[Alwayz Green]

Ok heres the deal. I got invited to bid on a commercial property. I really don't want to eff this one up because it would be my biggest account. First off, I'm in southern new hampshire. There is about 100,000 sq ft. to mow. A lot of open areas from the specs i saw (stupid snow), and quite a bit of push mowing (25 12 x 6 ft islands).What should I charge for a mow? Is $500 a cut too much.($.005 per sq.)? I'm taking debris with me too. I was thinking goin a lil lower just so I can get a better chance of nailing the account. One more question is there is 65 yards of mulch to be spread( Hemlock)? Ive never had to charge for 65 yards spread.Is $3900 too much? Any ideas as to what I should charge? All responses will be greatly appreciated, thanx in advance.

[TrickyDick]

The question of whether a price is too much or too little isn't really relevant. It will be different for everyone and it doesn't make sense for you to charge less than you should to get a big account that you will then lose money on. So the questions are 1) How long is it going to take you each week keeping in mind that it will be longer in spring and fall and shorter in summer and 2) How much do you need to make for each of those hours in order to pay your bills and make a profit?

I don't know how much trimming is involved or what kind of equipment you have. By taking debris with you do you mean bag mowing the whole place? Are you mulching wide open beds or beds full of perennials? Moving mulch in wheelbarrows or around a parking lot with a skid steer? You also didn't mention spring/ fall cleanups, pruning or anythiong else that might be involved.

We don't really do that kind of work but if I did I would say that, all things being average, for us $500 a cut would be high and 3900 for mulch would be low. I might bid it around 400 a cut and 5000 or 5500 for mulch. I would probably also be high and not get the job.

[jwholden]

How much will it cost you to complete the work?

How many man hours to mow the site? How many hours (average) per week per machine? How long does it take to get your crew to the site? How long does it take to get rid of the debris?

You can't figure out how much to charge a customer until you figure out what it costs you to produce?

There is no sense in 'winning' a bid if you are not 'winning' the ability to earn a decent living at your trade.

Good luck!

[Alwayz Green]

Thanx for the rapid responses. I will go over this with my business partner and respond back and tell me what ya think.
Thanx
AG

[Mac]

we only collect a few areas, each less than 1000 sq ft, but I simply could not imagine how much clippings 2.5 acres of turf would make. Im thinking you are well over a single truck load. PS, the guys above are right. Winning an unprofitable job is nearly pointless. Businesses exist for the purpose of creating profit for their owners. If you are not getting fairly rewarded, there is little reason for you to take on additional work. BTW, giving maintenance bids with snow on the ground isnt what I would consider a wise thing to do.

[xxArbUtusxx]

Do you have anybody over there that blows in mulch? If the beds are not completely packed with plants then this can be a more cost effective way for that amount of mulch. Here it cost approx $47 a yd. for composted mulch blown in. Charging for myself, to monitor the depth and make sure they do a good job, and one other laborer to clean any mulch off of the plants. Their guys are generally good about clean up and always blow the area afterwards.

Blown in Manualy
$50yd.($3 markup) x 65 = $3250 $30yd delivered x 65 = $1950
$35/hr Labor x 12hrs = $420 $35/hr spreading x 65hrs = $2,275
+ tax = $3,985 + tax = $4,588

Good luck with the other stuff.

[xxArbUtusxx]

That price comparison did not post as I wanted it to.

Blown in
$50yd. x 65 = $3250
$35/hr x 12 hrs = $420
tax = $3,985

Manualy
$30yd. x 65 = $1950
$35/hr spreading x 65 = $2,275
tax = $4,588

Sorry about that

[sandim]

Alwayz Green,
I completely understand not wanting to "eff" it up. The guys are right though, getting excited about a big job isn't worth it if it's not profitable. Been there, done that. Believe it or not we actually spread 200 yards of mulch this fall. (PHEW!) I priced the job the same as I would for a small job. DO take into consideration how full the beds are. These beds were not full so we were able to dump the mulch in the beds, but had they been full it would have taken longer.
We have what we call a "cheat sheet". A formula we figured out our first few jobs as to how long it takes to do just about anything....a yard of mulch, a yard of gravel. edging etc. This has tremendously helped us figure out bids.
We calso charge a debris hauling fee and delivery fees when necessary.
Mowing here in CT....our formula is crazy but we charge $35 as a flat fee for up to 5k SF (it's not worth it for us to mow for less) and then $0.87 for every additional 1,000 SF. That being said, if there's a ton of trimming, or something tricky, we up the price.
It's nutty, but it seems to work and be comperable with local companies. This may be high for NH but maybe what you can do is figure out what you have for lawns now, what you charge, and come up with a formula based on that.

Hope that helps!

[Alwayz Green]

Thanx guys 4 the advice I took it and well see what happens.