Average day rate for tree surgery

[Little Steven]

It's a big question of how much kit you have/need for the job. If you have a van full of toys, then you need to charge for them, even on jobs that don't need them, you end up pricing yourself out of the little jobs. The lower your overheads the safer you are in terms of survival if the work slows, but then you'd struggle for the bigger jobs.

 

As for the fair wage, I saw an add on here the other day for groundsman (CS30,31, 38) nationwide, (I can't remember the firm) offering an hourly rate of between £8-£9 an hour. That's not even the living wage.

 

I live on a small island (6000 people), and have to do lots of different things to keep myself ticking over, some days I use a pair of secateurs and a silky, and I can charge as little as £80 for it. Others a full rig and try to charge that what it's worth. I'm pretty sure that on the basis of doing 50 climbing days a year (one a week), I need to be charging more than £300/day for two men to make it worthwhile.

 

Hi Tim,

Yep, its real difficult to know where to pitch it. I would think operating in a small environment gives you an edge as long as there are not many doing it and you receive a constant requirement.

You are also right about the equipment. We set ourselves at everything from 'one branch' to this week in excess of 45 trees felled.... I know owning bigger kit which one makes the money!. But in quite times I also know servicing, ins, costs.

 

Steve

[Tom D]

Bigger kit shouldn't mean more money on the job, but more money on the day; yes. So the bigger better kit should get the job done faster and therefore do more work in one day making more money and justifying the bigger kit.

 

From the customers point of view the price should be the same. Thats wether its a 2 man transit and TW150 for a 3 day dismantle or a 1day dismantle with a tractor and crane.

[TIMON]

Hi Steve ,

Totally agree..... Having bigger kit speeds the job up but takes you into higher maintenance territory...

Efficiency is key to being competitive...

Being relatively new we're still learning basic stuff (and making schoolboy errors sometimes!!). But we're getting there!!

Nice set up you have there!!

Thanks ,Timon

[Little Steven]

Bigger kit shouldn't mean more money on the job, but more money on the day; yes. So the bigger better kit should get the job done faster and therefore do more work in one day making more money and justifying the bigger kit.

 

From the customers point of view the price should be the same. Thats wether its a 2 man transit and TW150 for a 3 day dismantle or a 1day dismantle with a tractor and crane.

 

Hey Tom,

You can spin which ever way you want, bigger kit, shorter day, more production I don't mind.

No, we don't charge more than the job is.... just turn up do it and go home in the shortest time period as the biggest single outgoing is labor time!

 

We has an industry, by our own admissions cause a lot of our own financial woes.

 

Hours are spent on forums at show's looking at expensive kit and then entering the market place and charging out at 70 to 120 for a per day per man We then go home and pay 70 for a hotpoint call out charge.

 

We discuss 'gently' the too & fro's of it all, but the running cost escalate and the quality of return diminishes.

 

I'm sure you and a lot more on here have done these rounds more often than me..... I'm now doing work for an eclectrician who are employing us on big tree felling this week. ..... I obviously should have been an electrician!

 

Steve

[HRG Tree Services]

We need to all charge more! For the job we do hard physical and sometimes dangerous! My guys work very hard and I would love to pay them more but unfortunately reading through this feed confirms what I already thought people are putting in low prices and de valuing the market! The public need to be educated in many things like the duty of care law and actually how much it costs to to run a tree surgery business!! But generally we get compared with gardeners that have minimal tiny overheads! I read a stat the other day the tree surgery is the third dangerous job in the country we should get danger money!!! In Australia and America they get great money because there respected for the job they do! Instead of being compared to gypsies and gardeners! We all need to stand together raise our prices and work together as an industry!!

[Little Steven]

We need to all charge more! For the job we do hard physical and sometimes dangerous! My guys work very hard and I would love to pay them more but unfortunately reading through this feed confirms what I already thought people are putting in low prices and de valuing the market! The public need to be educated in many things like the duty of care law and actually how much it costs to to run a tree surgery business!! But generally we get compared with gardeners that have minimal tiny overheads! I read a stat the other day the tree surgery is the third dangerous job in the country we should get danger money!!! In Australia and America they get great money because there respected for the job they do! Instead of being compared to gypsies and gardeners! We all need to stand together raise our prices and work together as an industry!!

 

Well said that man!

Start a register of prices, sign up to it. Get caught under valuing and get whipped with a stingy nettle!.....

 

Do not enter into a race to the bottom with our own colleagues.

 

Steve

[HRG Tree Services]

I've never read it but I've been told landscapers have a price guide book on charging rates? Wonder if that gives a fair price for them to work to? I think it's called SPONS

[Little Steven]

I've never read it but I've been told landscapers have a price guide book on charging rates? Wonder if that gives a fair price for them to work to? I think it's called SPONS

 

Hi HRG,

My feeling is that human's been human, it would be exploited by the same people that are already around..... 'just a little bit under' will get them the work. So around it goes again!

 

Its a bit like buying from the cheapest source, it is attractive to the end user...more often than not, dodgy and harmful to everyone else.

 

Steve

[skyhuck]

So how long do you stay at sub £400 a day for ? Your on a looser there as inflation goes up housing rent etc also all your suppliers prices move upwards and are not static.

Would the threat of having to register for vat stop you archiving a good turnover and profit? £81 k is not a great turnover for a 3 man team .

 

I am VAT registered, I have been for over 14 years.

 

I was simply pointing out that many who claim to have a day rate of over £400 yet remain none VAT reg, so must only work part time.

[Philip Anderson]

I am VAT registered, I have been for over 14 years.

 

I was simply pointing out that many who claim to have a day rate of over £400 yet remain none VAT reg, so must only work part time.

 

My comment was not aimed at you personally but the example you gave of people staying under the vat threshold.

Like you I have been registered for 28 years with all the pros and cons associated with being a tax collector for HMRC !!