Costs for snow removal

[Matther777]

At least you are getting snow =/

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Usually prices range from driveway type Size: single, double, circular, etc. Made of: asphalt, gravel, uni-stone, cement, etc. The best way to charge, is to compile a list of all your competitors pricing, e.g.: Company1: $200 Company2: $190 Company3: $175 Company4: $230 Now, add all their prices together, e.g.: 200 + 190 + 175 + 230 = $795.00 Now, divide that number by the total amount of companies added together, e.g.: 795 / 4 companies = $198.75 $198.75 would be the average price range between all of your competitors. - Depending on your area, companies may charge per season or per request. I recommend for you to charge per season; you want to be able to maintain the accessibility of the driveway(s), and not have to spend 10 hours clearing 10ft high mounds per driveway due to the fact your clients may be "cheap" and wait till the last minute. Also, you want to avoid snow that has been sitting for long periods of time, you could end up with lots of ice which would require the use of a pickaxe and several bags of salt; you will waste a lot of time removing ice if your clients only hire you when they want to. - A typical snow storm is approximately 5cm, and it should take you a minimum of 1hr to clear the snow from 1 driveway during the worst case scenario, 5cm+ of snowfall.

__________________
Keeper of Peace
Security Officer Cheese2009
Gopher Security Central (G.S.C)
4th Floor, office 112

[yourscape]

Originally Posted by yourscape

Residential:

As of right now this is what I am charging my current lawn customers. I am considering just seasonal customers $25 a driveway and $10 for walks of driveway and $15 for both front and side walks. I am a one man crew and the only worker. I do have an additional worker for bigger storms. I do not currently have any commercial accounts.

Around here I am seeing $25 a push and they will not get out of there trucks. I am trying to establish customers that are needing walks done mainly older people.


I like the feedback keep it coming!!!!

One thing I forgot to add was that I recommend and push/ snow blow at 3" and every 3" after. I do give my customers the option to pick there own. That way I am not stuck with 18" of snow for the low rate. Also if blizzard conditions I charge $90 an hour. Sometime a customer could be charge 2-3 time during a storm depending on how much it snows.

My base rate of $25 is only for the first 30 mins after that I charge by hour at $60.

I am trying to come up with a basic way of charging my customers so I don't have 50 prices to remember and it is easier for billing.

[PR-Fect]

Travis, welcome to the business. At 12 years old you seem prety smart allready. I know this because you are smart enough to be on this forum number one, and number two you said your T&M rate is $60 per hour. These guys will tell you you need to know three things when setting your rates. 1. What is your costs. Thats all costs, and there can be many. 2. What you want to make. 3. What will your market let you charge. I can help you with the last one. I live in Appleton, WI also. I hvae done snow removal for about 35 years. In our area you can get $50 to $75 an hour for a 4x4 plow truck with an eight foot blade. I know you do not drive, but the guys that do, charge the same amount per hour when they get out of the truck to salt or shovel. The reason being that they can not have that plow truck on a differant job when they are shoveling or salting a walk, so its time needs to get paid for. Some do charge $5 to $20 an hour less when they are out of the truck, but not many. I like to make at least $60 per hour when doing snow. When I bid sidewalks, I go with $14 per 100 feet. Round up your numbers to the high end. This makes me around the $60 per hour I want and it allows for us to use an ice control product when needed. Keep reading, keep learning, keep working hard. I still am. Look me up some time. PR

[joe2025]

The only person that can answer the question of “how much should I charge” is you. You have to know what your cost are before you can make an intelligent decision as to the way you’re going to price snow management services. Yes you can use a standard of what the other companies I n the area charge but if using their numbers shows that you will not make any money than what do you do? The best way to figure pricing for your company is through experience and knowledge. How many events a season do you have? How many inches a season does your area get? Does the customer want the driveway or parking lot salted?

DO you have $2 Million in insurance which is what most commercial accounts require these days? There is no simple answer that works for everyone. What do you do if I told you that two of my commercial accounts are charged as follows: Client #1 is a seasonal contract that you have to plow, clear walks and salt everything every snow event for the season and they are charged $ 45,000 for the year. Client #2, same requirements but they are charged $750 per push plus salting services. Let’s take it one more step and say that client #3 same requirements but they are charged $ 95/hr. for a pick-up with a plow and sander plus material for salting.

Bottom line is that it can and does get very complicated when it comes to figuring out how much to charge. So my advice is to take your time, start small and thing of every possible angle you can to help you determine your “true cost” and this will help you determine what you should be charging. And document as much as you can about your process, then you will have the information you need to help you figure your pricing out.

I just signed a 5 year seasonal account and if I had not had the confidence in my data and cost structure I could lose a lot of money by pricing it incorrectly. So don’t bite off more than you can handle, especially if you’re just starting out. Make sure you have the proper insurance coverage because there is a high risk that someone can slip and fall and these days everyone is looking to sue somebody for injuries. And one last thing, snow management is a 24/7 job for about 6 months so be ready not to sleep until spring rolls around.

Hope this helps you a little or at least gives you something to think about.

[PR-Fect]

Originally Posted by joe2025

Bottom line is that it can and does get very complicated when it comes to figuring out how much to charge. So my advice is to take your time, start small and thing of every possible angle you can to help you determine your “true cost” and this will help you determine what you should be charging. And document as much as you can about your process, then you will have the information you need to help you figure your pricing out.

.

I agree. Good advice. Document as much as you can. You can build on this years documentation for next season. Then this years and next years the following year. Its like zeroing in on a target. If you make it long enought your priceing will get very good in just a few short years. But remember that as you get bigger your costs will go up. Allott. Then you will need to raise your rates just to stay in bussiness. Its hard to raise your rates on your exisiting coustomers as fast as your costs will go up. this will drive you crazy. But do not freak out, go for it! PR