How to Price Lawn Care Services
When starting a lawn care service, pricing may be the hardest part to establish. It is important that you set your prices fair, but you also need to make a profit. Having prices that are fair will help you maintain your customer base. Here are a few tips to help set prices for your lawn care service.
First of all, you need to have an idea of how much your competitors charge. You can make phone calls to each competitor, pose as a potential customer and get some estimates. Keep a list of how much your competitors charge for all the services.
Figure how much it is going to cost you to transport your equipment and for fuel. You can figure up how much it costs per mile to transport the equipment and add this to your charges. This will include labor and fuel costs. If it costs you $2.00 per mile to transport your equipment and you have to travel 10 miles to the job, then add $20.00 to the cost for your services under labor.
To figure up your rate for labor, set an hourly price for each task. You can come up with package deals for your customers to offer them a savings. Using your estimates from the competitors, compile a list of what you are going to charge for each service, like raking and mowing. Remember, you want to make a profit, but if you can save a customer $5.00 for a service, you may be able to earn that customer's business.
Combine your charge for transportation and fuel with the labor cost. Make sure to explain the charges thoroughly to the customer.