How To Give Lawn Care Estimates

How Much Do Landscapers Make

At Grassperson, our minimum wage is dictated by the Department of Labors prevailing wage rate, since we utilize the visa program. This year, that wage is set at $13.75.

The starting wage for crew members on either a maintenance or landscaping crew is between $13.75 and $16 an hour, depending upon experience.

For crew leaders, the range is more like $16 to $19 an hour, also depending upon experience.

Maximize Your Profits Using The Best Lawn Care Pricing Strategies

Lawn care pricing strategies can make or break your business.

For many lawn care owners, they feel like its a case of trial and error but it doesnt have to be.

When you use the lawn care pricing strategies given to you in this article, you can:

• Get your lawn care pricing right NOW
• Guarantee your lawn care services are as profitable as possible
• Discover which jobs are the most profitable
• Find out how much you should raise your prices on your least profitable clients

Originally February 26, 2019 7:00 AM, updated May 18, 2021 9:07 AM

Know Your Operational Costs

Your lawn care business costs money to run, and everything you do, from sunup til sundown, drinks some of your revenue.

So, find your operational costs:

• Fuel
• Equipment Maintenance
• Cost of Labor

For example, if you offer lawn mowing services, you need to factor in the cost of materials and material transportation.

Add up all of these costs. Then, you’ll have a baseline dollar amount that must be made on every job to break even. By the way, you can easily find this information using Service Autopilot.

But heres the good news because you know you get to keep every dollar after this number. The key is to figure out what the perfect profit margin should be

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How To Bid On Paint Jobs

Posted: Sep 26, 2017 · Estimate manpower. If the job requires more than yourself and an assistant, then factor the cost of additional labor into the price of the bid, drawing on your average hourly rate. Make sure you are fair to both your employees as well as the individual or company with which you are contracting for the job. Estimate the cost of materials.

How Is My Invoice Calculated

We calculate the time on site by multiplying the number of staff who service your property by our hourly rate, from the time they arrive on site until the time they depart.

We then add a standard fifteen minutes travel time for each of two staff. The travel time is the same whether you have one, two or three staff working on your property.

Finally, we add any additional charges for supplies or non-standard equipment.

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How To Estimate Property Sizes

Figuring out how the size of the property is essential for an accurate estimate. While you may be tempted to guesstimate square footage, its best not to. A miscalculation could result in you getting underpaid and end up setting unrealistic client expectations down the line.

Ed Ramsden offers his advice for accurately measuring a property:

You can buy software to calculate square footage of the property. Most of the time, these options just use Google Maps satellite data to give you the information.

If youre using Jobber, you can actually get the property size right inside your client profile page to help you estimate more accurately.

When youre in a client profile page in the CRM and have put their address into their profile, simply click on the map icon, and Jobber will open the property in a new tab.

Make sure that the map view is in satellite mode, drop pins around the property to draw a box, and Google will automatically tell you the square footage of the property without even being there!

It can measure the distance around the perimeter too.

Knowing the size of the lawn also allows you to determine how much material, such as fertilizer or weed killer youll need to cover the area too, so its not just about mowing area.

As with equipment, most fertilizer manufacturers will provide you with use estimates that you can reference to figure out how much product youll need for the area youre servicing.

How To Price Lawn Mowing Jobs To Get The Best Deal

Posted: However, lawn mowing has some harmful effects, which can mitigate the proper steps of lawn care. As a beginner, it is challenging and difficult to figure out how to price lawn mowing jobs. It would help if you made this thing goes smoothly and treat like a business, not as a hobby.

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When To Adjust Your Lawn Care Service Pricing

Image credit: Paul Moody via Unsplash

You should always adjust your pricing as the demand and the average lawn care prices in your area change, and your business needs evolve.

Here are some examples of when you should adjust your lawn care pricing:

• If you want to target specific neighborhoods with different demographics.
• If you want to add discounts or promotions as part of your marketing strategy.
• The seasons are changing, and you are transitioning to winterization or snow removal jobs.

From time to time, step back and take a look at how your business is performing. Then ask yourself these questions:

• Are you making as much profit as you were hoping to make?
• Have your expenses increased?
• Is your customer base growing?

If you keep these questions at the back of your mind, youll prevent your business from falling behind. Make sure you make these updates to your lawn mowing pricing formula as well!

Lawn Mowing & Garden Maintenance Plans

Our monthly maintenance plans offer affordable weekly or biweekly care of your lawns or gardens on a simple monthly plan. Choose between lawn mowing and garden maintenance, or combined them in a single landscape maintenance plan. There is no long term commitment, and every maintenance plan includes your spring and fall cleanups at the same low monthly rate.

Simple weekly lawn mowing with spring and fall cleanups included.

Semis & Townhouses – $140 monthlyLarger detached houses – $185 monthly

Biweekly Pricing $100 / $120 / NA

Comprehensive garden care with spring and fall cleanups included.

Semis & Townhouses – $175 monthlyLarger detached houses – $70 / hour / staff

Weekly Pricing $220 / $250 / $310

Weekly lawn mowing and garden care with spring and fall cleanups included.

Semis & Townhouses – $220 monthlyLarger detached houses – $310 monthly

Biweekly Pricing $175 / $195 / HOURLY

Complete fertlizer program for lawns with slow release fertilizer.

Semis & Townhouses – $35 / applicationLarger detached houses – $55 / application

Includes 4 applications / year.

Complete garden fertilizer program for annuals, perennials & shrubs.

Semis & Townhouses – $35 / applicationLarger detached houses – $55 / application

Includes 4 applications / year.

Complete program combining fertilizing for both lawns and gardens.

Semis & Townhouses – $45 / applicationLarger detached houses – $70 / application

Includes 4 applications / year.

Control of broadleaf weeds like dandelion and plantain in lawns.

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Determining The Actual Dollars And Cents

So you know the three factors you need to consider to put together an accurate lawn care estimateproperty size and condition, labor and materials, and overheadbut how much does your overhead actually cost? And how much do you charge in addition to these three factors to ensure a profit?

Profit is how much the business makes after you pay for labour and materials and overhead. Profit marginsthe amount you mark up your hard costsvary between regional areas and industries, so its best to check with industry trade associations for standards, and discuss your needs and business goals with your bookkeeper or accountant to determine a realistic profit margin for your business.

The costs of the job plus the profit, help you determine a price for your services, and its important that you take pains to be accurate.

At times I have seen that small businesses will price from their gut based on a general ideal of wages, supplies and profit, says Teresa Slack, certified professional bookkeeper with Financly.

Labour and materials are often straightforward to calculate, but its worth consulting your bookkeeper or accountant to get an accurate picture of your overhead and profit to determine pricing, especially if your business experiences seasonal surges as lawn care companies often do.

Check out How to Determine Pricing for Your Service Business to dive deeper into this topic and learn about the opportunity to charge more with a value-based pricing model.

Company Holds Inaugural Innovation And Supplier Diversity Summit Encourages New Vendors To Apply To Partner With Major Discount Retailer

Fortune

• Grocery.

About Dollar General Corporation

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Estimate How Long The Project Will Take

It can be helpful to look back at similar projects to be able to appropriately determine how long the entire project will take. Take note of how many workers and subcontractors you used and also how many hours were needed to complete the project.

If you dont have previous experience then it can be helpful to use a GPS time tracking system for all your workers and projects.

A time tracking solution allows you to see what your workers are doing, what project theyre working on, when they started, and how long it took them to finish the job. All of this data can be exported into one report so you can estimate the hourly rate for subcontractors and be sure to tag on 20% to factor in the payroll tax. In addition, that makes it easier to plan for future projects of the same nature so you estimate project completion more accurately.

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Lawn Care Cost By Rate

There are several ways that your lawn care professional may bill for the maintenance services provided. Their method of billing depends on the size of the project, the project scope, or the companys preferred method. Below you will see the average cost for lawn maintenance by rate, which is higher than mowing prices because it typically includes one or more maintenance items mentioned in previous sections.

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Lawn Mowing Rates Per Hour

The average hourly rate for lawn mowing runs between $25 and $80. For tricky properties with fences, trees, childrens play equipment, and other obstacles, your company may charge by the hour rather than by the job. The more obstacles they encounter, the higher the price. Working around many small odd-shaped landscaped areas may also result in an hourly rate charge. Some yards require multiple workers, making the price per hour increase. However, the total cost should remain the same because the total number of hours will be reduced.

Associations Groups And Networking Events

Homeowners Associations and similar real estate groups, Building Owners and Managers Associations, Chamber of Commerce meetings and other networking-type events can get you in front of the right people. You might be able to make deals at the events themselves, or at the least will have a reference point when you follow up later on.

Getting to know government officials can give you a huge leg up when it comes to winning new accounts. Government officials know what big projects are coming up and also have a network of other corporations in the community that will have commercial landscaping needs. Especially if you live in an area with a high amount of commercial properties, you will want to have a network of people who can let you know when a big account might be looking for a new vendor or taking bids.

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Lawn Mowing Prices Per Acre

You can expect to pay between $50 and $100 per acre for average lawn mowing prices. Charging lawn care prices per acre is more common with commercial services providing maintenance for large plots of land. However, some smaller companies charge a per acre cost for homes with less acreage as well. The lawn care prices per acre are typically a little higher than per square foot, primarily because they will use additional gas and time going to the far edge of the property and back than they would with a smaller space. Below you will see the lawn care cost per acre average per mow for companies that charge their services based on acreage.

What Not To Do When Expanding Into Commercial Lawn And Landscaping Work

Part of taking the right steps to be successful in the commercial landscaping market means avoiding some costly pitfalls.When youre first starting out, it may be tempting to buy a job to get a foothold with an account. But, thats a lose-lose situation. Stick to your set profit margins.You also have to educate your employees. Just because your sales team is good at landing residential accounts doesnt mean theyll be as successful in the commercial sector. In fact, without the right training, they will probably fail miserably and quit, Delany says.Commercial lawn accounts and landscaping contracts can bring in large checks, but make sure your business isnt too dependent on one account. You need to have a good mix of property types. You dont want to have all of your eggs in one basket, Schill says.With the right business tools and preparation, you can make commercial accounts a profitable part of your landscaping company.If you have the patience and are willing to deal with slow payments and losing/replacing large accounts, Delany says, go commercial.

Want more sales insight and advice? Enter your email below to receive new articles instantly . And be sure to check out our Tip Sheet with practical advice on how to market and sell commercial landscaping work.

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Can I Push Mow An Acre

coulddoacrepush mowacrepush

Correspondingly, can you mow an acre with a push mower?

With a typical 21 push mower it takes about 2 hours to mow an acre of lawn. A riding mower with a 36 cutting deck will give you the same result in an hour. Riding lawn mower with a 48 cutting width will help you mow an acre of lawn in about 45 minutes. 60 zero turn mower mows an acre in half an hour.

Likewise, how much do I charge to mow an acre? No Property Is Too Big, or Too Small!

Furthermore, how long would it take to push mow an acre?

Multiply that by 60 minutes to get the answer of 115 minutes. To mow an acre of lawn with a 21mower deck at 3 mph, it will take approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes. At this rate you will only be able to mow about 4 acres in about an 8 hour day.

What size lawn mower do I need for 1 acre?

Choose the mower appropriate for your size propertyIf your yard is less than 1/2 acre and relatively flat a 30-42 inch mower is a good choice. If your yard is larger than 1/2 acre but below one acre, a 38-46 inch ride-on mower is an excellent choice. The most common size is 42 inches.

Lawn Service Cost By Type Of Service

Mowing is not the only service that these professionals usually provide, nor is it the only service your lawn may require. Your yard maintenance cost may include many maintenance tasks that may be used to help bring your lawn back to a healthy state, prepare it for the upcoming season, or reduce the risk of weeds, pests, and other intrusions into your yard that can damage its aesthetic. Below, you will see the average lawn maintenance cost based on the most common maintenance tasks that may be combined with your mowing to keep the outdoor of your home as beautiful and healthy as possible.

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The Farison Lawn Care Guarantee

Looking for a guarantee? Look no further.

All professional lawn treatment programs from Farison Lawn Care feature free service calls and estimates. In addition, we are committed to using only the highest quality lawn and plant care products while also featuring fertilizer and spray programs that are completely guaranteed.

Did weeds grow back after we applied a post-emergent weed control treatment? Well be happy to come back and reapply. Perhaps there are still bugs and pests infesting your trees. If so, please let us know, and we will spray again.

Farison Lawn Care has the highest regard for all of our customers in the Louisville, Kentucky area and we want you to be satisfied with all the services we provide.

How To Bid Commercial Lawn Care

Commercial lawn care means earning good profit or big money. But it can also be a big headache if you do it wrong: The charge is too much, and you may lose the contracts. Under the bid, you could lose money. The goal is to achieve commercial lawn care and make a PROFIT, right?

In this guide, I will show you the right way how to bid commercial lawn care than you can handle.

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