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How To Price Lawn Cutting

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Calculate Your Variable Costs

EASIEST Way To Price Lawn Mowing For Beginners (Also The Fastest)

In another previous article, we looked at calculating the variable costs of running a lawn mowing business. It looked at the costs incurred when actually performing the work, such as fuel to get to site, mower fuel whilst on-site and the other small sundry costs we face when operating a business in the field.

A breakdown of an established lawn mowing businesss variable costs.

Therese figures tell us that every mile we have to drive will cost us £0.14 in fuel, every hour we run the mowers costs £2.14 and we need to factor in at least £1.00 to six jobs a day to cover refreshments.

Next Decide What Additional Services Youll Offer

Lawn care professionals do much more than mow lawns. Depending on the time of year, you might also:

  • Do a spring or fall yard cleanup.
  • Test soil levels.
  • Weed flower beds.
  • Trim shrubs.

You should offer each of these services at a different price, based on time and effort. Similar to lawn mowing, it helps to investigate how much other lawn care companies in your area charge. Then, make a price list based on:

  • How long youve been in business.
  • Where you do business .
  • If you work with commercial or residential clients.
  • The size of the property.
  • How much you need to earn to generate a profit.
  • Whether or not you have business insurance

How Much Does Lawn Mowing Cost

Imagine stepping out into your garden to find that its in pristine condition. An immaculate lawn is something many people dream of, but dont have the time to achieve. The average cost of lawn mowing service in the UK is around £20 per hour but will vary according to the size of your garden.

Using a lawn mowing service, you can free up your spare time and reclaim it as your own. Long gone are the days when you would battle against the heat while curbing the size of your grass. How much does it cost to get your lawn mowed? Thats an important question.

If the thought of having a pristine lawn appeals to you, its time to explore our price guide so you can easily determine how much it costs to get your lawn mowed.

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Who Will Come In And Do Mowing Work

All gardening companies will come in and do mowing work, it is one of their most popular spring and summer services. You dont have to use a garden contractor, you can just use a sole gardener and if it is a relatively simple job literally just the cutting then a handyman or odd job man could do it.

If you are an elderly or disabled council tenant, find out more information on the government website on your local council’s garden maintenance service.

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  • Residential or Commercial
  • Landscaper Insurance

Prices you will pay for lawn services will vary based on your yard size, the location of property, current health of the yard, and if it’s a residential or commercial property. Climate also makes a big difference, especially in wet climates. This will dramatically increase your yearly cost because the rate of growth of your grass.

Typically, a lawn care service provider will provide a quote based on the square feet of the yard and if there are any obstacles. This means you can get a fairly accurate lawn care quote just from a phone call or instantly here on HomeGuide.

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Making Adjustments To Limit Mistakes

As Ive mentioned before and will again youre going to make some mistakes, especially in the beginning. But there are ways to limit the number of mistakes you make and ways to learn from them so that you tighten down your bidding system.

Its one thing to screw up a bid or two, but its another to lose money on an ongoing and regular basis. The first and best way to figure out if this is happening is to do a day in review. When you get home after a long day of mowing, look back on that days activities and do some quick math.

For example let’s suppose that its 6pm and you just finished up a long 10 hour day.

Based on the man hour figure we came up with, you should’ve earned $520 for that day

But what if you didn’t?

Suppose you grossed only $480.

On the surface of it, you might say, oh well, close enough. But not acknowledging this factor and not figuring out where the leak is the #1 cause of the utter failure of many lawn care businesses.

As you review your day, you realize that you spent an hour and a half at Mr. Squinchmeyer’s house but in your bid, you quoted him $39, or about 45 minutes.

What’s more.. It turns out that you screwed the pooch here and way under bid this job. Sure, one job once per week isn’t going to kill you, but think of it this way

If you waste $40 once per week every week that comes out to over $2,000 that you’re simply pissing away!

Doesn’t seem so small now, does it?

And what if you have 3 or 4 Mr. Squinchmeyers?

Will he stick with you?

Rates Vary A Little By Location

Much of this depends on what part of the country you live in.

For example, pricing for lawn maintenance services in warmer climates such as Florida or California are more competitive than they are as compares to cooler climates.

You might be wondering why this is?

Well, think about it. The lawn care business is more stable in climates where the grass needs cutting year-round. Naturally, in an area where grass grows for shorter seasons, lawn care services have to figure out how to make ends meet, during the wintertime.

Put another way, lawn mowing services are treated more as a commodity in warmer climates.

And more as a luxury service in Northern climates.

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Tree Pruning Or Trimming

Dont neglect the trees on your property. Its essential that you have them pruned every winter so that you wont end up with any dying branches.

This is a safety issue, and it will also encourage green growth when the spring arrives.

Beyond this, trees that are limbed-up and pruned allow more light to get to your lawn, which will improve the health and thickness of your lawn. It also just makes your property look better.

On average, homeowners with trees on their properties spend between about $292 and $638 to have tree branches pruned and to get their trees limbed up.

Beyond this number from my lawn care pricing chart, the exact price youll pay depends on the number of trees they have and the size of the trees.

Labor And Mowing Time

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Lawncare pros factor $50 to $75 or more per hour to cover the cost to pay their crew, fuel, equipment upkeep, insurance and other costs.

Commercial riding mowers cut at 8-12 MPH, so they cover an acre of ground in about 20-25 minutes. So, you can see that it takes just a few minutes to mow most suburban lots.

Using a walk-behind mower takes 2-3 times longer.

Primary labor-related cost factors, besides DIY vs Pro, are:

  • Distance to your home from their facility or last job
  • Whether the company is fully insured
  • Length of your grass
  • Configuration/complexity of your yard
  • Whether they can use riding mowers or must cut with a walk-behind, narrower-width mower

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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.

Lawn Care Costs: Things To Consider

Charging the right grass-cutting service price is key for professionals. Youâll need to maximize your earnings per hour, account for your overhead overhead costs, and ensure youâre making a regular profit.

Letâs take a look at some of the business costs contractors need to consider when thinking about lawn care prices.

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Getting The Best Deal

If the cost you were quoted doesnt fit your budget, consider what extras you can do without. Mowing contractors are flexible and will often work with you to get the most out of what you are able to spend.

Additionally, think about the design of your garden – keep ease of maintenance in mind. Garden furniture should be on hard surfaces, you can use tree rings to keep a neat edge around the base of trees and try to avoid awkward spaces or tight curves around the lawn edges. All of these will make it easier to cut and keep the cost of mowing down.

There is plenty of lawn mowing work out there and good contractors get booked up quickly, so bear in mind that your contractor is going to be more open to price negotiation on a 50 cut programme than they are with a basic 18 cut schedule.

To illustrate, a £50.00 cut on a 50 visit programme is worth £2,500.00 a year to your contractor, whereas 12 visits is only worth £600.00. High frequency customers are much sought after by contractors because it is easy to block book your visits, there is a secure income and there is much less admin work associated if you are considering a programme with North of 25 visits per year, you are in a strong position to negotiate a small percentage off the cost per visit.

How To Raise Your Lawn Care Pricing Without Losing Great Clients

How To Price Yards For Lawn Care : 2021 Lawn Mowing Price Guide Cost To ...

No one and I mean no one wants to pay more for anything.

Youre raising my prices? My yard didnt get any bigger, so why should it cost more?

The stubborn client is every lawn care business’ worst nightmare. As a result, many lawn care business owners are afraid that a simple lawn care pricing increase will bring out the worst in people.

And it will

if you dont do it right.

  • How high is too high?
  • What number should you aim for?
  • When should you raise prices, and how frequently?

Use these 5 simple steps to properly raise your lawn care prices without losing your best clients.

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Nailing Your Pricing Strategy For High Margins With Less Mistakes

Youre just about ready to go out there and start growing a thriving new business!

However, this chapter is a critical key to making sure that you succeed. In fact, I can safely say that this is the most important chapter of this blueprint.

Whats that? Ive already said that a few times?

Youre right and thats because all of these chapters are the most important. I called this a blueprint for a reason. When a construction crew puts up a building, they base everything they do off of an engineers blueprint. Every single piece of that plan is required to make sure the building is solid.

Leave out an important support pylon on the ground floor and that 23rd floor will come crashing down.

Thats what these chapters are the support structures that go into making your lawn care company a solid structure thatll last for years to come.

The way that you price your services is absolutely critical to your success.

Price yourself too high and you wont be able to close enough new customer to sustain yourself. Price yourself too low and youll find that youre working your Mean Green off and not making any more than any old dead end job.

The bad news is that there really is no exact formula to figure this out. Even more bad news is that you will make some mistakes. The good news, though, is that this isnt a big deal. Youre going to get good at pricing your services by doing it.

Maybe youll go over or under but with a little experience, youll very quickly develop a feel for it.

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

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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!

Why Do Lawn Mowing Costs Increase When The Grass Is Long

How to Price A Lawn Mowing Job in Lawn Care

Even the best lawn mower wont slash its way through grass effectively when its too long. If the person you hire attempts to do this, a couple of things could happen:

  • Theyll damage the blades on their mower
  • If they do damage the blades on their mower, they may not be able to complete the job
  • Youll experience uneven results, which nobody wants

To prepare long grass for a mower, the professional who comes to your home will need to engage in a little slashing. In other words, theyll use different tools to chop the grass down to a cuttable size.

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How much you need to earn: Add up your overhead costs. This might include the cost of equipment, maintenance, fuel, and paying your employees. Add in your own salary. Then decide what rate you need to charge to pay for your expensesand still earn a profit. Remember, this is a business. Youll want to stay competitive.

An example in Bostons suburbs: According to , the average cost of lawn mowing for a medium size lawn outside of Boston is between $40 and $80 per week. The cost goes up for a larger size lawn, of course. It also costs more if I add lawn edging, shrub trimming, and other services.

A lot of companies near me ask their clients to agree to a regular weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule. This way, they know how much work to expectand they can ensure a steady stream of income.

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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Finally Keep Up With Market Changes

Every year, or even every quarter, look into how much other companies charge for similar services. Once you build your client base, you can also ask how they feel about your services. Youll want to know if they think your prices are fair and reasonable, and how much theyre willing to pay.

If a few customers decide to leave you, ask them why. Take note if its because your prices are too high. You may want to make a change. Alternatively, you can also offer a seasonal deal or package.

When it comes to how to price your lawn care, do what you can to serve your clients, offer them great quality, and stay profitable. And above all, remember prices can change. Keep up with the market and you’ll keep your business going strong.

*Monthly payment calculations do not include initial premium down payment and may vary by state, insurance provider, and nature of your business. Averages based on January – December 2020 data of 10% of our total policies sold.

Emily Thompson

I earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin at Madison . After realizing my first job might involve carrying a police scanner at 2 am in pursuit of newsworthy crimes, I decided I was better suited for freelance blogging and marketing writing. Since 2010, Ive owned my freelance writing business, EST Creative. When Im not penning, doodling ideas, or chatting with clients, youll find me hiking with my husband, baby boy, and 2 mischievous mutts.

What Are The Benefits Of Hiring A Professional Lawn Mowing Service

Grass Type Mowing Heights

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.

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