Like so many individuals out there who start their own lawn care business, I worked hard to quickly build up my clientele.  Having no prior experience in the Green Industry, I needed a way to see what the other guys were charging for their services.  This would at least give me a starting point on where to initially base my pricing structure.

From spending countless hours reading forum post, I was able to figure out that most people doing lawn care basically used one of two ways to calculate their prices.  There were the price per square foot guys and the price per hour guys.  The price per square foot method seemed to me as if it would include just too many variables to be very accurate, or at least for my requirements.  Thus, I decided to attempt to do all my estimating by the hour.

Ok, now my problem was what to charge per hour, and what was my competition charging.  Since I hadn’t actually started my business yet, nobody in the industry knew who I was.  Thus, I went through the yellow pages and called several of the companies who were running display ads.  I figured these companies must be larger considering the cost of yellow page advertising, and knowing that where they were in their business was where I wanted to be, I asked for an estimate to mow my personal homes own lawn.  I was told by a few that they only did commercial properties, but I did manage to get 3 different companies to come out and bid my property.

At the time my home sat on a little under a half acre of land, with very few obstructions.  I knew it took me about an hour to mow, trim and sweep off my small driveway (I didn’t even own a blower).  Of the three guys that came out, I received one bid for $35.00, one bid for $32.00 and one bid for $20.00.

I immediately threw out the $20.00 bid as it just seemed out of place with the other two bids, and his rig and equipment looked old and dilapidated.  Of the other two bids, one guy stood out from the other.  His truck and equipment was very neat and clean.  His truck had his company name on it, and his physical appearance was neat and very professional.  He also happened to be the $35.00 bid guy as well.  So I said to myself, “Self…  if you can present yourself as a professional with good appearance, clean and well maintained equipment, then you can get more money for your services.”

Well this gave me a starting point of $35.00 per hour.  I figured if I could mow a lawn equivalent to the size of my own for $35, and it would take me approximately an hour to do it, then I would be making $35.00 per hour. 

It was several customers, and dozens of bids later that I finally got a grasp of the bidding thing and what I needed to be charging to actually make a decent profit.  That $35 an hour I initially began charging was fine and a good starting point, but it did not take into account any of the equipment cost factors.  So I developed me a little spread sheet to calculate my equipment cost.  This spread sheet worked fine until I began to add employees, and that just opened up another hornets nest of problems.

My little spread sheet ended up developing into a tool I could use to calculate my primary expenses, and tell me what I should bid new customers at.  It also let me know if the customers I was already servicing were being charged enough and whether I should be increasing my service fees.

You can download a copy of that spread sheet by clicking on it below.  Keep in mind though, this is not some fancy spread sheet designed to impress the world, it was developed to accomplish what I needed it to do.  If it helps you out that’s great, if it’s not what you are needing, then perhaps it will give you some ideas on developing your own.  If you come up with any improvements, send me a copy I would love to see what you come up with.

  Lawn Care Overhead Cost Estimating

Note:  You will need Microsoft Excel or an Excel viewer in order to open the document.

• Amounts: A common misconception is that more is better. Plants and vegetation can only use and absorb so much fertilizer so fast. Excess will possibly just be washed away with watering or rainfall. Overfeeding can also cause an excess of tender new grass, which is highly susceptible to insects and requires excess watering and mowing, and can possibly burn your lawn leaving it brown and discolored. Always read the product label prior to applying any fertilizer. Follow the recommended application rates for your particular grass type.

Slow release fertilizers are great for homeowner use due to their longer lasting ability and the less likelihood of burning the grass with over fertilization. Check the label and local garden centers for recommendations on your particular grass species.

Recommended application rates are generally based on the amount of fertilizer required to supply a given amount of Nitrogen per 1,000sq/ft. of turf. The amount of fertilizer required to apply 1 pound of Nitrogen to 1,000sq/ft of turf can be calculated by dividing 100 by the percentage of Nitrogen in the fertilizer.

• Types: Fertilizer content is listed numerically in order of:

1. Nitrogen: Stimulates growth in the leaf blades and gives the turf the green color in the leaf blades. Application of Nitrogen must be balanced with other plant nutrients. In the right amounts, Nitrogen will stimulate the plants usage of Phosphorus, Potassium, and other plant nutrients. Nitrogen in excess and cause weakening of the plants and decrease it’s resistance to diseases.
2. Phosphorus: Stimulates early root growth and development, and helps to increase soil bacteria. Unlike Nitrogen, an excess of Phosphorus does not have the harming effects when applied in excess.
3. Potassium: Encourages a healthy root system, promotes steady growth, counteracts the harmful effects of Nitrogen, promotes disease resistance, and helps to balance the effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Calcium rich soil aids in the availability of Potassium to plants and grasses.
4. Calcium: Calcium has several useful benefits. It indirectly increases the availability of Nitrogen, helps to form cell walls, neutralizes harmful acids, and generally aids in the efficiency of fertilizer.

• When to Fertilize: Typically, the most ideal time to fertilize your lawn will be in the fall one to two months prior to the first frost. This will help to winterize your lawn and promote early growth and root development once the winter dormant periods are over. Late spring fertilizing is also acceptable and sometimes necessary once the spring growth surge is over with. This will usually be around mid March to late May. You may also apply small amounts of fertilizer throughout the year whenever your turf is starting to decline. You should confirm thought that the decline is from lack of nutrients and not from normal dormancy due to periods of drought.

• Application: It’s best to use some form of broadcast spreader rather then applying the fertilizer by hand. You will receive a more uniform application by using a spreader with an adjustable application rate. Spreading fertilizer by hand can create areas with excessive fertilizer concentrations, which can lead to burning the grass. This can disturb the soils PH and create additional problems besides the dead spot in your lawn.

When using your broadcast spreader, try to apply half of the amount required in an up and down pattern, and the other half in a right angles to the first half. This helps to give your lawn a uniformed application.

Apply fertilizers just before a good rain, otherwise water thoroughly after application to help the fertilizer absorb into the soil. This will also help to prevent burning the grass.