Tractor per hour rate?

[JustGary]

We have a joke in the software industry that requires you to take your original time estimate, then double it, then change to the next higher units. Thus, 3 hours becomes 6 days. For small jobs, it's actually pretty close at estimating the "if everything goes wrong" price. A lot of things can go wrong.

You may not want to switch units, but doubling your time estimate is probably a good idea. If every customer buys it every time, consider tripling. If they want to dicker, let them dicker, but never near your magic 50%. That way you can still "throw in" the nails and 2X4s and Mr. Customer thinks you're the honest, helpful type.

It all depends on whether you want to just make tractor payments or actually run a business using a tractor. Either one is fine, but you need to decide which one you are doing at any given time.

Printing business cards (go ahead and get 500 of them at a print shop) to give to any potential customer (and every current customer) will help you get your name and phone number out.

Oh, and no matter what, Mr. Customer is right, and you smile and thank him for the business. Deal with your problems over a beer once you get to the house.

Good Luck!

- Just Gary

 

[MrSteve]

Thanks Gary sounds like wise words.

 

[keeney]

In our company, also in the software business, we use the old fashioned method of take any project estimate and multiply by Pi (3.14...). Also, all dates are rounded to the end of the named month. So if somebody in Marketing says they need the product in July, you actually have until midnight, July 31, Pacific Time to produce the software. If that falls on a weekend, then you have until the following Monday AM, including a whole extra weekday workday in the India time zone...

When the estimate gets passed on to the next level of management, they multiply by Pi again.

And so-on up the chain until some VP asks why the new product can't be done sooner than a year from now and some young engineer short-circuits the whole process by telling him something like "I dunno - it shouldn't actually take more than a week or two...". Then Sales promises it to the customer by the end of the month, and thats the true schedule.

- Rick

 

[slowrev]

Like the 80/20 rule ?

The first 80% of a project takes 80% of the estimated time and the remaining 20% takes another 80%.

Ben

 

[cwarrix]

Yet one more saying in the software business, and we tell customers and those marketing people all the time.... "You can have it cheap, bug-free, or on-time, pick two!" I guess you could change this to fit tractor work. Maybe "cheap, done right, or on-time?" That kind of works /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ksmmoto]

Another thing to do is check the local rental places. Most have a Kubota or JD for rent, see what their rates are. I set my prices about 30% higher than rental.

ksmmoto

 

[deereman63]

I just did an interesting calculation. I ve had my JD for 16 mths .payments to date = 10928. I have 130 hours on the clock which equals $84.06 per hour.

 

[Farwell]

Expensive but just think of all the fun you had.
Farwell

 

[DCS]

I have been doing box blade and FEL loader work for about 2 years now. The way I determined how much to charge was by looking at how the others in the area charged. Just give them a call and ask them. Tell them up front what you are doing, they will either tell you or not tell you. Have fun.

 

[Dargo]

Rates must differ considerably over the country. I can get guys all day long for $45 an hour on that sized tractor. Most likely less if someone tried to negotiate any. For $60 to $65 an hour, I can get a full sized backhoe with an operator.