Help with a bid

[jason9696]

Hi everybody, I'm new to the biz and have already submitted a few bids, but nothing of this scale.
http://www.newcelica.org/photopost/data/500/medium/lawn.JPG

The total area is around 5 acres, and is mostly flat. It is for a homeowner association. I have a John Deere X500 w/ a 48" deck on it. I think it does about 2.5 Acres/Hour. That is only if the area is fairly straight, as it is not a Zero-turn.
I really need to get this job, I think it would be a good reliable revenue source each week.
I have worked out my hourly rate including overhead and hourly wage. My question is how long do you think I should plan on this job taking for mowing and trimming?
Thanks in advance.

[yardguy]

Is it just you?

You gonna edge everything?

How often you gotta mow it?

[jason9696]

It's just me, and once a week it's going to be edged and mowed.

[Matt Kulp]

What kind of obstacles are you trimming around?

Any push mowing or all riding?

How much surface blowing is there?

Do you have to bag?

Can you dump on site?

Do you have to include leaf clean up in your contracted price?


I can come with more questions that are site specific. Mowing has so many variables that change from site to site that it is almost impossible to give you a fair answer.

If it were wide open, not much trimming, no blowing, no bagging, no trash pick up, and you live 100 feet down the road, I would say 4-6 hours.

Two of our HOA's are around the 5 acre mark, one takes 13 man hours, and the other takes 22 man hours. They both have about the same amount of mowing, just completely different set up and trimming and blowing times, as well as trash pick up from one being beside a major road.

Just some things to think about.

[Cochran]

We don't do maintenance anymore, but when we did I used a template to fill in man hours and had set rates for those man hours. I always made sure the details of the maintenance we given by the client before I submitted a proposal. Is it mow, blow, and go or more involvement?

If you would like to have a copy of the template I used (may be a bit outdated as we haven't done maintenance in over 1 1/2 yrs) PM me and I'll send you a copy and maybe it can help you determine your rates!

[jason9696]

hmmm my picture that I posted disappeared off my original post. It was a layout of the property and houses. There are 12 total houses to edge around. I will be discharging the clippings, leaf cleanup is not in the price, no push mowing.

[yardguy]

I agree m matt, there are many variables. You know your mower better than anyone else so maybe break it up in sections and decide how long each section would take and then add it up. Tho if you do it this way it will prolly take less time than wat you come up with. Did that make any sense?

Just remember take as long as it takes to get a number you have a good feelin about. much better to take your time estimating than loose money on the job if you get it. Wish could be more help...

[escapedesigns]

We are a newer company in the northwest and have been requested to start doing commercial maintenance. Could I get a copy of the template you are talking about.

Regards

[natural12]

I figure it should take you 3 hours and 23 minutes.