Pricing Your Services
First off, you will need to figure out
your overall cost of doing business. You need to calculate your operating costs and overhead expenses. How many people do you have on the payroll? How much are you spending on equipment maintenance and insurance?
Next, we recommend
doing a little research on the local market. How much are other land clearing services charging? What is the "going rate" per acre in your area? You can also take a look at ProMatcher's
Land Clearing Cost Report to see some ballpark estimates from contractors in your area.
Your prices will need to be somewhere in the range of what other local contractors are charging. If every contractor in town is
charging about $3300 per acre or $300/hr, it's going to be difficult to charge much more than that "going rate" (especially if you are just starting out). Based on your research, will you be able to make a profit? If not, you may need to go back to the drawing board.
Once you have some good experience, you can consider raising your prices. Test your price increases on a small sample first to see how it goes. If you deliver a valuable service, your customers will be open to paying a little more.
Join ProMatcher today and learn how you can bid on more site clearing jobs!
It takes time to perfect your pricing methodology. You may find pricing jobs by the area does not work best for you. For smaller jobs, it may make more sense to price jobs by the hour.
Factors that Impact Land Clearing Prices
What goes into pricing a land clearing job? We've done our best to identify some of the most important factors to consider when bidding a job.
1. Labor needs
How many people will you need on the job?
How does the cost of living in your area impact wages?
2. Scheduling
What is the project deadline? Is the client asking you to work on a tight schedule? Is it possible that the weather could cause delays?
3. Permitting & compliance
What type of permits do you need? How long will they take to get? How much will they cost? What local regulations do you need to comply with? For example, burning a brush pile is not acceptable in all jurisdictions.
4. Job size and scope of work
The larger the area, the longer the job will take.
If the land is heavily forested, that will also add time to project timeline.
5. Travel time
If the job is not located within a 15 or 20-mile radius, you may need to account for the additional travel time and fuel in your quote.
6. Obstacles
Will you need to work around power lines? Are there any fences that might make it difficult to bring in large equipment?
7. Equipment needs
Do you already have the equipment you need for the job? Will you have to rent any additional machinery?
8. Terrain & soil conditions
Is the soil soft and manageable? Working with heavier clay soils or rocky soil can be more difficult. Additionally, hilly terrain may make the work for challenging.
9. Tree size & quantity
How many trees need to be removed? Additionally, the height and diameter of each tree matters. Are there many mature and/or large trees? Do the stumps need to be removed or grinded?
10. Material disposal & hauling
There are many different ways to handle these materials. Is the wood going to be chipped or mulched? If the material needs be hauled away, how far is the dump site? How much are the dump fees?
Our Final Words of Wisdom
Track your time! This will help you learn how long certain jobs take. Don't forget to write it down in your notes so you can go back and reference it. This can really help your ability to estimate jobs accurately in the future. You will have a baseline idea of how long it will take you clear an acre ready to go.
If it doesn't feel right, don't do it! If something about the job feels off, it's okay to say "no". Trust your gut instinct. The stress of working with a difficult customer is not worth it.
Find new marketing ideas for your land clearing company →
Originally Published October 11, 2018