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Editor?EUR??,,????'?????< This article was condensed from James Huston?EUR??,,????'?????< Pricing landscape maintenance crew and equipment packages poses some unique challenges. The lawn maintenance package approach is normally used to price residential jobs of short duration. We?EUR??,,????'?????< Main point: The lawn maintenance package approach is normally used to price residential jobs of short duration. The day rate for the crew is a critical number for everyone to keep in mind. This is the amount this crew has to bill every day in order to cover all costs and be profitable. The day rate is a goal the crew, managers and owners should strive to meet every day of the season. If it?EUR??,,????'?????< The minute rate is also important, because it allows you to quickly verify that your jobs are priced correctly. Multiply the amount of minutes the crew is on the job site by the minute rate. Compare this calculated amount to what you?EUR??,,????'?????< We?EUR??,,????'?????<generic day of work. 1. Calculate Phase I production costs. 2. Calculate Phase II general condition costs. 3. Markups and margins are added in Phase III in order to arrive at the final price, either in lump sum or unit price formats. This three-phase format is excellent for bidding specific large residential and commercial projects, those billing over $500 per month (or which include more than 15-20 man-hours per month). However it?EUR??,,????'?????< How It Works A residential lawn maintenance contractor in New England wanted to calculate the rate to charge his customers. He also wanted to verify that the total price on his contracts for these customers were correct. He had good job tracking for each of his clients and knew how long it took his crews to perform the contracted work. To address our contractor?EUR??,,????'?????< Now we determine the average amount of drive time per day for this crew, if they only work on the smaller type jobs for which the maintenance package would be used. As you?EUR??,,????'?????<
Editor?EUR??,,????'?????< This article was condensed from James Huston?EUR??,,????'?????<
Pricing landscape maintenance crew and equipment packages poses some unique challenges. The lawn maintenance package approach is normally used to price residential jobs of short duration. We?EUR??,,????'?????<
Main point: The lawn maintenance package approach is normally used to price residential jobs of short duration.
The day rate for the crew is a critical number for everyone to keep in mind. This is the amount this crew has to bill every day in order to cover all costs and be profitable. The day rate is a goal the crew, managers and owners should strive to meet every day of the season. If it?EUR??,,????'?????<
The minute rate is also important, because it allows you to quickly verify that your jobs are priced correctly. Multiply the amount of minutes the crew is on the job site by the minute rate. Compare this calculated amount to what you?EUR??,,????'?????< We?EUR??,,????'?????<generic day of work.
1. Calculate Phase I production costs. 2. Calculate Phase II general condition costs. 3. Markups and margins are added in Phase III in order to arrive at the final price, either in lump sum or unit price formats.
This three-phase format is excellent for bidding specific large residential and commercial projects, those billing over $500 per month (or which include more than 15-20 man-hours per month). However it?EUR??,,????'?????<
A residential lawn maintenance contractor in New England wanted to calculate the rate to charge his customers. He also wanted to verify that the total price on his contracts for these customers were correct. He had good job tracking for each of his clients and knew how long it took his crews to perform the contracted work.
To address our contractor?EUR??,,????'?????<
Now we determine the average amount of drive time per day for this crew, if they only work on the smaller type jobs for which the maintenance package would be used.
As you?EUR??,,????'?????<
This translates to two man-hours per day per man, for a total of four man-hours.
We?EUR??,,????'?????<
We first calculate our Phase I production costs. To obtain our Phase I production labor hours, we must subtract our drive-time hours from the total paid labor hours for the day. In our example, there are 20 total paid labor hours for the day; after we subtract the four off-site man-hours, the result is 16 production labor hours.
We then calculate the average number of hours the mowers, blower and edger will be used during production hours.
Subtotal your Phase I costs, as shown on Figure 1.
Phase II general conditions are calculated next. Load/unload and drive time (non-site time) and the crew truck at eight hours per day are included here.
In this example, it?EUR??,,????'?????<
2 men x .25 hrs/day = .5 hrs/day Subtotal Phase II general condition costs. Subtotal both the Phases I and II costs.
You?EUR??,,????'?????<
?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< applied to the total labor for the job. ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????<
You?EUR??,,????'?????< To calculate the curb-time rate used for estimating smaller jobs: Divide the total daily price by the production hours. $650 ?? 16 on-site man-hours = $40.63 curb time man-hour rate (I?EUR??,,????'?????< Multiply this rate by the number of people on the crew to obtain your crew curb-time rate. This translates into $41???2 = $82 per curb crew hour. You can now easily bid smaller jobs by first estimating your crew?EUR??,,????'?????< For a job site that requires 30 minutes of curb time: 30 minutes of curb time x $82 = .5 x $82 = $41 per visit to the job site. Remember, curb time starts when your crew pulls up to the curb (at the site being bid) and ends when they drive away (going to the next job or back to the yard). Note the impact that estimated drive time makes on your curb man-hour rate of $41, if it increases to three hours per day per man or drops to one hour per man per day. Drive Time Decreases A. If drive time drops from two hours to one hour per day per man: Step (l): Total price for a day ?? Total production man-hours = $650 = 18 man-hours = $650 ?? 18 = $36.11. (I?EUR??,,????'?????< Step (2): Multiply $36 by number of crew members. $36???2 = $72 curb crew hour rate. B. If drive time increases from two to three hours per man per day: Step (l): Total price for a day ?? Total production man-hours = $650 = 14 man-hours = $650 ?? 14 = $46.43. (I?EUR??,,????'?????< Step (2): Multiply $46.50 by number of crew members: $46.50???2 = $93 curb crew hour rate. As you can see, drive time has a considerable impact on the curb price you should charge in a maintenance package bidding situation. The maintenance package bidding approach can easily accommodate any number of formats. For instance, one contractor in Southern California charges clients $325 per month for a three-person crew being on the site for one crew hour per week. If his crews spend more than one hour per week on a site, he knows he?EUR??,,????'?????< The Day Rate The day rate for this generic day of lawn maintenance is $649, which I?EUR??,,????'?????< The Minute Rate The curb-time minute rate for the crew calculates out as follows: First, determine the daily billable goal for the crew. I?EUR??,,????'?????< $650 ?? (crew curb-time minutes per day) = $650 ?? (8 hours x 60 minutes) = $650 ?? 480 = $1.35 If the crew is on a job site for 45 crew minutes (i.e., from 8:00 to 8:45 am), you should be charging $61 (45 crew minutes x $1.35 = $60.75). To verify the crew minute rate, multiply the total crew minutes for the day by the minute rate. For the whole day this calculates to be $648, which is close enough to our goal of $650. 480 (8 hours x 60 minutes) curb-time crew minutes x $1.35 = $648.
To calculate the curb-time rate used for estimating smaller jobs:
Divide the total daily price by the production hours.
$650 ?? 16 on-site man-hours = $40.63 curb time man-hour rate (I?EUR??,,????'?????<
Multiply this rate by the number of people on the crew to obtain your crew curb-time rate. This translates into $41???2 = $82 per curb crew hour.
You can now easily bid smaller jobs by first estimating your crew?EUR??,,????'?????<
For a job site that requires 30 minutes of curb time: 30 minutes of curb time x $82 = .5 x $82 = $41 per visit to the job site.
Remember, curb time starts when your crew pulls up to the curb (at the site being bid) and ends when they drive away (going to the next job or back to the yard).
Note the impact that estimated drive time makes on your curb man-hour rate of $41, if it increases to three hours per day per man or drops to one hour per man per day.
A. If drive time drops from two hours to one hour per day per man:
Step (l): Total price for a day ?? Total production man-hours = $650 = 18 man-hours = $650 ?? 18 = $36.11. (I?EUR??,,????'?????<
Step (2): Multiply $36 by number of crew members. $36???2 = $72 curb crew hour rate.
B. If drive time increases from two to three hours per man per day:
Step (l): Total price for a day ?? Total production man-hours = $650 = 14 man-hours = $650 ?? 14 = $46.43. (I?EUR??,,????'?????<
Step (2): Multiply $46.50 by number of crew members: $46.50???2 = $93 curb crew hour rate.
As you can see, drive time has a considerable impact on the curb price you should charge in a maintenance package bidding situation.
The maintenance package bidding approach can easily accommodate any number of formats.
For instance, one contractor in Southern California charges clients $325 per month for a three-person crew being on the site for one crew hour per week. If his crews spend more than one hour per week on a site, he knows he?EUR??,,????'?????<
The day rate for this generic day of lawn maintenance is $649, which I?EUR??,,????'?????<
The curb-time minute rate for the crew calculates out as follows:
First, determine the daily billable goal for the crew. I?EUR??,,????'?????<
$650 ?? (crew curb-time minutes per day) = $650 ?? (8 hours x 60 minutes) = $650 ?? 480 = $1.35
If the crew is on a job site for 45 crew minutes (i.e., from 8:00 to 8:45 am), you should be charging $61 (45 crew minutes x $1.35 = $60.75).
To verify the crew minute rate, multiply the total crew minutes for the day by the minute rate. For the whole day this calculates to be $648, which is close enough to our goal of $650.
480 (8 hours x 60 minutes) curb-time crew minutes x $1.35 = $648.
When calculating your curb-time rates, adjust your crew size, equipment mix and drive time as appropriate. If the rates you calculate look too good to be true, they probably are. Go back, review and recalculate your work. Don?EUR??,,????'?????< I?EUR??,,????'?????< Remember to set daily billable goals for the crews. Track your actual daily billable amount and compare it to your daily target. Ensure that everyone is aware of this information. Track your actual on-site time and off-site time. Adjust your hourly and minute curb rates accordingly. Use your calculated minute curb rate to verify your pricing for specific jobs. While changes in actual on/off-site time will affect your curb rates, your daily billable goal shouldn?EUR??,,????'?????< Main point: Your primary objective is to bill your day rate amount. Variances in curb rates are fine as long as you?EUR??,,????'?????< The 8-hr. work day for a two-man lawn maintenance crew (one crew leader and one laborer @ $12 per/hr. rate ) breaks down to 8 hrs. of total mowing time (6 hrs. with the 36'' walk-behind and 2 hrs. with a 21'' rotary mower), and 4 hours combined time for edger/stick trimmer and leaf blower usage. The additional 4 hrs. are off-site or non-curb-time costs. Action Point If you have the need to create lawn maintenance package pricing, use the models provided here to do so. Validate the unit prices that you calculate and compare them to your current prices. Be sure to set hourly and daily revenue goals for your crews. Note: The costs used in our scenarios are for illustration purposes only. Your costs will vary from the ones used in these examples. The key is for you to build a typical one-day scenario for the different crew, materials and equipment mixes you use. Round up these rates as appropriate. If your costing structure is accurate, the rates you calculate should be very close to your current ones and to those generally seen in your market. For further information, contact J.R. Huston Enterprises at 1-800-451-5588, jhuston@jrhuston.biz or visit www.jrhuston.biz
I?EUR??,,????'?????<
Remember to set daily billable goals for the crews. Track your actual daily billable amount and compare it to your daily target. Ensure that everyone is aware of this information.
Track your actual on-site time and off-site time. Adjust your hourly and minute curb rates accordingly. Use your calculated minute curb rate to verify your pricing for specific jobs.
While changes in actual on/off-site time will affect your curb rates, your daily billable goal shouldn?EUR??,,????'?????<
Main point: Your primary objective is to bill your day rate amount. Variances in curb rates are fine as long as you?EUR??,,????'?????<
If you have the need to create lawn maintenance package pricing, use the models provided here to do so. Validate the unit prices that you calculate and compare them to your current prices. Be sure to set hourly and daily revenue goals for your crews.
Note: The costs used in our scenarios are for illustration purposes only. Your costs will vary from the ones used in these examples. The key is for you to build a typical one-day scenario for the different crew, materials and equipment mixes you use. Round up these rates as appropriate. If your costing structure is accurate, the rates you calculate should be very close to your current ones and to those generally seen in your market.
For further information, contact J.R. Huston Enterprises at 1-800-451-5588, jhuston@jrhuston.biz or visit www.jrhuston.biz
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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