Mowing How to figure Rate Per Hour

[LD1]

If you do it in the time you say' yoiu won't loose anything.

Price will stay the same with bigger equipment. You get done faster' thus your hourly rate goes up' and you can do more jobs in a day(more money), that is thebenifit to bigger equip.

 

[bigcut]

No way they are paying you for the job you do not for how quickly you do it. I wouldn't bid any lower than 1 grand on this. You are doing this as a business not just for wages

Rocky makes an excellent point...They really don't care if you're using grass clippers and a spray bottle or the number of hours it takes. (Exaggeration of course). They are paying you for the satisfactory completion of a job/task. As long as you meet that criteria, you should have a satisfied customer.

As a suggestion, that's more sales/business related, you might want to inquire if there are any other services you might provide, ie., road grading, tree removal, trenching,etc. (You get the idea). While you may not have the necessary attachments currently to perform such tasks, it's always more prudent to land the business first, and then make the capital investment. I think LD1 and others have given you a structure as to how to price quote. Use it for new business. Ask if there are other properties they have that you could be of service. Do they know of others who could use your services ?

Once you get your foot in the door, explore items for business expansion. I think this is possibly an approach that LD1 employs. He sounds like a pretty sharp business man. If he doesn't, he should be.
Good luck with your enterprise.
John

 

[MESSMAKER]

$500+ profit for a day of work is pretty good. I don't think you will do too bad on it. Remember, the first cutting will take longer and be more difficult the those that follow.

 

[fieldman12]

I have tried the bush hog formulas out there and they do work if idea conditions meaning thin grass and not very tall. I have done many different types of bush hog jobs since I was about 8 years old. When ever I get called to do a mowing job it is typically a jungle out there and they are allot of unknowns out there. I will give an example. I mow 4 acres twice a year for $500. each mowing. There is all kinds of trees and stuff to mow around and I have about an hour total of road time on the tractor. Last time that job took me 7 hours total with a 6' machine. I typically see about an acre an hour around here if its not to bad and I can keep moving. I do spend a fair amount of time mowing good around fences and backing under trees. That all takes additional time but you must consider it and price accordingly. As others said on here most of your residential owners dont want to pay hardly anything for bush hogging and then there is always the guy that has a Ford 8n that will work for a case of beer. If you want to make money in this area it is in the commercial jobs.

 

[fieldman12]

Heck with our John Deere Gt235 mowing two acres with a 54" deck we barely mow 2 acres in two hours with it. That is not mowing around many trees but a house and a few barns.