lbtcadmin
11-25-2006, 02:02 PM
Phil Nilsson's Lawn Care Service & Landscaping Business Resources How To Start, Run & Manage A Successful Business
The Cost of Doing Business
By Phil Nilsson, Green Industry Consultant
Determining job cost is the starting point to intelligent bidding and estimating. And, mastering the skills of estimating is the best defense to help ensure that the work is not over or underbid. Plenty of jobs are lost because of high bids where an acceptable profits could have been made with a lower price tag if the contractor had only known at the time. By the same token, plenty of jobs are won based on low price, too low in fact, making it a miserable experience having done the work. Priced just right is where you want to be but of course this doesn't guarantee you the work, just that if you do get it, there's a chance at profits.
Hit or miss bidding is out of the question because virtually every customer looks for, and usually takes, the absolute lowest price. There less room for error in setting a price that not only covers cost, but also provides an adequate profit. Easier said than done because the entire process must take into account numerous variables of cost in an industry where "time is money" is an understatement.
Of course the lazy way out is to totally ignore the cost of doing business, and focus instead on price. The reasoning is that if the price is right, you'll be awarded the job inspite of your costs. This is the same as saying that you have very little control over price and that price is decided in the market place. That may be true but the real reason you want to know cost is not so much that price is solely determined from costs but that cost is your "command center" of control. If you don't know cost you have no reference point of control. Without cost knowledge you actually give up control and don't know for certain on any completed project what the profit was, and in some cases may be uncertain if indeed costs were covered.
With job cost knowledge you can know if you have efficient costs (can't be done cheaper or faster) and that's about as good as it gets. Using your efficient costs as a starting point you can then develop prices. You might want to come up with three price levels for the very same job.* Base Price, Realistic Price, and Premium Price. For any one bidding event do the mental "gymnastics" of trying them on for size price wise to see which you'd like to go with. Sometimes a contractor may find himself "hungy" for work and at other times booked so far in advance that a lower price is not needed to generate work. Nevertheless, bidding and pricing is the single most important thing you'll do because it is the "future" of where your business is going. Today's bids are tomorrows' customers and the real "make up" of your company. Your company is the customers, you, employees, and assets necessary to deliver your services.
WHERE DO YOU START WITH JOB COST?
Most contractors incur three kinds of cost -
Direct costs
Indirect costs
Overhead costs.
Direct costs are those expenses that happen because labor was applied, equipment and vehicles were put into action, materials were used and work was done. Direct costs are usually easy to predict when you know how much time a project will take and what equipment and materials will be needed.
Indirect costs follow or "tag along" with direct labor, such as payroll taxes, employee benefits, insurance, fuel consumption, depreciation, repairs and other on-the-job costs. Although payroll taxes, benefits and insurance can be easily estimated, the indirect costs related to equipment are tougher to predict. Depreciation of equipment is a given, but fuel consumption can vary greatly and repairs are often unexpected.
Overhead costs include any expenses that support the operation of a business. Good examples are: rent for facilities, utilities, advertising, property taxes, storage, insurance on buildings, office expenses and other "behind the scenes" costs that in some cases take place simply because time went by. The overhead expenses, for the most part, take place even when no work was done. Rent and insurance are the most common examples. As with some indirect costs, certain overhead costs are easily estimated - rent, utilities, taxes and insurance - while others - advertising and office expenses - are more difficult to estimate.
The difference between direct costs, indirect costs and overhead expenses can be understood by visualizing what happens in your business on any given workday. Direct costs happen when work is done and labor is applied. The workers come in to work, and as soon as they turn the key in the ignition, direct costs and indirect costs follow them and stay with them all day. Overhead, or "back at the shop expenses," are just that. These costs are "left behind" items of expense that support the operation.
ANALYZING AND USING JOB COSTS.
Labor and indirect costs represent the bulk of expense for most contractors and dwarf true overhead costs by comparison. The questions to answer about these costs can be reduced to what I call "time costs."
How much does time cost my company?
How much time will the job take?
What are my hourly or time profit goals?
What are my hourly direct costs?
What are my hourly indirect costs?
What is my overhead rate per hour?
To answer these questions is to formulate a bidding system.
You can easily relate to a financial statement and assign time costs to each expense category by simply dividing each cost category by the total number of production hours your company applied over the course of your season. Doing that gives you a capsule of actual costs, and it can be used to compare to estimated costs that were used at the job bidding stage. The variations between estimated job costs and actual costs are then used to find cost variations. In other words, job costs were supposed to be, or bid at, a certain price, and the actual costs were different.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BID THE WORK BASED ON COST?
A good understanding of work required, along with good labor time hour standards. This is the crucial step to the entire job estimating process. If you don't know within perhaps 10% of labor time required, your job bids are destined to be inaccurate. Labor is a big factor, the biggest single expense you have, and costs are highly dependent on job time knowledge. You thought a job would take 1,000 hours and it took 1,200.
A knowledge for job specifications and job time standards, or experienced times for each phase of the work.
An hourly cost factor for the three areas of cost, including direct costs, indirect costs and overhead costs.
A realistic attitude about profit per hour that can be added to costs in arriving at a total price that the customer can afford, which will stand the test of competitiveness and will turn a profit. Keep in mind that if your company does not operate efficiently that this is not the customer's problem and the competition may not allow adding profits on top of inefficent costs just because you happen to need to earn a living. Production time and methods needs to be "as good as it gets" then add a realistic profit to it and this will also tell you your "walkaway price" as well.
MAKING JOB COSTS HAPPEN...
Once you have a handle on hourly job costs and can assign these costs to job functions that will take place at the job site, you need to make them happen by adhering to labor time budgets. This is where the labor hours and costs on paper are proven at the job site with good control over expected, or anticipated, costs and actual costs.
Can you get the job done within the estimated time? Profits go up and costs go down when the job is done faster; profits go down and costs go up when the job takes longer than expected. Having said that, job costs are truly estimated costs since many variables are at play in the process of actually doing the work. Since labor is the single biggest expense, controlling labor and informing the employees of job time goals are important parts of cost control and profit achievement.
ELEMENTS OF COST...
Direct costs such as payroll expenses, are an easily calculable figure ... payroll hourly rates multiplied by realistic labor times required to do the work.
Indirect costs follow direct costs and are closely related to hourly payroll rates. Payroll taxes, benefits, depreciation on vehicles and equipment - in fact the entire cost lineup that supports labor activity in the field - can be lumped together to develop an hourly rate based on the time, by the hour, of actually using the support equipment or "expense group." The only shortcoming you may have is that to assign an indirect cost per hour, you'll have to estimate the total production hours predicted in the current season.
Overhead costs have a less impact and represent a far lower total expense group than direct or indirect expenses. The best you can hope for in terms of developing an hourly overhead rate to apply to total labor hours projected for any given job is to lump the entire year’s overhead expense and estimate the total number of labor hours expected for the year. That overhead total is then divided by the hours to arrive at the overhead per hour rate. As the backlog of work increases, hourly overhead rates go down; and as the backlog drops, hourly overhead rates rise. This doesn't mean, however, that increases in overhead can be passed on to the customer for the company that doesn’t have enough work to carry overhead at a conservative rate. Unreasonably high lucrative overhead expense schedules make a company far less competitive from a cost point of view.
Last but not least is the addition of profit to the cost group to arrive at a price to assign to the work. Sometimes a final price can be higher; sometimes it needs to be lower in view of current market and economic conditions. But here too, you should arrive at an hourly profit add on that justifies a reasonable profit.
Of course the higher the profit expectation, the lower the chance of being awarded the work. Profit after and beyond cost is the true "mystery" number that's locked up and somewhat a "secret" in virtually every job bid submitted. Some contractors will use industry averages for profits. Others will charge what they think the "traffic will bear," while still others will test their price levels, including profits, by going with a higher and higher price for the same work until they find the price ceiling. Another view is to ask yourself what amount of money is being the boss worth? Is it $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 a year? If you were to replace yourself with a hired manager what would it cost? What's it worth "being you"? Part of your compensation is salary as a management cost to the business, and the other part profit that you earn for invested capital at risk in plant and equipment.
Base Price - is the lowest price you must charge to cover your business costs, salary and profit.
Realistic Price - is higher than Base Price. Top of the quality range in your field but still competitive.
Premium Price - is even higher where you price for the client who wants and can afford the best.
Copyright Nilsson Associates 2003
Business solution links:
Advertising (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Bidding Jobs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) - (http://www.asharpdesign.com/nilsson/discounts_and_deals.htm)
Business Growth (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Business Plan (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Business Planning Workbook) -
Commercial (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Company Policy (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Writing Your Company Policy Manual) -
Contract Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) -
Customers (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Employees (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) -
Estimating (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) -
Job Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Job Specs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Writing The Maintenance Speci-fications) -
Labor Time Data (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Maintenance (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Grounds Maintenance Manual) -
Management (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Mowing Profits (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Maximizing Profits In Mowing) -
Pricing (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Pricing Your Services) - Sales (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Sales Letters (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#How To Write Effective Sales Letters) -
Sales Skills (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Snow Removal (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#The Snow Removal Business) -
Subcontracting (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm#Subcontracting the Work) -
Training Video (http://nilssonbooks.com/video_tapes.htm) -
Website Services (http://nilssonbooks.com/other_services.htm#Web Design) -
Winter Income (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm)
If we can help you in any way don't hesitate to give us a call Toll Free at 1-866-280-2252
http://nilssonbooks.com/guarantee.gifNilsson Associates has the information you need to operate your business (http://nilssonbooks.com/)and make it a success. We offer one of the Largest Resources available in the Green Industry on the internet. Everything from how to sharpen a mower blade to how to manage a small or large, simple or complex business doing millions in sales! You can keep your buisness small or grow it each year. It's up to you how far you go. Some are just interetsed in mowing lawns as a service, then add on pruning, planting, trimming, shrubs, trees, plowing snow, and getting into bidding and estimating grounds maintenance, landscape installations, hardscapes, patios, retaining walls and waterscapes.
No mattter what services you want to offer, we have the technical and managment information you need that will save you time and money getting started. Take a look at our extensive line of books, audios, videos and employee training materials in English and Spanish. Start at the Nilsson Associates home page (http://nilssonbooks.com/)and scroll down the left side of the home page to locate the lawn care service or landscape business problem you want a solution to. The index includes all these categories dealing with just about all lawn care, the best lawn mowers, how to maximize profits in lawn mowing and landscape installation work including seeding lawns, hydroseeding lawns, sodding lawns, slit seeding and drilling, lawn care service job bidding & pricing, what lawn tractors and equipment to buy, seed to use for lawns, grass types, lawn chemicals, lawn fertilizers, lawn pesticides, lawn herbicides, managing landscape company operations, installing irrigation, snow plowing, planting shrubs and trees , pavement sweeping services and many others.
The instruction you will receive is affordable, and highly focused training that really works! And ... The FREE ongoing personal support from our Industry Experts (http://nilssonbooks.com/about_the_author.htm) is the Best Professional Management & Ownership Training Program in the Industry. With us assisting you every step of the way, your business will be up and running fast, making money, organized to win, separate itself from the competition, and on the "Path To A Rewarding Future."
Lawn Mowing - Lawn Care and Landscaping Books
When it comes to landscaping books ... nobody has more landscaping industry information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's lawn and landscape Job Pricing Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential landscaping customers. Using the landscaping price guides, get more customers. Price lawn and landscape jobs estimates & bids correctly as well as grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts.
We also have employee training books & videos in Spanish.
See how other landscapers price out and cost out lawn and landscaping work with best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & lawn and landscape job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, landscape mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic lawn fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds and lawns, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, lawn and landscape irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential properties.
Also price a wide variety of landscaping jobs such as seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
For more information about Pricing Click Here for FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Discounts
on Package Deals
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations Management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
Labor Time Data Handbook - Contains over 500 field tested, time-studied labor hours data for lawn and landscape and grounds maintenance job estimating. You will learn to: bid landscaping jobs with confidence, save time preparing lawn and landscape bids, easily determine best crew size for any lawn and landscape, make money on every lawn or landscape job you get, get a full days work from employees, never under or overprice a lawn and landscape bid again, set realistic labor goals for employees to complete lawn and landscape work within cost budgeted times. Includes labor hours for just about every lawn and landscape job performed in commercial and residential landscaping and grounds maintenance. Book # A-7, Price $69.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Winter Income Producers - This book is jam packed with surefire ways for lawn and landscape contractors to make money off season. You'll turn down time into added income. You'll get 75 ways. There's something for every lawn and landscape contractor. Pick a method that satisfies your off season needs. No matter where you live, no matter what your specialty within the lawn and landscape industry, you'll find something of interest. I guarantee it. Book # B-7, Price $49.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Grounds Maintenance Manual - A complete guide to lawn and landscape maintenance. How to sell services, bid jobs, assign crews, control the work. You'll get lawn and landscape bid outlines, scheduling formats, cost calculations, checklists for year round services. You'll learn how to evaluate every lawn and landscape site for profit potential, pinpoint best crew size, control costs, and know what to expect on a daily basis. Book # C-1, Price $49.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Writing The Maintenance Specifications - No more trying to find the right words to explain lawn and landscape job bids. Contains hundreds of samples of contract language that fits any lawn and landscape situation. Produce professional landscape specs, avoid bidding unrealistic site requirements for lawn and landscape projects. What to include and exclude. Also covers summer and winter work elements, and work options to look for on any site to boost sales. Book # C-2, Price $34.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Maintenance Estimating Kit - This kit has everything you need when you visit a lawn and landscape site to get an estimate. Working from a model spec. it takes you step by step. Assesses the landscape maintenance model, finds the price, prepares the model bid, writes the proposal, along with cover letter and outline of the work. Book # C-21, Price $32.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Maximizing Profits In Mowing - Some people make plenty of money mowing, while others lose their shirts! Mowing is 50% of most contracts. Covers key factors for better profits, best crew size, selecting the right mowers, setting work quotas, scheduling problems. Mobilize your people to work as a team! Book # C-6, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Pricing Your Services - Never under price your work again! You'll know true cost as basis for your price. Includes bidding formulas, overhead, profit potential, pricing methods. How to avoid losing money on low priced jobs. Discover the highest price you can get, save time preparing bids. No guesswork or second thoughts when you use this system. Book # B-2, Price $39.50
To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Selling To Commercial Customers - Selling to commercial requires a different approach to finding key contacts, bidding the work, locating lawn and landscape accounts that offer high profits. Explains professional image, getting long term contracts vital to success, how to sustain customer loyalty, how to close the sale. Book # B-12, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The Art Of Selling - Good sales people aren't born that way. Learn the secrets of successful sales people and find out what you are doing wrong. Your lawn and landscape sales will increase when you've mastered the skills of selling, using tie downs, why customers buy, what will make you stand out from the others. Book # B-13, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Write Effective Sales Letters - You'll never be lost for the right words with this sample pack of sales letters designed for the landscape industry. Covers almost any sell situation. What to say to persuade, what not to say, and why. Mechanics of the letter, the do's and don'ts, appealing to logic and emotion, best mailing methods, primer on direct mail strategies. Book # B-8, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Writing Your Company Policy Manual - You'll save time using this fill in the blanks format to create your own policy manual for your lawn and landscape firm. Copy it, customize it to fill your needs. Includes owner's message to employees, sequence of info, the do's and don'ts of making promises, a benefits checklist and how to word them. Book # G-2, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Keys To Motivating Employees - This book focuses on the unique challenges of motivating seasonal, temporary and key lawn and landscape people. Discusses why some people work hard, others don't. Why a paycheck alone is a poor motivator. Tactics to use to promote team players, get better production, and create interest in a job where none exists. Book # G-4, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Entry Level Training - Landscapers - This book trains new hires & seasonal help and avoids you having to explain the basics over and over each season. It covers materials, commonly used tools, equipment, safety, vehicle use, hazardous substances, work practices, attire, customer relations, personal behavior, terms and definitions, and question/answer review. Book # ET-1, Price $42.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Crew Leader Training - Landscapers - Overcome the difficulty of unsupervised jobs. Train your lawn and landscape workers to accept responsibility and you'll probably increase business. This is a step-by-step approach designed for the employee with little or no supervisory experience. Covers task management, what owners need from crew leaders, how to win respect and get cooperation from peers, planning the work, getting it done! Overseeing the equipment, goal setting, Question/Answer review. Book # ET-2, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Training In Pruning And Planting - Covers everything workers need to know to properly install and prune shrubs and trees in lawns and landscapes. Shows how, when, why to prune. Explains the tools, how to prevent damage, planting methods, staking and guying, mulching, transporting stock, thinning, forming, shaping, and pinching. Best times to prune flowering species. Question/Answer review. Book # ET-4, Price $34.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Be A Great Boss! - Ever wonder how employees like you as a "boss"? Highly respected, well liked? How they perceive you is key to your success in today's labor market. This report examines easily misunderstood concepts of attitudes, work ethics, and self esteem that can make or break your lawn and landscape business. You can either "turn them on" or "turn them off" by what you do and say. Book # G-5, Price $12.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Advertising And Marketing Your Services - This primer on advertising for the lawn and landscape business covers how to write ad copy, design brochures, using logos, pitch lines, image, mission statements, best methods, time proven techniques, timing releases, publicity, four basic rules to follow, checklist of markets, and ad samples. Book # B-1, Price $42.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Improve Customer Retention - Repeat business is key to growth. Use these methods and you'll spend less time trying to find new customers and keep those you have. Explores what lawn and landscape customers really want from you, renewal incentives, quality control, projecting the right image, price increases, and finally how to keep customers happy. Book # B-3, Price $22.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
All About Direct Mail Advertising - Direct mail is one of the most effective ways to get customers because it's one-on-one. It doesn't compete with the other ads. This book outlines the 7 cardinal rules to success and shows you how to use them. Direct mail works if you do it right! Specifically written for the lawn and landscape industry, this book gets you started in the right direction. Book # B-11, Price $34.50
To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The Snow Removal Business - A complete guide to just about everything there is to know about winter maintenance. Bidding, costing, scheduling, how to maximize revenues, manage a storm, vehicle maintenance, bid proposal package, contract language, selling the services, documenting a storm, dealing with damage claims, pricing the work . . .everything! Book # C-8, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The 7 Keys To Business Success - This guide explains the reasons why some lawn and landscape businesses do well, while others just seem to scrape by. The focus is on common traits, attitudes, winning strategies that if ignored, lead to disappointing results. You'll reprogram yourself to use the seven principles, recognize the danger signals, identify obstacles to overcome. Book # H-3, Price $15.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Business Plan Workbook - Specifically designed for lawn and landscape companies and divided into three sections that form a master business plan model. Contains fill in the blanks sections question and answer review to form a Sales Plan, Production Plan and Management Plan for your company. Book # E-1 $39.50To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Grow Your Business - Growth means higher sales levels, more employees & equipment, more debt, higher accounts receivables, larger facilities. Know what to expect at each stage of growth for the lawn and landscape company with this behind the scenes look. Covers growth plans, profit outcomes, key systems for control, maintaining job quality, delegating to others, keeping track of production, how to finance the larger operation. Book #E-1, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE- The Winners Triangle - If you want to know what it takes to put together the "total company". . sales growth. . control. . good profits and winning at business, this tape helps you focus on the three qualities common to successful landscape companies that made it to the "top" of the industry. $19.50 1 Tape To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE-Employees. . . Find Them, Keep Them - Listen & learn the secrets to finding and keeping employees. These tapes reveal untapped sources of finding prospects, what to offer, how to prevent the competition from hiring away your people, benefits, incentives, what works, what doesn't, interviewing and selection. $39.50 2 Tape Series To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE- Job Estimating the fast, easy way! Phil Nilsson's job estimating seminar on tape. Gives you special insight on bidding the fast, easy way. This is an easy listen and learn tape series from one of the country's leading job estimating seminar presenters. Covers landscape construction and grounds maintenance. You'll put this information to work starting with your very next job bid. Told by a person who's "been there", "done that". $29.50 2 Tape Series To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
http://nilssonbooks.com/guarantee.gif
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines
Nilsson's Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm) are in use by lawn and landscape contractors nationwide. See what other landscapers are currently charging from price lists compiled and updated by Nilsson Associates. Avoid Pricing Too High - Avoid Pricing Too Low - Win More Bids. Compare Your Prices With Nilsson's Price Lists Before You Bid - Makes Pricing Lawn & Landscape Jobs Fast, Easy, Accurate, Competitive.
Nilsson's Job Pricing Guides takes the guesswork out of bidding, and helps build confidence in your bids before you present them to your customers. Makes Job Bidding easier, faster. (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) Figure your price for a job, then compare your price (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm) with the list price before you bid, or use the price given in the price lists to bid on jobs shown below:
Includes Prices For:
Aerating lawns
Aerating Core
Arborist Rates
Back Pak Spraying lawns,
Bak Pak weeds shrub beds, curbs
Bed Edging - in lawns
Bed Construction
Cement Curbing Installation
Cement Borders Installed
Chemical Applications of lawn care chemicals
Deck Installations
Dethatching of lawns
Drain Gutter Cleaning to remove leaves
Drain Gutters Installed
Drain Gutter Screening
Edging Walks
Edging Beds
Fall Cleanups of lawns and beds
Firewood sales
Firewood Cords
Firewood Bundles
Firewood Delivery
Flower Installations Flats
Flower Pots
Grading & Filling of soil for lawns
Ground Covers - Plants
Ground Covers Mulch
Grounds Maintenance Rates
Hardscapes - patios, stairs, walks
Hourly Rates lawn care
Hourly Rates - Landscape
Hourly Rates Landscape design
Hourly Rates Plowing
Hydroseeding of lawns
Hydroseeding Preparation
Hydroseeding Materials
Install Sod
Install Shrubs
Install Trees
Irrigation lawn Installation
Irrigation Service - lawns & beds
Irrigation Winterize
Irrigation Repair Rates
Irrigation Controllers
Landscape Designs - designing computer image landscapes
Landscape Lighting Installations
Landscape Lighting Fixtures
Landscape Floodlights
Landscape Solar Lighting
Landscape Grading
Landscape Hourly Rates
Landscape Installations lawns, shrubs, plants & trees
Lawn Aeration Spike
Lawn Aeration Cores
Lawn Care Service Chemical Applications Fertilizers Weed Controls
Lawn Chemical Applications
Lawns Fertilized
Lawn Mowing Riders
Lawn Mowing Walkbehinds
Lawn Mowing Trim
Lawn Weed Treatments
Lawn Treatment Programs
Lawn Chemical Prices - Acre, Square Foot
Lawn Grub Control Apps
Lawn Insecticide
Lawn Renovations - Slit Seeding, Reseeding, Elimination of Growth
Liquid Applications of Fertilizers, Weed Killers
Loam Installed for lawn building and planting beds
Mowing with walkbehinds
Mowing with ztrs
Mowing with riding mowers
Mowing with trim mowers
Mowing Residential
Mowing Commercial
Mowing Condominium
Mowing Sports Fields
Mowing Cemeteries
Mulch Installs
Mulch pine bark mulch
Mulch pine needles
Mulch Spraying
Organic Lawn Care of lawns
Organic Lawn Programs
Parking Lot Line Marking
Parking Lot Sweeping of sand and debris
Paving Installations and hardscapes
Pavers Stone
Pavers Concrete
Pavement Sweeping
Pavement and litter control
Pavement line marking
Planting Trees & Shrubs in landscapes
Pressure washing of houses, vehicles, walks
Pruning of shrubs,
Pruning trees
Pruning ornamental trees
Putting Greens Installations - artificial turf for golf
Retaining Walls Installed of wood, stone
Retaining Walls Timbers
Roto Tilling turf, soil, lawns
Roto Tilling gardens
Salting Roads
Salting Walks
Sanding Roads
Sanding Walks
Sanding & Salting of parking lots and roads for ice control
Seeding lawns
Seeding wildflowers
Site Work of grading, hauling, rock removal prior to seeding
Slit Seeding of lawns
Slit Seeders
Snow Plowing Prices
Snow Plowing and ice control
Snow Removal
Snow Plowing Driveways
Snow Plowing Hourly Rates
Snow Plowing By The Inch
Snow Plowing By The Storm
Snow Plowing Fixed Seasonal Rates
Snow Shoveling
Snow Blowing Walks & Driveways
Sod Installations on lawns
Sod Rolls Installed
Sodding from Pallets
Spraying Lawns
Spraying Weeds
Spraying Shrubs
Spraying Trees
Spraying Curb Lines
Spring Cleanups of lawns, beds and paved areas
Stone Installations for shrub beds, landscape areas
String Trimming Lawns
String Trimming Edging
String Trimming Obstacles
String Trimming Trees
Stump Grinding after removal and tree takedowns
Tree Care Prices
Tree & Shrub Programs - fertilizing - weed & insect control
Tree Trimming of ornamental trees in landscapes
Trimming Shrubs
Trimming Trees
Trucking & Hauling of landscape materials
Vegetation Management for weed control, growth control
Weeding shrub beds
Weeds in lawns
Weeding Pavement
Weeding Parking Lot Curbs
For more info: FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
About Nilsson Associates
Business consultant, speaker, nationally recognized best selling author, Phil Nilsson's articles are published in Lawn & Landscape, PRO Magazine, The Arborist and Landscaper Publications. Nilsson's books are endorsed by national trade organizations and are in use by thousands of landscapers, parks, municipalities, universities and property managers. Nilsson owned and operated a successful Landscape Design-Build-Maintain firm for 15 years. Nilsson Associates are Consultants to the membership of the Professional Lawn Care Association of America.
When it comes to pricing nobody has more industry pricing information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's Job Price Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential customers. Get more customers. Price estimates & bids, grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts, best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & landscaping job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential, pricing seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
Other
resources:
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
For more info: FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
The Cost of Doing Business
By Phil Nilsson, Green Industry Consultant
Determining job cost is the starting point to intelligent bidding and estimating. And, mastering the skills of estimating is the best defense to help ensure that the work is not over or underbid. Plenty of jobs are lost because of high bids where an acceptable profits could have been made with a lower price tag if the contractor had only known at the time. By the same token, plenty of jobs are won based on low price, too low in fact, making it a miserable experience having done the work. Priced just right is where you want to be but of course this doesn't guarantee you the work, just that if you do get it, there's a chance at profits.
Hit or miss bidding is out of the question because virtually every customer looks for, and usually takes, the absolute lowest price. There less room for error in setting a price that not only covers cost, but also provides an adequate profit. Easier said than done because the entire process must take into account numerous variables of cost in an industry where "time is money" is an understatement.
Of course the lazy way out is to totally ignore the cost of doing business, and focus instead on price. The reasoning is that if the price is right, you'll be awarded the job inspite of your costs. This is the same as saying that you have very little control over price and that price is decided in the market place. That may be true but the real reason you want to know cost is not so much that price is solely determined from costs but that cost is your "command center" of control. If you don't know cost you have no reference point of control. Without cost knowledge you actually give up control and don't know for certain on any completed project what the profit was, and in some cases may be uncertain if indeed costs were covered.
With job cost knowledge you can know if you have efficient costs (can't be done cheaper or faster) and that's about as good as it gets. Using your efficient costs as a starting point you can then develop prices. You might want to come up with three price levels for the very same job.* Base Price, Realistic Price, and Premium Price. For any one bidding event do the mental "gymnastics" of trying them on for size price wise to see which you'd like to go with. Sometimes a contractor may find himself "hungy" for work and at other times booked so far in advance that a lower price is not needed to generate work. Nevertheless, bidding and pricing is the single most important thing you'll do because it is the "future" of where your business is going. Today's bids are tomorrows' customers and the real "make up" of your company. Your company is the customers, you, employees, and assets necessary to deliver your services.
WHERE DO YOU START WITH JOB COST?
Most contractors incur three kinds of cost -
Direct costs
Indirect costs
Overhead costs.
Direct costs are those expenses that happen because labor was applied, equipment and vehicles were put into action, materials were used and work was done. Direct costs are usually easy to predict when you know how much time a project will take and what equipment and materials will be needed.
Indirect costs follow or "tag along" with direct labor, such as payroll taxes, employee benefits, insurance, fuel consumption, depreciation, repairs and other on-the-job costs. Although payroll taxes, benefits and insurance can be easily estimated, the indirect costs related to equipment are tougher to predict. Depreciation of equipment is a given, but fuel consumption can vary greatly and repairs are often unexpected.
Overhead costs include any expenses that support the operation of a business. Good examples are: rent for facilities, utilities, advertising, property taxes, storage, insurance on buildings, office expenses and other "behind the scenes" costs that in some cases take place simply because time went by. The overhead expenses, for the most part, take place even when no work was done. Rent and insurance are the most common examples. As with some indirect costs, certain overhead costs are easily estimated - rent, utilities, taxes and insurance - while others - advertising and office expenses - are more difficult to estimate.
The difference between direct costs, indirect costs and overhead expenses can be understood by visualizing what happens in your business on any given workday. Direct costs happen when work is done and labor is applied. The workers come in to work, and as soon as they turn the key in the ignition, direct costs and indirect costs follow them and stay with them all day. Overhead, or "back at the shop expenses," are just that. These costs are "left behind" items of expense that support the operation.
ANALYZING AND USING JOB COSTS.
Labor and indirect costs represent the bulk of expense for most contractors and dwarf true overhead costs by comparison. The questions to answer about these costs can be reduced to what I call "time costs."
How much does time cost my company?
How much time will the job take?
What are my hourly or time profit goals?
What are my hourly direct costs?
What are my hourly indirect costs?
What is my overhead rate per hour?
To answer these questions is to formulate a bidding system.
You can easily relate to a financial statement and assign time costs to each expense category by simply dividing each cost category by the total number of production hours your company applied over the course of your season. Doing that gives you a capsule of actual costs, and it can be used to compare to estimated costs that were used at the job bidding stage. The variations between estimated job costs and actual costs are then used to find cost variations. In other words, job costs were supposed to be, or bid at, a certain price, and the actual costs were different.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BID THE WORK BASED ON COST?
A good understanding of work required, along with good labor time hour standards. This is the crucial step to the entire job estimating process. If you don't know within perhaps 10% of labor time required, your job bids are destined to be inaccurate. Labor is a big factor, the biggest single expense you have, and costs are highly dependent on job time knowledge. You thought a job would take 1,000 hours and it took 1,200.
A knowledge for job specifications and job time standards, or experienced times for each phase of the work.
An hourly cost factor for the three areas of cost, including direct costs, indirect costs and overhead costs.
A realistic attitude about profit per hour that can be added to costs in arriving at a total price that the customer can afford, which will stand the test of competitiveness and will turn a profit. Keep in mind that if your company does not operate efficiently that this is not the customer's problem and the competition may not allow adding profits on top of inefficent costs just because you happen to need to earn a living. Production time and methods needs to be "as good as it gets" then add a realistic profit to it and this will also tell you your "walkaway price" as well.
MAKING JOB COSTS HAPPEN...
Once you have a handle on hourly job costs and can assign these costs to job functions that will take place at the job site, you need to make them happen by adhering to labor time budgets. This is where the labor hours and costs on paper are proven at the job site with good control over expected, or anticipated, costs and actual costs.
Can you get the job done within the estimated time? Profits go up and costs go down when the job is done faster; profits go down and costs go up when the job takes longer than expected. Having said that, job costs are truly estimated costs since many variables are at play in the process of actually doing the work. Since labor is the single biggest expense, controlling labor and informing the employees of job time goals are important parts of cost control and profit achievement.
ELEMENTS OF COST...
Direct costs such as payroll expenses, are an easily calculable figure ... payroll hourly rates multiplied by realistic labor times required to do the work.
Indirect costs follow direct costs and are closely related to hourly payroll rates. Payroll taxes, benefits, depreciation on vehicles and equipment - in fact the entire cost lineup that supports labor activity in the field - can be lumped together to develop an hourly rate based on the time, by the hour, of actually using the support equipment or "expense group." The only shortcoming you may have is that to assign an indirect cost per hour, you'll have to estimate the total production hours predicted in the current season.
Overhead costs have a less impact and represent a far lower total expense group than direct or indirect expenses. The best you can hope for in terms of developing an hourly overhead rate to apply to total labor hours projected for any given job is to lump the entire year’s overhead expense and estimate the total number of labor hours expected for the year. That overhead total is then divided by the hours to arrive at the overhead per hour rate. As the backlog of work increases, hourly overhead rates go down; and as the backlog drops, hourly overhead rates rise. This doesn't mean, however, that increases in overhead can be passed on to the customer for the company that doesn’t have enough work to carry overhead at a conservative rate. Unreasonably high lucrative overhead expense schedules make a company far less competitive from a cost point of view.
Last but not least is the addition of profit to the cost group to arrive at a price to assign to the work. Sometimes a final price can be higher; sometimes it needs to be lower in view of current market and economic conditions. But here too, you should arrive at an hourly profit add on that justifies a reasonable profit.
Of course the higher the profit expectation, the lower the chance of being awarded the work. Profit after and beyond cost is the true "mystery" number that's locked up and somewhat a "secret" in virtually every job bid submitted. Some contractors will use industry averages for profits. Others will charge what they think the "traffic will bear," while still others will test their price levels, including profits, by going with a higher and higher price for the same work until they find the price ceiling. Another view is to ask yourself what amount of money is being the boss worth? Is it $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 a year? If you were to replace yourself with a hired manager what would it cost? What's it worth "being you"? Part of your compensation is salary as a management cost to the business, and the other part profit that you earn for invested capital at risk in plant and equipment.
Base Price - is the lowest price you must charge to cover your business costs, salary and profit.
Realistic Price - is higher than Base Price. Top of the quality range in your field but still competitive.
Premium Price - is even higher where you price for the client who wants and can afford the best.
Copyright Nilsson Associates 2003
Business solution links:
Advertising (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Bidding Jobs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) - (http://www.asharpdesign.com/nilsson/discounts_and_deals.htm)
Business Growth (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Business Plan (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Business Planning Workbook) -
Commercial (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Company Policy (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm#Writing Your Company Policy Manual) -
Contract Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) -
Customers (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#Selling To Commercial Customers) -
Employees (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) -
Estimating (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) -
Job Cost (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Job Specs (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Writing The Maintenance Speci-fications) -
Labor Time Data (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Labor Time Data Handbook) -
Maintenance (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Grounds Maintenance Manual) -
Management (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) -
Mowing Profits (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#Maximizing Profits In Mowing) -
Pricing (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm#Pricing Your Services) - Sales (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Sales Letters (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm#How To Write Effective Sales Letters) -
Sales Skills (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) -
Snow Removal (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm#The Snow Removal Business) -
Subcontracting (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm#Subcontracting the Work) -
Training Video (http://nilssonbooks.com/video_tapes.htm) -
Website Services (http://nilssonbooks.com/other_services.htm#Web Design) -
Winter Income (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm)
If we can help you in any way don't hesitate to give us a call Toll Free at 1-866-280-2252
http://nilssonbooks.com/guarantee.gifNilsson Associates has the information you need to operate your business (http://nilssonbooks.com/)and make it a success. We offer one of the Largest Resources available in the Green Industry on the internet. Everything from how to sharpen a mower blade to how to manage a small or large, simple or complex business doing millions in sales! You can keep your buisness small or grow it each year. It's up to you how far you go. Some are just interetsed in mowing lawns as a service, then add on pruning, planting, trimming, shrubs, trees, plowing snow, and getting into bidding and estimating grounds maintenance, landscape installations, hardscapes, patios, retaining walls and waterscapes.
No mattter what services you want to offer, we have the technical and managment information you need that will save you time and money getting started. Take a look at our extensive line of books, audios, videos and employee training materials in English and Spanish. Start at the Nilsson Associates home page (http://nilssonbooks.com/)and scroll down the left side of the home page to locate the lawn care service or landscape business problem you want a solution to. The index includes all these categories dealing with just about all lawn care, the best lawn mowers, how to maximize profits in lawn mowing and landscape installation work including seeding lawns, hydroseeding lawns, sodding lawns, slit seeding and drilling, lawn care service job bidding & pricing, what lawn tractors and equipment to buy, seed to use for lawns, grass types, lawn chemicals, lawn fertilizers, lawn pesticides, lawn herbicides, managing landscape company operations, installing irrigation, snow plowing, planting shrubs and trees , pavement sweeping services and many others.
The instruction you will receive is affordable, and highly focused training that really works! And ... The FREE ongoing personal support from our Industry Experts (http://nilssonbooks.com/about_the_author.htm) is the Best Professional Management & Ownership Training Program in the Industry. With us assisting you every step of the way, your business will be up and running fast, making money, organized to win, separate itself from the competition, and on the "Path To A Rewarding Future."
Lawn Mowing - Lawn Care and Landscaping Books
When it comes to landscaping books ... nobody has more landscaping industry information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's lawn and landscape Job Pricing Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential landscaping customers. Using the landscaping price guides, get more customers. Price lawn and landscape jobs estimates & bids correctly as well as grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts.
We also have employee training books & videos in Spanish.
See how other landscapers price out and cost out lawn and landscaping work with best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & lawn and landscape job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, landscape mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic lawn fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds and lawns, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, lawn and landscape irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential properties.
Also price a wide variety of landscaping jobs such as seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
For more information about Pricing Click Here for FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
Discounts
on Package Deals
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations Management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
Labor Time Data Handbook - Contains over 500 field tested, time-studied labor hours data for lawn and landscape and grounds maintenance job estimating. You will learn to: bid landscaping jobs with confidence, save time preparing lawn and landscape bids, easily determine best crew size for any lawn and landscape, make money on every lawn or landscape job you get, get a full days work from employees, never under or overprice a lawn and landscape bid again, set realistic labor goals for employees to complete lawn and landscape work within cost budgeted times. Includes labor hours for just about every lawn and landscape job performed in commercial and residential landscaping and grounds maintenance. Book # A-7, Price $69.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Winter Income Producers - This book is jam packed with surefire ways for lawn and landscape contractors to make money off season. You'll turn down time into added income. You'll get 75 ways. There's something for every lawn and landscape contractor. Pick a method that satisfies your off season needs. No matter where you live, no matter what your specialty within the lawn and landscape industry, you'll find something of interest. I guarantee it. Book # B-7, Price $49.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Grounds Maintenance Manual - A complete guide to lawn and landscape maintenance. How to sell services, bid jobs, assign crews, control the work. You'll get lawn and landscape bid outlines, scheduling formats, cost calculations, checklists for year round services. You'll learn how to evaluate every lawn and landscape site for profit potential, pinpoint best crew size, control costs, and know what to expect on a daily basis. Book # C-1, Price $49.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Writing The Maintenance Specifications - No more trying to find the right words to explain lawn and landscape job bids. Contains hundreds of samples of contract language that fits any lawn and landscape situation. Produce professional landscape specs, avoid bidding unrealistic site requirements for lawn and landscape projects. What to include and exclude. Also covers summer and winter work elements, and work options to look for on any site to boost sales. Book # C-2, Price $34.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Maintenance Estimating Kit - This kit has everything you need when you visit a lawn and landscape site to get an estimate. Working from a model spec. it takes you step by step. Assesses the landscape maintenance model, finds the price, prepares the model bid, writes the proposal, along with cover letter and outline of the work. Book # C-21, Price $32.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Maximizing Profits In Mowing - Some people make plenty of money mowing, while others lose their shirts! Mowing is 50% of most contracts. Covers key factors for better profits, best crew size, selecting the right mowers, setting work quotas, scheduling problems. Mobilize your people to work as a team! Book # C-6, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Pricing Your Services - Never under price your work again! You'll know true cost as basis for your price. Includes bidding formulas, overhead, profit potential, pricing methods. How to avoid losing money on low priced jobs. Discover the highest price you can get, save time preparing bids. No guesswork or second thoughts when you use this system. Book # B-2, Price $39.50
To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_bidding_pricing.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Selling To Commercial Customers - Selling to commercial requires a different approach to finding key contacts, bidding the work, locating lawn and landscape accounts that offer high profits. Explains professional image, getting long term contracts vital to success, how to sustain customer loyalty, how to close the sale. Book # B-12, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The Art Of Selling - Good sales people aren't born that way. Learn the secrets of successful sales people and find out what you are doing wrong. Your lawn and landscape sales will increase when you've mastered the skills of selling, using tie downs, why customers buy, what will make you stand out from the others. Book # B-13, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Write Effective Sales Letters - You'll never be lost for the right words with this sample pack of sales letters designed for the landscape industry. Covers almost any sell situation. What to say to persuade, what not to say, and why. Mechanics of the letter, the do's and don'ts, appealing to logic and emotion, best mailing methods, primer on direct mail strategies. Book # B-8, Price $24.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Writing Your Company Policy Manual - You'll save time using this fill in the blanks format to create your own policy manual for your lawn and landscape firm. Copy it, customize it to fill your needs. Includes owner's message to employees, sequence of info, the do's and don'ts of making promises, a benefits checklist and how to word them. Book # G-2, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Keys To Motivating Employees - This book focuses on the unique challenges of motivating seasonal, temporary and key lawn and landscape people. Discusses why some people work hard, others don't. Why a paycheck alone is a poor motivator. Tactics to use to promote team players, get better production, and create interest in a job where none exists. Book # G-4, Price $19.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Entry Level Training - Landscapers - This book trains new hires & seasonal help and avoids you having to explain the basics over and over each season. It covers materials, commonly used tools, equipment, safety, vehicle use, hazardous substances, work practices, attire, customer relations, personal behavior, terms and definitions, and question/answer review. Book # ET-1, Price $42.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Crew Leader Training - Landscapers - Overcome the difficulty of unsupervised jobs. Train your lawn and landscape workers to accept responsibility and you'll probably increase business. This is a step-by-step approach designed for the employee with little or no supervisory experience. Covers task management, what owners need from crew leaders, how to win respect and get cooperation from peers, planning the work, getting it done! Overseeing the equipment, goal setting, Question/Answer review. Book # ET-2, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Training In Pruning And Planting - Covers everything workers need to know to properly install and prune shrubs and trees in lawns and landscapes. Shows how, when, why to prune. Explains the tools, how to prevent damage, planting methods, staking and guying, mulching, transporting stock, thinning, forming, shaping, and pinching. Best times to prune flowering species. Question/Answer review. Book # ET-4, Price $34.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Be A Great Boss! - Ever wonder how employees like you as a "boss"? Highly respected, well liked? How they perceive you is key to your success in today's labor market. This report examines easily misunderstood concepts of attitudes, work ethics, and self esteem that can make or break your lawn and landscape business. You can either "turn them on" or "turn them off" by what you do and say. Book # G-5, Price $12.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/employee.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Advertising And Marketing Your Services - This primer on advertising for the lawn and landscape business covers how to write ad copy, design brochures, using logos, pitch lines, image, mission statements, best methods, time proven techniques, timing releases, publicity, four basic rules to follow, checklist of markets, and ad samples. Book # B-1, Price $42.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Improve Customer Retention - Repeat business is key to growth. Use these methods and you'll spend less time trying to find new customers and keep those you have. Explores what lawn and landscape customers really want from you, renewal incentives, quality control, projecting the right image, price increases, and finally how to keep customers happy. Book # B-3, Price $22.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
All About Direct Mail Advertising - Direct mail is one of the most effective ways to get customers because it's one-on-one. It doesn't compete with the other ads. This book outlines the 7 cardinal rules to success and shows you how to use them. Direct mail works if you do it right! Specifically written for the lawn and landscape industry, this book gets you started in the right direction. Book # B-11, Price $34.50
To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/advertising_and_sales.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The Snow Removal Business - A complete guide to just about everything there is to know about winter maintenance. Bidding, costing, scheduling, how to maximize revenues, manage a storm, vehicle maintenance, bid proposal package, contract language, selling the services, documenting a storm, dealing with damage claims, pricing the work . . .everything! Book # C-8, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/operations.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
The 7 Keys To Business Success - This guide explains the reasons why some lawn and landscape businesses do well, while others just seem to scrape by. The focus is on common traits, attitudes, winning strategies that if ignored, lead to disappointing results. You'll reprogram yourself to use the seven principles, recognize the danger signals, identify obstacles to overcome. Book # H-3, Price $15.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
Business Plan Workbook - Specifically designed for lawn and landscape companies and divided into three sections that form a master business plan model. Contains fill in the blanks sections question and answer review to form a Sales Plan, Production Plan and Management Plan for your company. Book # E-1 $39.50To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
How To Grow Your Business - Growth means higher sales levels, more employees & equipment, more debt, higher accounts receivables, larger facilities. Know what to expect at each stage of growth for the lawn and landscape company with this behind the scenes look. Covers growth plans, profit outcomes, key systems for control, maintaining job quality, delegating to others, keeping track of production, how to finance the larger operation. Book #E-1, Price $39.50 To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/mangement.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE- The Winners Triangle - If you want to know what it takes to put together the "total company". . sales growth. . control. . good profits and winning at business, this tape helps you focus on the three qualities common to successful landscape companies that made it to the "top" of the industry. $19.50 1 Tape To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE-Employees. . . Find Them, Keep Them - Listen & learn the secrets to finding and keeping employees. These tapes reveal untapped sources of finding prospects, what to offer, how to prevent the competition from hiring away your people, benefits, incentives, what works, what doesn't, interviewing and selection. $39.50 2 Tape Series To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
AUDIO TAPE- Job Estimating the fast, easy way! Phil Nilsson's job estimating seminar on tape. Gives you special insight on bidding the fast, easy way. This is an easy listen and learn tape series from one of the country's leading job estimating seminar presenters. Covers landscape construction and grounds maintenance. You'll put this information to work starting with your very next job bid. Told by a person who's "been there", "done that". $29.50 2 Tape Series To order Click Here: (http://nilssonbooks.com/audio_tapes.htm) or order by phone Toll Free 1-866-280-2252
http://nilssonbooks.com/guarantee.gif
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines
Nilsson's Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm) are in use by lawn and landscape contractors nationwide. See what other landscapers are currently charging from price lists compiled and updated by Nilsson Associates. Avoid Pricing Too High - Avoid Pricing Too Low - Win More Bids. Compare Your Prices With Nilsson's Price Lists Before You Bid - Makes Pricing Lawn & Landscape Jobs Fast, Easy, Accurate, Competitive.
Nilsson's Job Pricing Guides takes the guesswork out of bidding, and helps build confidence in your bids before you present them to your customers. Makes Job Bidding easier, faster. (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm) Figure your price for a job, then compare your price (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm) with the list price before you bid, or use the price given in the price lists to bid on jobs shown below:
Includes Prices For:
Aerating lawns
Aerating Core
Arborist Rates
Back Pak Spraying lawns,
Bak Pak weeds shrub beds, curbs
Bed Edging - in lawns
Bed Construction
Cement Curbing Installation
Cement Borders Installed
Chemical Applications of lawn care chemicals
Deck Installations
Dethatching of lawns
Drain Gutter Cleaning to remove leaves
Drain Gutters Installed
Drain Gutter Screening
Edging Walks
Edging Beds
Fall Cleanups of lawns and beds
Firewood sales
Firewood Cords
Firewood Bundles
Firewood Delivery
Flower Installations Flats
Flower Pots
Grading & Filling of soil for lawns
Ground Covers - Plants
Ground Covers Mulch
Grounds Maintenance Rates
Hardscapes - patios, stairs, walks
Hourly Rates lawn care
Hourly Rates - Landscape
Hourly Rates Landscape design
Hourly Rates Plowing
Hydroseeding of lawns
Hydroseeding Preparation
Hydroseeding Materials
Install Sod
Install Shrubs
Install Trees
Irrigation lawn Installation
Irrigation Service - lawns & beds
Irrigation Winterize
Irrigation Repair Rates
Irrigation Controllers
Landscape Designs - designing computer image landscapes
Landscape Lighting Installations
Landscape Lighting Fixtures
Landscape Floodlights
Landscape Solar Lighting
Landscape Grading
Landscape Hourly Rates
Landscape Installations lawns, shrubs, plants & trees
Lawn Aeration Spike
Lawn Aeration Cores
Lawn Care Service Chemical Applications Fertilizers Weed Controls
Lawn Chemical Applications
Lawns Fertilized
Lawn Mowing Riders
Lawn Mowing Walkbehinds
Lawn Mowing Trim
Lawn Weed Treatments
Lawn Treatment Programs
Lawn Chemical Prices - Acre, Square Foot
Lawn Grub Control Apps
Lawn Insecticide
Lawn Renovations - Slit Seeding, Reseeding, Elimination of Growth
Liquid Applications of Fertilizers, Weed Killers
Loam Installed for lawn building and planting beds
Mowing with walkbehinds
Mowing with ztrs
Mowing with riding mowers
Mowing with trim mowers
Mowing Residential
Mowing Commercial
Mowing Condominium
Mowing Sports Fields
Mowing Cemeteries
Mulch Installs
Mulch pine bark mulch
Mulch pine needles
Mulch Spraying
Organic Lawn Care of lawns
Organic Lawn Programs
Parking Lot Line Marking
Parking Lot Sweeping of sand and debris
Paving Installations and hardscapes
Pavers Stone
Pavers Concrete
Pavement Sweeping
Pavement and litter control
Pavement line marking
Planting Trees & Shrubs in landscapes
Pressure washing of houses, vehicles, walks
Pruning of shrubs,
Pruning trees
Pruning ornamental trees
Putting Greens Installations - artificial turf for golf
Retaining Walls Installed of wood, stone
Retaining Walls Timbers
Roto Tilling turf, soil, lawns
Roto Tilling gardens
Salting Roads
Salting Walks
Sanding Roads
Sanding Walks
Sanding & Salting of parking lots and roads for ice control
Seeding lawns
Seeding wildflowers
Site Work of grading, hauling, rock removal prior to seeding
Slit Seeding of lawns
Slit Seeders
Snow Plowing Prices
Snow Plowing and ice control
Snow Removal
Snow Plowing Driveways
Snow Plowing Hourly Rates
Snow Plowing By The Inch
Snow Plowing By The Storm
Snow Plowing Fixed Seasonal Rates
Snow Shoveling
Snow Blowing Walks & Driveways
Sod Installations on lawns
Sod Rolls Installed
Sodding from Pallets
Spraying Lawns
Spraying Weeds
Spraying Shrubs
Spraying Trees
Spraying Curb Lines
Spring Cleanups of lawns, beds and paved areas
Stone Installations for shrub beds, landscape areas
String Trimming Lawns
String Trimming Edging
String Trimming Obstacles
String Trimming Trees
Stump Grinding after removal and tree takedowns
Tree Care Prices
Tree & Shrub Programs - fertilizing - weed & insect control
Tree Trimming of ornamental trees in landscapes
Trimming Shrubs
Trimming Trees
Trucking & Hauling of landscape materials
Vegetation Management for weed control, growth control
Weeding shrub beds
Weeds in lawns
Weeding Pavement
Weeding Parking Lot Curbs
For more info: FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
About Nilsson Associates
Business consultant, speaker, nationally recognized best selling author, Phil Nilsson's articles are published in Lawn & Landscape, PRO Magazine, The Arborist and Landscaper Publications. Nilsson's books are endorsed by national trade organizations and are in use by thousands of landscapers, parks, municipalities, universities and property managers. Nilsson owned and operated a successful Landscape Design-Build-Maintain firm for 15 years. Nilsson Associates are Consultants to the membership of the Professional Lawn Care Association of America.
When it comes to pricing nobody has more industry pricing information than Nilsson Associates. Nilsson's Job Price Guides covers lawn care job bidding & estimating landscaping job bids for commercial & residential customers. Get more customers. Price estimates & bids, grounds services, landscaping pricing estimates , estimating & bid the price seasonal work, year around commercial estimate contracts, best price per square foot, best grounds maintenance & landscaping job to bid & pricing, price of lawn care, lawn mowing price, aeration pricing, lawns, commercial landscape job bid estimates, maintenance estimating & pricing, mulching prices, pricing chemicals, weeding & aerating pricing, fertilizer prices, prices for organic fertilizer, pricing weeds in beds, pricing pruning & trimming trees & shrubs, pricing commercial & residential snow plowing, hardscape pricing, pricing hydroseeding, irrigation service estimates for commercial & residential, pricing seeding lawns, pricing lawn sod, prices for slit seeding lawns, pricing edging lawn beds, spring cleanup prices, pricing fall cleanups, hourly price of pressure washing walks & patios, pricing trees, stump grinding prices, price for gutter cleaning, lawn dethatching price, price for shoveling snow, pricing salting, price sanding.
Other
resources:
Sales Boosters (http://nilssonbooks.com/sales_booster_package.htm)
Job Estimating Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/job_estimating_package.htm)
FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)
New Business Startup Package (http://nilssonbooks.com/just_getting_started.htm)
Complete Operations management System (http://nilssonbooks.com/coms_package.htm)
For more info: FREE Job Pricing Guidelines (http://nilssonbooks.com/free_job_guidelines.htm)