How To Price Lawn Care Jobs

Price Using Gross Margin

The great thing about gross margin pricing is that you can set a bottom and a top price for each of your services, allowing you to submit different pricing depending on the situation. I cant tell you how many times Ive started at the top price and moved off a little bit to secure the sale. During fast growth periods we use our top pricing and in the off-season we use our bottom pricing. Lastly, knowing that your bottom price still ensures a profit is a huge advantage when determining your program/service offerings and payment options.

So, what is Gross Margin Pricing and how do you use it? Pricing for gross margin ensures youre overhead and fringe is taken into account when determining prices, not just your direct costs. Lets break it down below:

Check Out The Lawn In Question

You should always check out your customers lawn before giving them a quote, regardless of whether you charge by the hour or by size.

Your customer can say they just want their lawn mowed, but once you arrive, you may notice that some extra care is required before you can mow. As a result, additional services need to be included in the estimate you offer them.

For example, you might discover that what your customer may think is overgrown grass is actually weeds, requiring weed control on top of regular mowing.

Youll want to inspect the lawn so you can assess its condition and determine what type of treatment it needs. This ensures that you deliver an accurate estimate from the beginning and avoid surprising your customer with extra charges later.

Reasons Why Customers Cancel Lawn Treatment Services

After closing a lawn care job, the next thing you focus on is retaining the customer. However, some customers still make a change after the first few times because of dissatisfaction with some services. In this section, we will be looking at the top reasons why customers cancel their lawn care services that should be avoided.

Inconsistent results are a huge turn-off for customers. After closing the first sale using the tips given earlier, ensure you keep up with these and get the job done thoroughly. Avoid spotty services, which may be due to overworked or poorly trained employees. Treat your employees well and make sure they have enough time and equipment to get the job done thoroughly.

• Professionalism

Finally, professionalism always wins. Pulling up in shabby attire or sending ambiguous invoices to customers is a quick way to lose clients. Always make sure all documents are clear, concise, and easy to digest. Professional uniforms and equipment also portray the value your companys services offer them.

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Calculate The Overhead Costs For The Project

An overhead cost is a cost that is incurred in the course of running a business. Whether you work on vacation or during the winter, you must pay for these expenses.

This includes a wide range of expenses that are not directly related to your jobs, such as insurance, a business license, website, accounting fees, bank fees, toner, and other expenses.

Property Size And Condition

Lawns of different sizes take different amounts of time to mow, which is why property size is a vital factor in determining pricing. You should take time to measure each lawn scrupulously before giving an estimate. This step is critical because more often than not, lawn jobs are recurring, and you dont want to cheat yourself in the long run.

Measuring the area in person also gives you a chance to assess the site, another critical factor in pricing. Not all lawns are created equalnot even two lawns with the same square footage. Certain yard features make mowing more challenging and increase the time needed to maintain the yard, such as:

• Play structures

You should also pay attention to the condition of the property. Things like brush that needs clearing require more time , as do mowing lawns on hills, which are more challenging.

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The Reality Of Your Market And What It Means To You

Theres a funny thing about lawn care. While you dont want to compete on price thats to say you dont want to be the lowest priced guy out there you will certainly have to be competitively priced.

This means that youll want to close customers on the idea that youre competing with other landscapers on the quality of your service. However, what you need to know about lawn care customers is that they dont have much tolerance for price variations.

If the average price for an average lawn in your area is $35, then youre going to want to stay within $5 of that. Sure, there will always be idiots out there who say theyll do it for $20 but what those customers quickly find is that these low-ballers do a low-ball job of it.

Its funny how so many people will gladly pay more for quality for clothes or when they go out to eat, yet in this business, not so much. Its just a mindset, really. Yet as long as youre diligent and give them a fair bid, youre bound to do very well.

Pricing is one of those critical elements that tends to run a lot of newbies out of the business. Its not a matter of guesswork you need to have a formula for pricing.

Thats true for cutting grass, snow or leaf removal, fertilization, weeding and so on. Lucky for you, there is a way to do this that allows you to be accurate and plan for future revenue and growth as well.

Free Quotes Vs Charging For Estimates

In general, potential clients expect that quotes for lawn mowing jobs are free. Of course, there are pros and cons to offering free quotes. The reality is it will cost you time and money to provide quotes, and on average, less than half of the clients you give estimates to will be converted into paying customers.

However, putting time and effort into the quoting process is easy to see as an investment, not a loss. By engaging with prospective customers, you can take this opportunity to convince them of your professionalism and expertise. You can also use this time to upsell additional services, helping to recoup the costs of quoting.

For every 100 people you give free estimates to, an average of around 30 to 40 percent will become paying customers. However, if you charge a fee for quotations, more than half of customers will be turned off and decline, especially when competitors are offering free estimates.

A common practice in the lawn care industry is to give a free estimate over the phone, then provide a final quote on the day of the booking, before starting the service. This gives lawn care professionals the chance to evaluate the site in person and account for anything unexpected before locking in a price.

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Know Your Time & Your Business

If youre a one-man lawn care operation its simple, how much do you need to make per hour on average to put food on the table and keep your business running? Shouldnt be hard to estimate.

Once you have a few employees or subcontractors it gets a bit trickier to estimate cost. Now you have other mouths, benefits and most likely a few federal or state-mandated costs associated with having employees. You likely now have more equipment and those additional costs as well.

Despite the number of mower operators to multiply the hourly cost by, you also need to remember travel time is important as well. You cant just not pay your people for that time, so your hourly on-the-job cost should reflect that or have an out-of-service-area trip charge by distance.

Set A Price That Is Competitive But Profitable

After considering all of these factors, its time to set a price for your services. You want to set a price that is competitive but also profitable. Here are some tips:

• Price your services lower than your competition. This lawn care pricing will help you attract more customers.
• Charge more for premium services. If your lawn business offers more detailed services, charge more for them.
• Increase prices gradually over time. Increasing your lawn care prices gradually will help you stay competitive while increasing profits.
• Offer package deals. This can be a great way to attract more customers and increase profits.

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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.

Tips To Increase Customer Retention

Retaining customers is also important in growing a business. It is cheaper and easier to secure customers by retaining them than using other methods like customer acquisition and lead generation. Customer retention can also lead to more referrals, good reviews, and an improved customer service experience. Here are some tips and tactics to increase customer retention and satisfaction.

• Provision of high-quality customer service:

The quality of the service offered to customers in a lawn care business impacts customer retention directly. Better estimate verbiage, speed in delivery, and follow-up are examples of high-quality customer service. They ensure your customers get maximum value for their money, helping you retain patronage. Also, a presentation that includes clean uniforms, equipment, and professionalism plays a huge role in helping you retain your customers. Maintaining optimum levels of professionalism and consistency will leave few reasons for your client to even consider the competition.

• Surveys and questionnaires

Preparing a list of questions and sending them out to your customer is a great retention strategy. For greater impact, you can prepare specific questions for each customer. This represents a good upsell opportunity and will make each client feel special, and they will appreciate you taking the time to cater to their needs. Depending on what method the client prefers, you can send out these questions through email, regular mail, or printed questionnaires.

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How To Charge For Lawn Care Services In 2022

Charging for your lawn care services can be a daunting task. It seems like many lawn care professionals are undercharging or overcharging for their services, and its hard to find the right balance. This article will discuss how to charge for your lawn care services in 2022. We will cover everything from pricing strategies to tips on how to increase your profits. So, whether you are just starting in the industry or looking to make some changes to your current pricing strategy, this article is for you!

Overhead And Equipment Costs

Overhead costs are everything that keeps your business operatingthat includes office space, computers and tablets, liability insurance, fuel costs, and advertising costs.

Many lawn care businesses add an additional 1520% on top of their estimate to account for overhead costs.

You should also budget for equipment and maintenance in your overall lawn service cost estimate. Even after youve paid off your lawn mower, for example, it might still need engine repairs, spark plug replacements, or oil changes.

Some lawn care professionals charge two times the hourly rate of labor just to have their equipment on the site.

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Yard Machines 140cc 21

With side discharge and mulching capabilities, this powerful and versatile mower can tackle your landscaping needs in a snap.

Although its a higher price point than some of the other mowers on this list, that price reflects the quality. The 140 cc engine is equipped with recoil start and primer, so you can get started on the job quickly and easily.

Great for small to medium-sized properties, this mowers durable 11-inch rear tires with bar treading can handle a wide variety of terrains.

You can adjust this tool to six different heights, and with a 21-inch cutting width, you can cut through all types of grasses in one pass.

This Yard Machines maintenance is hassle-free since it doesnt require oil changes like other gas mowers. All you have to do is keep an eye on the oil level and add more when needed.

Specifications:

Side discharge and mulching capabilities

Cons:

May struggle on wet ground Some reviewers had issues with missing pieces

Build Your Reputation And Network

For any business, your reputation is often what opens the door to each potential client. Word of mouth advertising is your best friend and its free! But you first need to build up a client base who can vouch for your skills and services. To help find more clients and build your reviews, consider:

• Local print ads
• Offer a friends & family or refer a friend discount

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Dont Forget Overhead And Equipment

Once youve calculated the cost of labor, you will factor in overhead and other costs.

Your lawn care companys overhead costs may include:

• Administrative staff.

After labor, your businesss second-largest expense is equipment. Just like labor, equipment costs money, so you have to make sure that youre always in a position to maintain or replace it if necessary.

As a result, equipment should always be factored into your overhead costs. You should markup anywhere from 11 50% to cover your total overhead costs.

From there, add a markup for profit. Your markup should be based on how much profit you are looking to make from every job and is determined by your other expenses.

Before arriving at a final price, double-check that youve included every element of the job in your calculation and have priced any special factors correctly.To give your customer an idea of your prices beforehand, you can create a lawn care price sheet.

How To Price A Lawn Care Job

Hi guys, Jimmy Massey here from Massey Landscape Service, and today I want to talk about how to price a lawn.

In my last video, I talked about how to price a pressure washing job, so I wanted to expand on that a little, and focus on pricing lawn care jobs.

Many newcomers to the industry are unsure how to effectively price lawn care jobs, both for getting customers and making sure you make a profit.Some tips I use are:

• Be honest with the customer. Price it out based on how long the job takes, and what else is involved .

• Use something likeTaskEasy, an online tool to help you price a job based on location.

• Speak to friends in the industry. Ask how much they charge, and take it from there.

I hope you enjoyed these tips, guys, and see you next time!

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What Influences Lawn Mowing Costs

There are several lawn mowing cost factors to consider when pricing your jobs.

For example, does your lawn mowing service only include lawn mowing, or will you offer other services such as leaf removal and clean-up as part of a package?

Other factors to consider include:

• Size of the yard.
• Location of the job site.
• Local weather conditions.

Its important to note that location plays an important role in determining the cost of lawn care.

As a result, you should price differently for residential and commercial properties. The same goes for warmer climates where grass may grow quicker and colder climates that require winterization.

Water & Grow Your Business

Once you know your price and have your referrals to support your work, your bid should be easy to build. Remember, youll want to deliver the information to your clients in a way thats convenient for them, whether in person and a physical document, or over digitally. Make sure to understand how they want bide delivered.

Another way to help your client make the right choice is to ensure their financial safety knowing youre protected business insurance.

Hopefully with everything above, youre well on your way to bidding more landscaping projects, winning them, and providing an excellent service.

Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by class of business and state.

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How To Make A Lawn Care Pricing Sheet

A lawn care pricing sheet lists the costs of all your services. It helps you keep your pricing consistent across all jobs. When youre estimating a job, you can look at this sheet and get a base estimate to build on.

Create a price sheet once you know how much you want to charge for each service. This should include your most common services and yard sizes so you have consistent pricing to refer to when making lawn care estimates.

In addition to the lawn care pricing sheet sample at the start of this article, heres an example of a basic lawn care pricing chart:

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