Remember That Lawn Care Is An Investment
Your home is one of the biggest purchases youll ever make, so youll want to protect that investment by ensuring your lawn is healthy and well-manicured.
Find your lawn care pro today, and we hope you enjoy your beautiful new yard for many years to come.
When you’re ready, get free estimates on HomeGuide from trusted lawn care pros:
Daniel W.
Pricing A Job Advicefor New Start
Pricing a job is one of the more difficult things for new start-ups. You don’t want to over-charge, but you don’t want to under-charge either. If your price is too high, people will look to someone else. If it is too low, you may not make enough profit to keep you going. It is hard to raise your prices once they are established without upsetting your customers.
This page is designed to get you to think outside the box and look at the effects of pricing a job incorrectly. It hopefully will show you how to save money on expenses and get the price you need.
The first thing you have probably noticed is that lawn care these days is extremely competitive making pricing a job intimidating at first. Our economy is not helping. What adds to the complexity is that many individuals have started a part-time lawn mowing business to help bring in extra money. They often work under the table just for the cash. Some of these have made a practice of pricing low to get the job. However, while it is great for the customer, a lot of customers are aware of this and understand that people that are not in it for the long haul are often not in business long. You will see why as you read this.
Secondly, it is important to know that times have changed and price really does matters more than ever. People are now geared to look for a low price, especially people on fixed incomes. Who can blame them?
More discriminating customers will want good quality, but still are on the lookout for a decent price.
Dethatching Lawn Mower Blade
How much to charge for dethatching?
- On this page
- Pick-up costs stubble
- Straw price with other services. Most homeowners pay between $180 and $250 to plow their stubble.
- Implementation costs. Cleaning fees range from $10 to $20 per 1,000 square feet. Expect to pay between $100 and $200 for a typical 10,000 square foot lawn.
- Do-it-yourself stubble cultivation versus hiring a lawn company.
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Does Dethatching Help Your Lawn Fall
Stubble cultivation in the fall. In fact, fall is one of the best times to clean lawns, as lawns take a long time to recover. It is always advisable to remove the thatch when the soil is moist enough and the grass is actively growing. Growing stubble at the wrong time can seriously damage your lawn because it doesn’t have time to recover.
Here Are Some Common Questions To Refer Regarding The Prices For Lawn Mowing
Question: My lawn hasnt been mowed for several weeks and is a bit overgrow
On your very first mowing service, our landscaper will take a visit walkthrough to understand the space and the landscape services required. If the lawn is overgrown, it can take the landscapers 2-3 times longer to mow the grass. This initial cut will cost extra to establish defined edges and an appropriate grass length but after that, your price will fall in alignment with the standard fees.
Question: My lawn takes 10 minutes to mow. Why does it lawn mowing cost $35?
Thats a great question. There are multiple factors that go into the cost. A flat rate is usually applied as a starting point. We have a minimum cost of $35 per mowing service regardless of the size of your lawn. We want to assure the best services for our clients and an equitable environment for our employees to constantly thrive. Our full-time office staff takes immense efforts to offer our clients innumerable services such as billing, invoicing, managing, and providing active customer call service. Also, trucks, trailers, insurance, fuel, and other expenses make it important for us to charge that minimum fee.
Question: How often should you mow your lawn?
Question: What does lawn mowing services include?
Question: What if the plants or irrigation systems get unintentionally harmed?
Dont worry! If there is any damage, we will either fix it or replace it at our cost.
Question: Do we provide any add-on service?
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What Are The Benefits Of Hiring A Professional Lawn Mowing Service
Almost nothing is as gratifying as a well-maintained lawn. Fortunately, a lush and beautiful yard no longer requires endless hours of mowing and trimming by the entire family. The best lawn care professionals can help take care of your home, office, rental or commercial properties and they’re beneficial in many ways.
For one, lawn care professionals have their own lawn mowers and trimming equipment, so you don’t need to spend money on a mower of your own. Hiring a professional gives you back the space you would have used to store bulky lawn equipment in the garage or shed. You also won’t have to worry about keeping gas in the tank or a charge in the battery, or finding an extension cord long enough to let you weed-whack your entire yard.
They can also take care of your lawn beyond just a simple mow and trim with add-on services like laying down fertilizer or coming up with a mowing plan to keep your yard growing healthily year-round. Or, if your lawn has been neglected for awhile, they can revive it. No matter how poorly maintained your lawn has been in the past, the pros can bring a dried-up lawn back to life or tame an overgrown mess.
Do Gas Mowers Play A Part In The Cost Of Mowing A Lawn
One aspect that often goes overlooked by professionals and customers alike is the cost of running a gas mower. Many companies are moving away from gas mowers to avoid fluctuations in their service pricing.
Since these mowers run on gas, international gas prices will impact the cost. It might only be by a few dollars, but if the markets spike or drop, customers will see it in their pricing.
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Cost Of Seeding Your Lawn
Lawn seeding is another great way to improve and/or maintain the long-term health and vibrancy of your lawn. It depends on how large of a lawn you have, but the average cost of seeding your lawn is between $850 $1,700. The more area you need seeded the higher the price because it will take longer, and you will need more seed to finish the job.
How Much Should I Charge For Mowing Lawns
The average price of lawn mowing services is $61 per visit. However, several factors influence this price, including:
- Size of the lot.
- Condition of the lawn.
- Additional services required.
The best way to get an accurate estimate is to visit your customer to check out what needs to be done and discuss your services with them.
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How To Balance A Lawn Mower Blade
- Remove the blade from the trimmer. First, make sure your lawnmower is unplugged and not working.
- Balance the blade. The basic idea is to hang the sheet in such a way that it can be easily balanced.
- Center the sheet. Once the blade is perfectly centered, hold it in place for a few seconds and gently release the blade.
- Sharpen the hard side. To balance the blade, sharpen or file the heavier side.
- Place the back of the blade on the mower. After making sure your blade is balanced, test it.
Should I Dethatch My Lawn When Aerating
Never mow your lawn when it is idle or under voltage as this can cause permanent damage. Lawn aeration and stubble cultivation are two different methods, but they can work together to help your lawn. Aeration removes cores from the soil, including the straw layer, and creates pathways for water and nutrients to enter the straw and compacted soil.
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Whats Included In The Price Of Lawn Mowing Services
Lawn care companies like to provide discounts on one-off services by bundling common lawn care services into a single package. These mowing packages often include mowing, edging, weeding, and leaf removal services.
Depending on what a lawn needs, itâs easy for homeowners to add on other services, such as watering and fertilization.
Remember that itâs common to provide discounts for committing to a long-term lawn care contract. Loyalty rewards are always appreciated in this hotly contested business.
Find Out The Track Record
Ask how long a lawn care provider has been in business. What level of experience and education does the person or a providers staff have? Also, is the provider properly licensed and insured?
Unfortunately, some providers are fly-by-night operators that havent been in business very long and are interested only in taking your money, not in providing top-notch service. As noted by MarketWatch, providing lawn care requires little more than some equipment and a business license. Almost no training is required.
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How We Determine Your Mowing Quote
We take several things into account before we provide our mowing quote and we keep it really simple. The only thing that really matters to us is how much time we will have in your mowing service. Below you will find our pricing table and examples of lawns that fall into those pricing tiers.
*If you have a very small amount of grass or if we are mowing your neighbors lawn already, there is a chance your price your quote would be less than the stated pricing. The purpose of our pricing page is to get you a good idea of your cost and our hope is we can do it for a little less!
What Should I Beware Of
One thing to be mindful of when comparing lawn-mowing prices is whether the quote youre getting seems reasonable.
Also, keep in mind that a lawn-mowing professional or company might try to bump up the price simply because you live in a fancy neighborhood. Why? Because they think you can afford it, Farley says.
Regardless of what sort of neighborhood you live in, there are some things you can do to avoid lawn care rip-offs. The Better Business Bureau, Better Homes & Gardens, HomeAdvisor and the National Association of Lawn Care Professionals offer these tips:
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But This All Depends On Your Pricing Structure Of Course
The right prices can help you earn new business, retain customers, and grow in your market. On the flip side, a bad pricing structure can cause your business to go under and fast. No pressure, of course
But seriously, I want to help you set up your lawn care business for success. To help, Ive put together a guide for pricing lawn care services. Ready to get started? Get your pen and paper out!
Heres How Ed Prices His Commercial Jobs:
After a walk around, I might decide that a property will take an hour and a half with three people. I will need one truck and one trailer, so Ill build out the quote like that. So three people on the site means Ill bill them out at $45 an hour, $45 per employee. There are three employees, so thats $135 for the job to start.
Then I consider what equipment Ill have on site. I charge two times the hourly rate of labor just to have the staff on the site. About $5 of my price ends up going to my equipment overhead.If you have little experience with pricing commercial contracts, take Eds advice and follow the same approach you would with residential clients:
Figure out how much time it will take you to do a commercial job, and then think about much money youd make on a residential job. Say its an hour and a half. If you normally do three residential jobs and bill them at $50 per job, you should be making $150 an hour to do that commercial job, or very close to that.
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Lawn Care Price Sheet
A lawn care price sheet lets your customer know your prices in advance and gives you a baseline to help develop accurate estimates for your customers.
To create your lawn care price sheet, you should use a lawn mowing pricing formula to determine your prices.
Heres what your lawn mowing pricing formula will look like:
Hourly labor rate + overhead + profits + taxes = Total job price
Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator
If you’re the kind of person that takes pride in having a beautiful, well-maintained lawn, this lawn mowing cost calculator is for you! Use it to save time on calculating the cost of getting it done by a professional.
But that’s not all – our calculator will also help you if you prefer to take care of your lawn yourself! Many of us do it for financial, health, and recreational reasons. Did you know that by mowing the lawn you burn about 250-300 calories per hour?
Read on to find out more about lawn mowing costs, learn how to easily estimate mowing time, and check out our tips on how to mow a lawn effectively. With the help of this mowing calculator, your yard is guaranteed to look great!
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Lawn Care Price Based On Size
Even though you shouldnt price based on the square footage of the lot, knowing the size will still help you estimate the total cost of a job.
The price of lawn care is greatly affected by the size of the lawn, which will be an element you use to determine the labor that goes into it.
Now that you know what goes into the costs of lawn care services and your different pricing options lets nail down how much to charge for your services.
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Cost Of Weeding Your Lawn
Wedding your lawn is also very important maintenance. Removing unwanted and unsightly weeds is a sure way to improve the appearance of your lawn. If you have a regular lawn care professional who does your weekly mowing and trimming, you can ask them to get rid of the weeds on their next visit. There are a couple ways to go about weeding your lawn. You can pull them regularly or you can kill them with chemicals designed for the job for a more permanent solution.
The average cost of weeding is about $12 and $40 per hour, depending on which method you choose and how many weeds you have. Using weed killer is usually the more expensive route and cost closer to the $25 – $40 per hour mark since you are paying for labor and the chemicals.
Many weed killers are environmentally safe and pet friendly, but some are not. Be sure to consult a lawn care professional before making decisions on which path to take.
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The Standard Bidding Unit The Man Hour
In order to take the big mystery out of bidding for jobs, were going to help you to create a standard unit of measure.
Something that you use as a guide whenever you price a new clients weekly lawn mowing visits or a shrub pruning job for example.
The biggest key behind this unit is having a fairly good understanding of how much time something is going to take.
Thats the tricky part at least in the beginning. But thats what your first 10 customers are really for they allow you to get a good feel for the work and how to gauge the amount of time a lawn or other project will take. A little later on, Ill go into some ideas thatll help you better guestimate your time and how to really hone your instincts so you can be right on the money.
Now I know that Ive mentioned before that thinking of yourself as an hourly employee is no longer acceptable. Youre in business now, and its not how much money you make per hour, its how much your business makes per hour. Its a subtle difference but its an important one. The difference between an hourly wage and a man hour can mean tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to you.
The reason that you use the man hour as your basis or as your standard unit of measure is that this will always be your basis.
So how do you figure this out?
Well, lets start with your $5,000 per month salary or $60,000 per year. At a regular 40 hour per week job, you can figure out your yearly salary by multiplying your hourly wage by 2,000.
How You’ll Pay For Lawn Care Services
Most companies charge for lawn care services by application or by season . You can either pre-pay for all of your visits ahead of time with a discount, or you can pay for each visit as you go. Not every company gives the same discount for pre-paying, so be sure to explore this option.
Some customers may want an easy pay option where payments are automatically deducted from a bank account or credit card after a visit is completed. This optional payment method is becoming more popular in the industry. This auto-pay method does not always have a discount associated with it.
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