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I'll be finishing a job tomorrow and I'm wondering how to bill the customer. They are a full-season mowing account (and will be next year), very laid back(and well-off) people (didn't even discuss price on the job beforehand) who are on vacation. They will get the bill when they return, so I have time to work out the price.
The job is:
VERY heavy weeding (many 4-6 foot stalks plus your standard weeds...beds are dense with real plants but the plants are engulfed with and surrounded by weeds) on all beds, which include...a 7ft deep by approx 180 ft long bed that wraps around most of the house, plus about 5 small tree mulch-rings. And lastly, an approx 7x15 former vegetable garden that's now a small forest, with tarp/cloth/whatever you call it stuff underneath that needs to be pulled up, and a small 2 foot fence all around it. I spent 4 hours at the job today (including 1/hr transportation) and anticipate a maximum of 8 hours tomorrow, so 11 labor man hours total.
I "charge" 35/hr (price isn't revealed just an estimating tool), which may seem unfair considering our extremely low overhead, but I want to respect other LS'ers rates and I'm also experienced and work much faster than your average laborer (also I'm the owner, so I get labor pay and owner pay). Gas will run close to $10 in total and disposal will be a pain in the a$$ (many bags of weeds plus the fencing...but there is a very nearby dump that will take it all free of charge). There's no real justifiable equipment charges, so I'm thinking of giving a regular customer somewhat of a break and coming in at around $400-450 for the job. Any thoughts? We tend to price right on lawncutting but occasionally drastically underprice landscaping work. Thanks for any help.
The job is:
VERY heavy weeding (many 4-6 foot stalks plus your standard weeds...beds are dense with real plants but the plants are engulfed with and surrounded by weeds) on all beds, which include...a 7ft deep by approx 180 ft long bed that wraps around most of the house, plus about 5 small tree mulch-rings. And lastly, an approx 7x15 former vegetable garden that's now a small forest, with tarp/cloth/whatever you call it stuff underneath that needs to be pulled up, and a small 2 foot fence all around it. I spent 4 hours at the job today (including 1/hr transportation) and anticipate a maximum of 8 hours tomorrow, so 11 labor man hours total.
I "charge" 35/hr (price isn't revealed just an estimating tool), which may seem unfair considering our extremely low overhead, but I want to respect other LS'ers rates and I'm also experienced and work much faster than your average laborer (also I'm the owner, so I get labor pay and owner pay). Gas will run close to $10 in total and disposal will be a pain in the a$$ (many bags of weeds plus the fencing...but there is a very nearby dump that will take it all free of charge). There's no real justifiable equipment charges, so I'm thinking of giving a regular customer somewhat of a break and coming in at around $400-450 for the job. Any thoughts? We tend to price right on lawncutting but occasionally drastically underprice landscaping work. Thanks for any help.
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