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Very imformitve and great thread,thanx jbs and everyone who has contributed to this thread!Thanx again Craig
 
Thanks for the rep Damon, might as well bump it up again.

I'm on vacation right now, using the laptop/MiFi. Funny how I can't get onto the server from my desktop, but I can from here.
 
Go over some old ones.

Remember my numbers are hypothetical, except for the 200 day financial calandar.

200 days of profit? If you are lucky maybe. I figured a little less but not much.

I think the key thing, even with having problems on the job, is to be very very very effecient. Its not fair to charge just because the math tell you to if you can't actually perform.
Besides, if you go by the math you would think that you should bill out around 1000 dollars an hour.
 
200 days of profit? If you are lucky maybe. I figured a little less but not much.

I think the key thing, even with having problems on the job, is to be very very very efficient. Its not fair to charge just because the math tell you to if you can't actually perform.
Besides, if you go by the math you would think that you should bill out around 1000 dollars an hour.

Not 200 days of profit, my model is a bare bones budget to see what you need to make do. If your numbers tell you that $1000 an hour is needed then you need to rethink your system, unless you have a six man crew with a crane and chipper/dump. Many 2 man shows can get buy on 50-60/hr, every owner needs to establish what profit he needs to make do. If you can get the job done faster and better, then you should make more per hour.

my model is a simple way for a non accountant to figure these things out. What we make per hour is irrelevant if we do not make enough to get by week to week, and through the year.

Once you have figured the simple things out you can look to see where you can improve. Say you notice a consistency in March as being a lean month every year? You realize that it is often too wet to do your normal work, maybe you can schedule small clearing jobs then, or pick-pruning shrubs before bud-break.

We need to be efficient in all things, not just getting a tree on the ground. Scheduling and routing a week, running leads, employee hours (without being miserly)

When I ran a lawn companies puring department I kept folders of small jobs that we could do "at our convenience" for each are we worked in. This way if we got on early we could choose form several different $75-150 jobs to round out the day.

I know guys who never ask a client for work beyond what was requested, I will always ask/offer shrubs and small trees at very reasonable rates when I am bidding, and after I am done with the work at hand. Or at least ask "is there anything else we can o for you before we leave?"
 
not using a set hourly rate scares me. its not what I want to make, its about what I have to make.
we have a set minimum rate for the small jobs that take under an hour.
and our set hourly rate insures that we make the money we need when we are working. it also streamlines the bidding. rate X estimated hours + special equipment if needed (boom truck, 4 wheeler, ect)= job price. my pay per hour is in the hourly rate, and not based on what I feel like on a given day.
-Ralph


Exactly, I dont tell the customer my hourly rate!! I just give them the total job cost with all factors included.

I also explain to the customer (if they question my price) why it is what it is, a legit operation costs more than a cash ran weekend warrior setup! some times this sells them...sometimes it doesnt!



LXT.............
 
I'll tell the h/o that I'm figuring at around $80/mhr which includes several trucks and chipper - my plumber is around $110 with just one truck.
 
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