of those properties you are going to have very little real competition. Most LCO’s do not have the equipment or manpower to cut them. Some will try to bid them without the proper equipment but if the property owner is smart he will weed them out real quick, if not they will be calling you back in a month or two. Don’t be afraid to make money on your bid. Lorenzo is right, with that equipment you are a big boy let it make you some real money. Remember if you can’t make money real money doing it, it isn’t worth doing.