How much to charge bush hogging per acre

[Sawyer Rob]

Gee, i think i'll change my name to "amateur Rob"....

AR

 

[TSO]

Gee, i think i'll change my name to "amateur Rob"....

AR

Don't take it so personal ... Let's keep it a helpful discussion without whining or arguing.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Whining??? Now THAT'S funny!!

Dude, you are hilarious!! lol

AR

 

[LD1]

I would much prefer to charge by the hour if I could get away with it.

I have a spread sheet and track all my times, income, acres, Fuel usage, etc. So I know what I make per hour on each job.

I like to get $60/hr from the time I leave til the time I return home. Some jobs work out to $45/hr, some work out to $80/hr. But it all works out in the end. Some of the ones that exceed $80/hr are usually when I do more than one job a day, and have less drive time cause one might be on the way to/from the other. But I normally hit the mark pretty close.

If I advertised $60/hr, not only would people always want to know "how long do you think it will take", but I bet I would lose 70% of my business for 2 simple reasons.

1. Not being able to give a definite price, the customer has no idea if I am within budget or not. Most people I mow for, have no idea about tractors, bushhogs, etc and dont have the slightest clue how long it may take.
2. $60/hr seems high to the average working stiff who's day job might only pay him $15 or $20/hr. I charge a flat price, and still have had customers question it in the end when I get done quicker than they expected. Little comments like "$200 for 2 hours of work aint bad" said in a snide manner. Nevermind the fact that it took me 45 minutes to get there and unload, and gonna take me another 45 to get back home. Its the price we agreed upon. If It takes me an hour, or 6 hours I honor my price. Makes me wonder if these type customers would "feel" better if I had a little BX and 4' mower and took 4 hours to do the $200 worth of work. Why do they care, the job is done the way they wanted for the price quoted.

 

[TSO]

Whining??? Now THAT'S funny!!

Dude, you are hilarious!! lol

AR

Thanks

 

[STx]

No offense...

But any professional in ANY field, including for-hire tractor work, should be able to provide a cost estimate prior to starting the work. If one can't, they should be considered amateur.

It comes with experience. To properly estimate jobs, one will have have learned by past experience, the outcome of both bidding too high and too low.

The problem is that when you give them an estimate, they always here it as a fixed price bid, not an estimate. If you give them a range, they always remember the low number, not the high one.

I tell people it should take about this long but I don't know what's in your grass so it may go much longer. The first cut will cost more and once I know what's in your field, I'll be able to give you a firm price for maintenance mowing on a regular schedule.

A lot of what we get is smaller stuff, like 5 acres or less, and I have a 2 hour minimum so most of the time, I'm in that minimum or very close to it. The bigger stuff we do is subcontract work for other landscape companies that can't justify the equipment cost and they understand the variable nature of the work and that the time estimates I give them are in line with what should be expected.

 

[ovrszd]

I learned the hard way how to price jobs. Learned how to lose money, break even, and make different levels of profit. In fact, in some areas as my business evolves, I am still learning these things.

Aren't we all.

 

[ovrszd]

Whining??? Now THAT'S funny!!

Dude, you are hilarious!! lol

AR

Although I've heard some whining in this thread, it's not been from you "AR".

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . . I charge a flat price, and still have had customers question it in the end when I get done quicker than they expected. Little comments like "$200 for 2 hours of work aint bad" said in a snide manner. Nevermind the fact that it took me 45 minutes to get there and unload, and gonna take me another 45 to get back home. Its the price we agreed upon. If It takes me an hour, or 6 hours I honor my price. Makes me wonder if these type customers would "feel" better if I had a little BX and 4' mower and took 4 hours to do the $200 worth of work. Why do they care, the job is done the way they wanted for the price quoted.

Reminds me of one time I had to hire a criminal defense lawyer on some BS deal. He quoted me a flat fee (which was really high, I thought) and said it was non-refundable.

I said "So, if you make one phone call and get this dismissed, you still keep the whole thing?"

He said "Would you rather we went through a 2 week jury trial for me to earn my fee?"

I said "I see your point. The fee sounds just fine to me."

He made one phone call and got it dismissed, and it was the best money I ever spent.