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I try to bid a Two man crew and equipment at $200/hr.
That's a 60' rear mount, bandit 1890 and mini. Same if we just climb the whole time and ground guy just supports. If we end up around $90/man hour I am ok with that.

We bill the man as operator of various equipment .
You guys who bill less for man/hr are you billing equipment seperatly?

During the busy season when we are 3 months out and some one with a gigantic second or third house on a lake needs it done this week. $1,800-$2,400 gets you upfront.

We are very productive with our equipment compared to other guys around with smaller chippers and no mini. Some guys have tractors and excavators, looks painful. We hardly ever have to deal with big wood as I have a kboom buddy who picks it up for free. So I can under bid my competitors quite a bit on giant trees.

Been billing a minimum $280 for show up for one hour or less. Might raise that a bit. In one hour we can get done what others charge $300-$400...or a lot more... And they are there two to three hours or longer.
For the record....
I'm also a manic freak so... When I'm onsite I'm at least worth two normal workers...I will be the guy seen running and throwing wood where needed. Customers joke with my guys asking if I ever stand still for a minute.
 
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I bid/bill for the job. My rates are minimums I want on a daily bases.
I don't give the customer a bill with the man/hrs on it.

It is all really subjective per situation.

Recent job. Cracked tree over trailer. All wood stays.
I bid $480.
Next bid was $900
Next was $3000.

Took us an hour.
The $900 guy was his minimum to leave his house.
The $3000 guy said he needed a crane.
 
frashdog said:
It is all really subjective per situation.
Click to expand...
Same for me . I deal with so many walks of life . It has to fluctuate on a client by client basis and the scope of work being performed. Such a wide variety of people in my area its tough to stick to my guns on every job saying I bill this or that per hour. Plenty of folks who can't afford the work ,but need it. Plenty of peoples that have money hanging out there ass and want to keep it there. I'm anywhere between 80 and 150 depending on circumstances. Just me my Isuzu 14 foot dump 12 inch bandit ,o.g f 350 12 foot rack dump with mini and stumper and groundsman ,plus part time groundy when were swamped which hopefully will be soon.
 
Who the feck has a $900 minimum to leave his house.

When I bid jobs I have a few minimums I keep on hand:

$100 job minimum, even if I'm only there 5 minutes
$200 minimum if it requires me to leave the ground
$250 minimum if it requires any rigging

The only times I dip below these minimums is if there is material staying (no cleanup, firewood, etc.)
 
I am finding the same thing as well. I was selling myself as not the cheapest company around. I have found that I actually am pretty close to the cheapest. However, my business model is different than the other companies around me. I am way more efficient. They bid a job at 1800 and it takes a crew of 4 guys all day to do. I can do it for 1400 with just myself and one other guy. I am hiring another guy so I can get that 1400 dollar job done in half the time and then go do another one.
I charge 170 an hour for two guys, bucket truck, chip truck, chipper and mini. That is my rate no matter what equipment goes to the job.
When I add another guy I plan to charge around 225 an hour for the whole crew. We will see how it goes.
 
Boomslang said:
Who the feck has a $900 minimum to leave his house.
Click to expand...
I'd actually heard it was $1k.
Must have lowered it.

He has offered to sell me his business last few years. He really does not like tree work. He does not climb. I don't want his equipment. He says he grosses $150k annual....$100k in 6mo. He has a non over center 55', tandem log truck with prentice, 18"morbark and chip truck. I might consider his phone number for $20k.
 
$250/hr includes two men two trucks 255 XP and a mini. We run circles around other crews here. There are a lot of low ballers though, which often lead more work my way, but have put a bad taste in the mouths of most HOs around here.
 
$70/hour seems common in my market. Me and a helper ~$135/hour, no eqpt. I got no trucks or other mouths to feed so I will slide down for the right job, and quickly slide up for the wrong jobs!
My solo rate is $95-135-165 ( consulting)
 
I go $180/hr for a 2 man crew. $240 for 3 man crew. $180 minimum even if its just me and takes 5 min. That would be a bucket truck, 200+ XP Bandit chipper, 15 yard chip truck when needed, big flatbed that can either tow dump trailer, skid steer, stump grinder or any or all combination of that. Our market is all over the board as well, lots of hacks, lots of small companies with just a chip truck and crappy chipper, no WC etc. I vary on my prices sometimes for the right customer but never during the busy time. We have positioned ourselves as one of the most high end companies in town with our service, our pruning, our adherence to safety and industry standard as well as our meticulous cleanup. Seems to be working even with a ton of competition.

-BEN
 
It's awesome to see this number sharing. I read yours so I'm sensing a responsibility to give mine.
These numbers are
$80-100 (CDN) = (60-80 or less US, but not long ago our dollar was almost even). for myself plus 100 for second guy and chipper and removal. Minimums below. Often I get more on a quote, often I get less.
$100-120 for me for consulting. But I don't consult on pests and diseases. I suggest you claim your strength and weakness in this business. I often admit a weakness in PHC. My knowledge of pests and diseases is not horrible but I can't recommend treatment other than 'water during droughts' and other obvious and less obvious stuff. I also mention on big removals that a company with more equipment might be lower. Sometimes they are and sometimes their higher. And they might regret being lower as I know I have.
400-500 minimum to city with crew (45-60minute drive.) (Toronto has 3m people)

100-300 minimum locally. (100-150 just me or 150-300 for crew of 2-4)
My complete daily cost is $100-200 plus wages. (Annual cost divided by the number of work days). No bucket. Just 9" and 12" chipper. 8 yard dump truck and 5 yard tarp dump truck rig. Plus my truck.
but like frashdog, myself and most of us here, we quote. My first 7 years I sometimes asked for more after. But less and less often. Also got tipped in the early years more because people knew that I was too low. The past five years I started reducing the price the odd time. But rarely as you win more on some and u win less on others. As time goes by I quote on more jobs and get underbid more often. I should've adjusted earlier. I should have been landing less.
So my advice there is to watch the underbidding. I did it for too long. Landing 80-90% is too much. Aim higher and we all win. I just landed in the middle of three quotes on a bid. The guy below me was only 6% under. A perfect situation where lowest bidder actually wins. I've been lowest at a mere 35%. I still made $ but just barely because I was on site setting the pace every day.
Not that I don't under bid or under charge sometimes still. Sometimes I just simply really want a job for a certain challenge or just for the fun of it. Horrible, I know. Other times it's a miss calculation. Backyards with hills, mud and rain delays add to return visits and added costs. 15 years later, I still screw up on quotes.
Great topic and I greatly appreciate your numbers.


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RedTree: Thanks for sharing. I too enjoy this post. It makes me aware that we are all in the same boat. We all deal with low bidders and we all win some and loose some.
What I have been focusing on more and more lately is a week rate. Meaning, I have a set amount of money I need to make a week. Sure, I know that averages out to 190 an hour, but sometimes it;s hard to get that. So, I always think that I will make it up on another job.
Also, I stress out when I am on the job and i start to notice that I under bid it. I then start to rush. I now try and relax and realize that it's just one day, and if I make my quota by the end of the week, then who cares.
 
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