Need Help With Landscape Quotes

[jwscroll]

Need professional assistance with some bid proposals. New construction,plant materials installation and irrigation systems.

[SWAMP_DONKEY]

12.59 for everything!!! Oh sorry you want profesional assistance

[lawn_man mx]

what  do you have?

[Mudneck]

If your not doing irrigation sub it out & add 15-20% to the bid.Plant,trees &  material shouls be 2.5 -3 times purchase price.Other factors are difficulty to get to site,back yard or no drivable access etc add for that.Alot more to it but that should give you the basics...............

[jwscroll]

What Do I Have?
Don't understand, but hear goes. I help operate a commercial lawn maint. company whose main focus has been lawn maintenance, not install. Thus the questions. Trying to keep from laying people off due to decreased revenue.
Anyone in Apopka ever hear of a company named Florida Outdoor Impressions? Another lawn and landscape company.

[yamadooski]

I've been in the business for 14 years now.
Im not going to go and post all landscape info on a public forum.
There are already WAY to many lawn/landscapers in this state and its driving down the price!

You can PM all the info you want and I will help you out.

IM just tired of idiots thinking they can go out buy a plant or tree and mark it up 2.5-3 times and say thats easy money. There is a lot more to it.
Even the comment before about "2.5-3 times more" bugs me.
10 years ago I never even thought of charging that. I was always at 4 times the amount and then you have to add in cost of travel, insurance, labor, ect.
BUt the lowballers never think of that stuff!

[Mudneck]

All depends on where you are.4 x alot of markup even w/costs fuel,ins,labor,equipment etc........

Lets say a 15' booted Sable you purchase for $85 & can install w/2 men on a tree dolly. @ 4 times your at $340 for that tree? Thats alot dough especially if your doing 10-20 trees.Youve got say 3 man hour 2-men 6 total @ $12hr which probally is a bit high for help =$72 for labor maybe $30 fuel + $85 for tree =$187 thereabout this is just example,alot more factors may or may not be involved.

If you charged $340-$187 expenses net $153.00 Not bad what is that 82% gross profit.If you can do it more power to you.Maybe you can get a homeowner for that,but as compettetive as it is out there with a gazillion lawn & landscape co's popping up I doubt you will be in business long.

I had a Landscape co for 18 years sold just after 9-11,we grossed near 1-1.5 annualy not hugh co.but I lived comfortable.All those margins were based on maybe 20% profit for maintenance & 30-50% on Landscape-irrigation install.

Yes there are alot more factors.But if you want to be compettetive & stay in business you will learn where & when you can get the 4x the product.Dont be greedy,by all means make $$ what you can but dont over do it you wont survive.Consider what your market will bare,your compettitors charge,your expenses etc...As a small co with small overhead you may be able to net more than a larger company because your expense ratios.

Just my .02 Good luck

[yamadooski]

I knew you would get on here and say something.
What I was saying earlier is that there are SO many LCO's that driving the price down here.

My tree prices are based on the same price as and most tree nursery's are.

I to have been in business for 14 years and I will be out of it  in 2 years as the 34 houses I purchased 11 years ago will now have 185k in equity in each.

I only do the lawn business cause I enjoy it and thats how I found all my rentals in the first place.
I get the prices I charge cause I dont really have to work. But Im not going to ruin the maket for my friends that are in it.
I could charge wholesale price for alls I care for that same tree.
When one person starts lowballing then the whole market will get ruined as I have seen it get in the last 6 years.
Being competitive is one thing but to the point where the price is dropping so bad you cant make any money.
There is also the quality factor. There is no way a lowballer is going to make any money doing the yards and landscaping I do.
Im a one man show. I fix other lowballers work cause they didnt charge enough.
Im actually going out today to fix another company work. And if I told you what I grossed per hour by myslelf you would fall dead.
It's cause I know what Im doing.
I tell customers you should have went with me in the first place or you wouldnt be spending this much you would have actually saved money.

I can go on and on about this.

[SoFlaEiger]

My dad has been in this business for 26 years now and I've been a 'partner' for 8.  I may not have the experience that some of you have, but I definetly have the education and I agree completely:  there is way to much competition.

Alot of it has to do with cheap labor.  We only hire legitimate, legal citizens and thus we have to pay them as so.  Many people around here pick up some border jumpers that will work for $3 or $4 an hour!!!

And whoever thinks it takes TWO guys 3 hours to plant a 15' sable is crazy!!  You need to fire those two guys!  We put in ( 20+ ft queens today in less than an hour.  Granted we had 3 guys and a bobcat.  But yesterday, we planted 5 cardboard palms, 4 roebellini's (all triples around 5-6ft clear trunk) and a Florida Fancy Canary Island with 6ft of CT in 4 hours.

[Mudneck]

It was an example set to help with developing an idea of estimation.Your not looking @ the whole picture.If you guys understood estimation it starts when you pick up the material,if it needs to be dug @ tree farm,loaded,transported,delivered and installed.

I dont disagree with anybody on there techniques just trying to help the man out? Are you? Its the industry as a whole,unregulated.The state is finally cracking down on unlicensed round up & pest control sprayers and making companies pay lagre $ fine when employees get caught.Other than that any one with a truck or car with roof rack is a lawn man!

'Many people around here pick up some border jumpers that will work for $3 or $4 an hour!!!'

I really believe that!

Undocumented indiviuals still commend $8 on up and the damn shame about it is they OUTWORK circles around any ethnic American born.

Again point is to help the man not get into pissing contest over who does what.It is geographically specific as to what you can charge.If your not competitive most likely you wont be invited to bid again....

Good LUCK. Maybe someone else can give you there constructive .02

[jwscroll]

Thanks to all for the help. I knew it doesn't take 3 hrs. to plant a tree, but I did use that as a model.