Monthly charge

[TerraVerde]

We are thinking of adding garden maintenance to our services and I want to see if I can do it profitably. I am trying to work out what to charge. I was thinking of £160 a month for 2 guys visiting twice for 2 hours (4 man hours per month) doing a lawn cut, weeding and general tidy.

What do you charge your guys out at per hour?

[cutntrim]

$40CDN/hr so not as high as you if you factor the X-rate. We cut lawns weekly over here though, with weeding of beds bi-weekly.

[FungusMudGrub]

I charge 36$ USD per person for maintenance; I have clients who just want once a month, and some who want twice a month or every fortnight. It really depends on the property size what they end up paying, as well as the time of year. There are a lot more weeds in June than August.
Mowing is handled by a sub, who has an independant schedule. He gives me a set price per mowing visit, but the total number of visits can vary a bit year to year, due to rainfall or the lack thereof.
All but one client are billed on a time and materials basis, although I can generally give a pretty good estimate of what the total for the year will be. I feel that a profit margin should be built in to your hourly rate, so all your work is profitable.
We also do fertilizing, pest control, and deadheading, as well as pruning and weeding.

[secondnature]

I know that this is an older post....but based on your website, I think that you are still in business and doing maintenance, which I do have a few questions on.

I am starting to develop a maintenance business in Portland, OR. I know that there are many ways to bill folks, and I am investigating what is typically done.

I currently work for a woman who does not offer contracts, just charges by the hour ($35). She is extremely busy, and does routine work as well as one time jobs.

I like the idea of not using a contract, as it just seems easier. I want to be more of a gardener than a mow and blow. I want to be competitve tho as well. Right now, with the economy so weird, there is alot of undercutting going on, and so that may be impossible, we shall see!

When giving an estimate for someone who wants lawn care (mow, edge, blow, fert and lime) plus some of the other garden chores (like weeding, pruning, etc) I can really only give them an idea of cost at this point.

How do you price things out? I saw that you too charge an hourly rate, and I am interested in how you figure things out. With so much flux in the tasks depending on season, do you also just give a rough estimate, or do you give something pretty solid for a bid?

People do seem to want "solid" pricing. Yet they like the idea of no commitment!

Also, there are some months with 4 weeks and some with 5. How do you average the hourly out with this variance?

Thank you for your time, I do appreciate it!









I charge 36$ USD per person for maintenance; I have clients who just want once a month, and some who want twice a month or every fortnight. It really depends on the property size what they end up paying, as well as the time of year. There are a lot more weeds in June than August.
Mowing is handled by a sub, who has an independant schedule. He gives me a set price per mowing visit, but the total number of visits can vary a bit year to year, due to rainfall or the lack thereof.
All but one client are billed on a time and materials basis, although I can generally give a pretty good estimate of what the total for the year will be. I feel that a profit margin should be built in to your hourly rate, so all your work is profitable.
We also do fertilizing, pest control, and deadheading, as well as pruning and weeding.

[Mac]

Karla, as I have my company set up, you are talking about two different tasks. First being weekly lawn maintenance. Client can either pay per event on a monthly invoicing basis or they can contract for a fixed monthly price for the duration of the season. The pricing is based upon your time estimate for the routine tasks. You will get very good at ballparking a time in your head. Then put that time on paper, add in your drive time, multiply by your hourly rate and you have your fixed weekly price... extrapolate based on seasonal averages to get a seasonal rate.

The second task I see you reference is for bed maintenance. We offer this on either an every other week or monthly basis. Some beds are barren and only have mulch. Others have various perennials that bloom at different intervals throughout the season. Each extreme, and everywhere in between requires different labor amounts. In some cases, I will lock in a seasonal price but most often I just quote the hourly rate and then a time estimate (or cap if someone wants a ceiling on their costs).

Good luck, I think you will be surprised how many clients appreciate this service... its a great upsell and also leads to great upsells as you routinely build rapport with your clients. Also, use this bed maint. time to point out any pest control issues... again a great upsell.

[FungusMudGrub]

Karla,

It's pretty simple really, just based on my experience in how long things take and how maintenance intensive the garden is. I just bill out time and materials, so there is some monthly variation, but each year is roughly the same. The one client who wanted a fixed price was actually living out of the country for two years, and wanted to ensure an experienced gardener was looking after their beloved yard, so they were willing to pay a bit more anyway. I just added up all the month's tasks and estimated the yearly total, added a small cover my butt percentage, and divided by twelve for the monthly fee.

If your clients really want "solid pricing", just have them give you a top figure they are willing to spend each month, and make sure you stop when you reach it. If all the work isn't finished that month, chances are you can catch up during a slower part of the season. Their garden may not be as pristine in May and June as you normally do, but overall they can still have a well maintained garden. Just make sure they understand the tradeoff they are making.

[secondnature]

Thank you Mac and Fungus! I will let you know how things are going.

:rrr: