Pricing grass cutting

[Ryanp]

Hi Everyone,

 

Starting a parnership in April - grass cutting, hedge cutting, fencing, turfing, got all the essential equipment, 2 pick ups and a trailer.

 

We are struggling to set out a price per hour for our work

 

Grass cutting: Walk behind mowers & Strimming:

 

We were thinking £30 per hour for labour (£15 each) - if we were using customers lawn mowers etc. And £40 per hour if we used our own tools.

 

Is it best to charge hourly or on the job overall? Extra to remove waste as well.

 

Are we aiming in the right court or is our price massively wrong?

 

Any help would be appreciated!

 

Cheers

[Acg128]

I wouldn't use customers tools.. Most gardeners I know charge £20 an hour plus removal of waste £12:50 a tonne bag.

[Burgess]

Don't ever charge per hour there is no insentive to be efficient (or profitable) if you charge per hour. You'll make the same money each day and never go anyway.

[Big T]

I don't do grass cutting hourly unless it's a huge job, if it's domestic for example and you can smash it out in 15mins....so would only make £5 if charging hourly. Price it by the job. Also never use customers tools, looks unprofessional, can lead to arguments if they break and are not as productive to use as professional equipment!

Edited February 9, 2015 by Big T

[Starscream]

Don't charge for waste removal. People don't like it as it can be a grey area and perceived as a hidden cost. Give a price for the job and take into account the amount of waste you will remove and charge accordingly. Don't sell time as you are then bound by it. Sell a product. If you charge £25 for the hour (for example) and you complete the job in 40 mins the customer will not pay for the full hour so you may have shot yourself in the foot. Whereas if you give a price of £25 for the grass cut, work your arse off and get out in 30 mins it's happy days. The customer pays and your on your way to the next job.

[Cheesy pete]

your figures are ok but don't use customers kit use your own unless they have a ride on but don't lower your price stick with the £20 an hour or higher if you can get it but don't do hourly rates just use this as a guide for what to charge

as you improve the garden there is less to do and the standard is kept at a higher rate there paying for this standard just because you have done the hard slog doesn't mean they shouldn't pay you the same each visit even if it does't take as long

 

as for waste don't they have green waste bins in your area? if it's alot of waste charge for that in your pricing but simple domestic grass cutting in my area goes in the green waste bins

Edited February 9, 2015 by Cheesy pete

[Richard 1234]

Charge by the job, you will struggle to get away from it if you do charge by the houe and as others have said there is no incentive to work hard.

Never use their kit bad move!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

To do it properly and comply with legislation (some will, some won't) removing waste generated from a commercial enterprise requires registration as a waste carrier - grass cuttings come under Waste Classification code:

 

02 01 03 Plant tissue waste AN

WASTES FROM AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AQUACULTURE, FORESTRY, HUNTING AND FISHING, FOOD PREPARATION AND PROCESSING

 

Worth a bit of reading on EA website if you can bear it! It's pretty heavy and dull stuff!!

[hamdogg]

Interesting read as I'm gonna start grass cutting this summer!

[Richard 1234]

I got the waste license as its better to be safe and all that, I phoned council when I first started and they told me that I should be taking all a risings from people's property and not using green bins as if I have created the waste its commercial and not allowed in the green bin as that is for domestic waste only!