Clutchy

I can do it everyday, and sleep well. I talk myself out of a lot of work by being honest and always have the clients best interests at heart. Every quote I give to the elderly I tell them to get 2 more from Arb approved companies. Ethics and price are two separate issues. Just because 70% of clients can't afford us doesn't mean I'm ripping them off like the gypsy roofers you refer to. What they do is misleading and fraudulent. I would never pressure anyone into a decision and only offer written quotations and a 14 day cooling off period (a waiver can be signed for urgent works). I can only assume you went for the cheapest price in the end anyway 😂 Will the job get done for that price? Probably. Will they grind it out properly? Maybe. The clients the companies in this thread manage to earn 2k or other high daily rates from aren't looking for the cheapest, they're looking for the best. If price was the only factor I'd be out of a job

In the interests of me gaining some knowledge from this thread as its not often you get a responsive customer on here I have a question. Price aside, what did you like about certain quotes and what didn't you like? Such as quote 2 turned up on time or quote 3 had a clean van, well spoken etc Thanks

Price is dictated by supply of quality tree surgeons and the demand for it. In greater London right now, there's more work than there are GOOD tree surgeons who run a clean and efficient business. So many clients out there that are happy to pay that price for a well spoken, well reviewed company. The ability to sell and make yourself stand out compared to the competition is equally important as the quality of work you deliver. Quite how long this supply/demand balance will last for I'm not sure. Maybe until the job losses kick in.

Right.... I mean its more like 320k once you take the vat off and work 48 weeks of the year. Thats what people team of 4 should be aiming towards. Its only 26k a month, definitely not impossible. Should leave 13k profit a month. Healthy.

Mate Pikeys in London don't work for peanuts! They'd have 2-3k on the job and whatever they could get their hands on from the house when the OP's not looking 🤣

Honestly this and having your chipper stolen in London is a genuine running cost I have to allow for. The other difference between my £2k quote and the cheaper one is it allows us to pay our staff properly and give them the perks that they deserve (Gym, chiropractor, meals, full time contracts etc). The profit in the job is what covers you on days you can't work and so on. I think the disparity in quotes is some people are quoting to earn a living, other quoting to run a business. You'll struggle to keep a good groundie alone for less than 25k a year in greater London.

So you'd put 600 on a sub 6 inch easy fell but only 400 more for a much worse tree with a big grind and only access for a small grinder... OK, will stop shooting my mouth off now 😂

As soon as the client tells me how long it should take or that its not a big job I normally don't bother even quoting at that point.

At least you had the balls to put forward a price. If i was beaten by your quote it would be cool as at least its reasonably close. The £466 difference between me and you is the tax I charge for wear and tear on my back from that many logs 😂 No guarantee you can even get a wheel barrow through

I directed it at you not the OP. I have no issues with the OP he is well within his rights to reject prices etc What I wanted to know from you (a fellow tree surgeon) is what you would put on it as you are saying the 2k I suggested appears too much or unrealistic...

As mentioned below, that included the grind. Seeing as how we have all got the price wrong, can you please enlighten us with your price? Again, let us know if it includes VAT or not. £1,666 + VAT to fell and grind that thing would take all day. Adding this made up £600 job that none of us has seen seems unnecessary. If you price the first job correctly you don't have to bust you nuggets cramming a second one in.

This is in london, totally different costs compared to where you are What price would you suggest? Please specify if it includes vat or not

£25 a day is a good effort sir!

It doesn't mean literally travelling for 5-10 hours. If we are away from our main office or yard, which obviously we are, the clock starts when you leave until you return. Its not unheard of to leave the yard at 06:30 and return at 16:30 although we like to avoid it 😂 It is unrealistic/unpractical to have facilities to make hot food/drinks in a van and that's the point/spirit of the allowance... £500 a month was an example and isn't just my breakfast, all staff/directors get food.

If it were 15 meters tall and had all its branches it would no longer be 2k 😂

No problem, but you do know earning 2k in 1 day is not particularly uncommon. Especially as once you take the VAT off it would be £1,666. Lots of heavy lifting too and I doubt there is access for a skid steer. You are right though, I'm sure someone will come along cheaper. People in this game love working for peanuts

Why not, we are not in a fixed location everyday. Its breakfast but would be put through as sustainment (lunch) I know its a grey area but I'm not particularly concerned Ok seems clear that it must be lunch, but lunch CAN be purchased in the morning; "There are HMRC benchmarks for subsistence, for example, £5 per day for lunch, but you’re supposed to ask HMRC’s permission to use these. In a “one-person” company, I recommend claiming your actual expenditure, because this avoids the problem of HMRC trying to claim you never spent the money" Another source: The current HMRC benchmark subsistence rates are: £5 for qualifying travel of 5 hours or more, £10 for qualifying travel of 10 hours or more; and £25 for qualifying travel of 15 hours or more; and, where the travel is ongoing after 8pm. If these rates are exceeded, tax/NIC is due on the excess.

PM if you ever want to talk business, talking to like minded individuals is always mutually beneficial.

I like to keep it simple. As soon as the phone call comes in I enter their address, name and mobile into google calendar with the time slot that I'm visiting them on. Never a delay in loading and it syncs with any member of staff's calendar (if you want) instantly. Quotes, jobs, staff holidays and the colour RED for bring the boards for a roof/skid steer etc all in separate colours. I then use quickbooks to generate the quote, save the customer details and then invoice if we win the job. Easily exports straight into outlook or you can send through the app. Easy to gain access to when on a job if we need to double check the quote. It is linked to our bank account so money in matches to invoices and money out 'should' match to the receipts that I capture when getting petrol etc. I reconcile the bank every few days which takes minutes. The best thing about it is the always knowing what you currently owe or are owed (yeah right) in VAT throughout the active quarter. It can also predict cash flow and regular bills going out. It has also massively made us change our pricing structure once you start putting your monthly expenses into groups and realise you're spending on average £600 a month on repairs, £500 a month on breakfast and £0000's a month on advertising etc Doing the accounts each year and VAT return takes very little time.

I have edited my post to hopefully clear up the confusion if not, I am super confused 🤔

What part of London? Also, they almost always insist on stump grinding for some reason. We have felled many trees at various properties to allow the homeowner to save on the cost of having piles and the engineers/architects have always specified to grind the stump. If North London we can get it done for £2k inc vat if you have side access. Would need to see a pic of the base/stump to confirm that price.

Other than building companies I highly, highly doubt many tree surgeons have been fined in the last 5 years for disturbing nests on domestic or small scale commercial I did a FOI request for 3 London boroughs on the number of fines given for TPO violations in the last 5 years and the answer was a big fat zero.

Domestic tree work bubble for sure! We are not looking to expand but just putting prices up and up and up. Whilst all the firms around us are starting to back up with months of average priced work we are only staying 2-3 weeks ahead but putting big money on everything. Soon people will have the choice of paying a lot more money with us or wait 3 months for a cheaper reputable firm and by then summer will be on its way out! This will end, and prices and quantity of work will go down. So looking to diversify into commercial at the end of this year with our surplus money. I think a lot of companies who have seriously increased their staffing levels are going to be in for a lean and rough ride in the winter after next...

We never price work as a day rate, only by tree with the knowledge that ultimately we need to average 1.5k a day Most of these jobs will last a few days at least but sometimes if something is only going to take us till 11am we might have 900 on it and then go to a second smaller job for 4-600 Pricing per tree was a massive turning point for us, because risk and ease is a massive determining factor in our price per tree not just time. We have a £420 minimum aswell. Which helps filter customers out on the phone.

Sort of off topic, but out of interest, would the saplings or standard planting size trees from nursery's of common Ash currently on sale be resilient to ADB? Or are newly planted Ash just a susceptible? I think what I'm trying to say is there a variant that could now be planted that is resistant to Chalara? Sorry if it's a stupid question 🤪