HOW TO PRICE LAWN MOWING JOBS

How to price lawn mowing jobs, how much to charge for lawn mowing... here's how you do it.
www.turfprosac... is a mirror image of the business model Jonathan used to build Florida Turf Pros. If you're looking to start your own lawn care business, or if you feel like your lawn care business should be more profitable than what it is, this is the course for you.
My 3 Favorite Lawn Care Tools:
For Pruning: Dewalt Hand Saw amzn.to/3hCWYPJ
Best Multi Tool: Leatherman Skeletool amzn.to/34n8YlV
Best Boots: Merrell Foresbtound amzn.to/3sXaCoo
My Story:
In 2016 I had been in law enforcement for almost 7 years.
I was not in control of my schedule, I was hardly making any money, and I was away from my family working nights and holidays. I was capable of more,, and I was silently suffering. I knew I was selling myself and my family short.
I started Florida Turf Pros as a side hustle in 2016 before going full time in 2017.
My lawn business changed my life. I control my own schedule, my own income, and I am proud of what I have built.
On this channel you will learn the steps I have taken (and am still taking) to have a lawn care business that serves ME and my family’s needs.
We are a small owner operated company (2 full time mowing trucks/crews, and now a sod installation division).
If you are interested in starting a lawn care business this channel will provide the direction.
This really is a great industry to be in…
And I hope that by documenting my journey it will help you too.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

FAST TRACK YOUR LAWN BUSINESS 🔥 COPY JONATHAN'S BUSINESS MODEL HERE 👉 www.turfprosacademy.com is a mirror image of the business model Jonathan used to build Florida Turf Pros. If you're looking to start your own lawn care business, or if you feel like your lawn care business should be more profitable than what it is, this is the course for you.

[@GwinnettLawns]

I have found tracking my time over the last several years, the trimming/edging will absolutely kill your hourly rate. I love those homes that have NO sidewalks or driveways to edge.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

💯

[@Press1for]

Yup yup or strip grass between the road and sidewalk that wraps around 2/3 of the property with a pool in a fenced in back yard with a boat/shed/trampoline/pavers scattered. Nahhhhhh....Gimmie them trailers with Bahia and shell rock drive way county does the ditch mowing $$$$

[@AidenFretwell]

So how if you are charging 40 dollars how do yall make 95$ + if what you charged that person 40$, I’m just starting a lawn care business and want to be affordable but also not loose money

[@itshookn8155]

I think it’s 45$ for the lawn say 10 minutes to cut it think that’s 270hr so you will need 5 more lawns like that to get the 270$ hr

[@103eaglecrest]

I live in Syracuse, NY. There’s only about 26-28 weeks per year to mow. I don’t know how these guys make a living, especially since it seems like every guy with a pickup truck has a lawn mowing business.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

We’re in the same boat… we can’t cut Dec-Feb here in nw Florida. I make sure to save well during the year and then tackle miscellaneous projects during the winter.

[@paulknoblauch9101]

These videos make me want to get back in the business.

[@caseydavis6935]

How did you determine your target per man hour rate ?

[@rickdeboer1313]

I've do just what you do. Each lawn is evaluated on what I'm making per hour. I have one lawn at $40 and it takes me 12 minutes which comes to $200 per hour. On the flipside I have a lawn I get $130 per cut and takes me 100 minutes to mow that comes out to $78 per hr. It drives me nuts! The money is in the smaller lawns for sure! You make great sense! Don't be afraid to increase prices.

[@Amer1can1nfidel]

Thankfully next year I'll be In a position to raise rates

[@macneoh7418]

But what about the loading and unloading and travel time?

[@joshemm8676]

Love this video will be implementing it next season. Only question I have is how do you come up with your per man hour rate you want to hit? Is it based on a calculation of all your expenses or a different way?

[@livefreemowhard8108]

You and Mike are the truth! If they ain't listening to yall, they deserve to lose.

[@LawOfDistraction]

Does bro not edge or weedeat? 🤣 how tf is he so fast !

[@chriswhite9363]

This is my biggest problem I'm still too low I been soooooooo mad but I love doing it thanks for info💯👍

[@samheninger505]

Pure gold? A twelve-year-old with a push mower mowes a lawn,the first thing he does is look at the clock and figure out how much money per hr he just made. Then in an attempt to justify his dirty job he brags about how much per hr he makes.

[@caseydavis6935]

Did you complete and time all of these yards working solo ? Dont you normally run a 2 man crew per truck ? Do you also time these and apply these metrics using 2 man crews ? What is the formula for 2 man crew ? Divide by 120 instead of 60 as your constant ?

[@urpapi4life]

Should I add a mulcher on my mower? Right now time is taking longer because blowing clippings on a 12 minute mowing.

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

I wonder the transportation/downtime tho. Are they equal for those first two examples? Edit: tks for sharing all this. To put into a service agreement something like "if you add a fence or trees or alter your lawn there will be a price adjustment"

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You're on the right track... but including this in the estimate is unnecessary. Just raise the price if they present additional obstacles and explain why only if they ask.

[@ApartmentMaintenanceCouple]

In this video, are you working solo??? $135 seems very high per man hour. I can see getting $90 to $100 per man hour on extremely small yards that take no time to do, but an average yard with a driveway and sidewalk is gonna take more time, but I just cant see charging a customer that much in order to make $135 PER MAN per hour.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

solo

[@rubencapello7480]

Man im cheap then. Solo i do a kb home takes me an hr after full service i get 60. And here in tx thats alot.

[@ApartmentMaintenanceCouple]

@@rubencapello7480 I wouldn't put too much stock into what these youtubers, or social media "influencers" say, you gotta do what you gotta do to put food on the table. Telling people they basically suck if their not as good as them is ridiculous. I do around $80 per man hour, about $160 for 2 person crew and I'm happy with that, not everybody has a fully established business in Florida where everything is overpriced. It would make more sense to encourage people to get out and do the best they can do in their area instead of making it look like everyone should have enough customers to pick and choose who they want to cut. Maybe some day for some people, but that's not the reality for most.

[@willjam71]

Evert customer I have is always home and thinks it's a social visit. If you have 20 lawns a day and each client talks your head off for 5 to 7 min .... that's a lot of aggravating down time.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Man, that's the worst. There was a time when people would come out and I would automatically just say, I'm really sorry, but I have to keep moving today or I'm not going to finish. my day. After a few of those encounters, must of them got the hint.

[@EuroYardService]

You either start charging for socializing or you do as Jonathan said

[@akatgif]

@1:20 you sped through your mouth too fast we couldn't understand your math

[@AshleyLongo-w6h]

any one out there whats he mean b the 60 and constant? lik eover head cost gas material

[@RidersInBlack]

Just doing my research on getting into the business. Pretty excited! Brother you're down-to-earth and I appreciate your advice. SUBBED!

[@KeepItMowed]

RAISE THE PRICE! 😂

[@nomowworrieslawncare]

how come you don't calculate lawns done per hour? That's what really matters. Open to understanding the logic behind this. Example: I make $40 on avg per lawn, I can avg 3 lawns an hour. That's $120 n ACTUAL hour. The only way I find this way to be good is to know when to raise your price, but if you're able to do that lawn in 30 minutes and your avg is 3 an hour than you would charge $60.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Each lawn has to be profitable on its own, or you may have one lawn where you are getting a great per man hr rate on and its hiding another lawn you are getting a horrible per man hour rate on.. Once each lawn is profitable to the max on its own, then you can start driving out non-billable time and start worrying about how many lawns per hr etc...

[@nomowworrieslawncare]

@@FloridaTurfPros yeah I thought about that today. Makes sense.

[@darnelldrayton8341]

Bro you and Mike Andes have opened my 👀🤑💰 thank you so much. KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK

[@Chance_Cooper]

Jon, I think you swallowed a few to many Red Bulls during these videos lol

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I was dialed up on Celsius 😂

[@LifeCoachRich]

"Raise the price!" that's the answer!

[@americandumpsterfire5201]

Please someone answer my question because I just started my own company and my question is. With the math I understand until it comes to the price he charges, for example the $49 dollars then ÷ by .23 which = $213 bucks in man hrs. Where did the 49 dollars come from? And what's the man hrs have to do with all of it?

[@mr.cslawncare1347]

Man that was freaking awesome! In your face straight up! Needed to here all the content! Now to put several things into practice! Thanks again!

[@zionlawnandlandscape]

Are you on a crew, or are you with another guy?

[@paulnicholson8524]

You have to double Peaters

[@paulnicholson8524]

Break that math down

[@mtnmotoadv]

Would love to see a video along these lines but with shurb/hedge trimming. I am often at a loss when it comes to pricing shrubs. I never know whether to price by the size of the shrub, to just have a flat rate or what. Are you hitting similar $200/hr mark with shrubs and cleanups?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I'll do a video on this topic.

[@christopherblowers443]

Is this including clean up? Edging? Or is this flat rate cut and leave.

[@paullacinski9995]

This is awesome stuff. I just started doing this on my properties. Thank you for dropping the golden nuggets!!!!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You are so welcome! Thanks for hanging out.

[@brandonrickbornponyexpress6574]

Had to like it for that tall grass video comment 😂

[@RicardoHernandez-Torres]

Love this man! I live in Florida too. May have to take your course in the near future. Thanks for your content!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Would love to see you in there!

[@paulnicholson8524]

Wow

[@cutnuplawncarellc]

Hey Johnathan, do you discuss how you started your 2nd mowing crew in Turf Pros Academy? Or would you possibly post a video on KZbin about it?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

yes i will

[@cutnuplawncarellc]

@@FloridaTurfPros Appreciate it!

[@PCPropertyMaintenance]

I'm not sure I understand the math, what is the 60 representing?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

60 always stays the same. It represents minutes. So if a lawn took you 23 minutes you would divide 23/60…. .383. You then divide your price for the lawn by .383 to get your per man hour rate.

[@matthewaaron664]

Question so the 60 is per HR rate? 20/60=0.333÷$35= $105. So if you completely 3 lawns 20mins x 3 lawns=60 at $35 each = $315hr?

[@garyk3789]

Thanks for your video and for your disclosure on some good metrics in pricing my lawns. I have 28 properties (it's just me, no employees), and this video made me realize how undervalued some of my work is. I'm going to have to rethink some of my marketing strategies for next season. The name of my business is "In Season, Out of Season Yard Care" here in Colorado Springs, Colorado. God bless you.

[@museum52]

What if it takes 2 hours to mow? What do you divide it by then? Still 60? 120 ➗ 60?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

That’s correct. Or an hr and 15 minutes would be 75/60.

[@museum52]

​@@FloridaTurfProsthanks for getting back to me...

[@jaybones7492]

I love your confidence and enthusiasm!! Thank you for sharing all that you do!!😊

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You're welcome, all the best!

[@petercar2446]

Are these times you track when you do it solo? And I'm assuming this includes trimming and clean up. I cut each of my lawns in about 12 minutes but trimming and blowing adds time.

[@toddbenfield6546]

I usually avg $150 hr for me, and 1 other guy, including driving time for the day overall👍

[@cynthiamarquez3409]

I think your customers should not be loyal to you because you are just after the highest bidder. BAD business practices!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

huh?

[@lawlessnessexposed]

Huh is correct! When you’re out here sweating your butt off, knowing your making profit is a big motivation!

[@sentinal_6459]

this guy is awesome. ill be kicking off my lawncare and landscaping business this year but im just trying to figure out how your getting that top hourly pay out of the customer if your only charging them 49 dollars a cut?

[@michaelrivenbark1010]

I started off doing this for fun. Been watching you since last summer. I didn't taise the price on one I should have because he is a friend. I need to raise his price by $30 because of how difficult he made the yard. How would you go about giving that big a price increase. Thats just to break even with hourly wage

[@Skeldinglawncare]

Can’t wait to do this next week with my lawns. Great tips 👍

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Right on!

[@brandonelliott5345]

Yeah I’m definitely too nice on pricing! It really dosnt even make sense to get a big tall over fertilized over watered yard.

[@kingswellkeptlawncareliny6110]

Damn I love your videos. I’m currently visiting tampa Florida and transferring my business from NY to Tampa FL. What do I need to have to operate in FL ? Thank you for your content. Hopefully I will see you one of these days that would be awesome

[@petercar2446]

So what's a good average per hour that you're looking for at minimum?

[@shaunleereis2592]

Hey brother what do you think about doing 2dollars per minute

[@mattanderson7757]

How do you determine when it’s the growing season in May and June with all the rain in Montana. And the dry season by late August September where things burn up? Any thoughts?

[@thatnewstuff]

I’m one of those people… thx dude! Crazy returns lol

[@rbljackson]

This is one I need to take to heart!! Im going solo now, and have to cut back on the number of yards anyways...time to start verifng man hour rates for me to complete them and trim the fat!

[@Likethetacosauce]

Great information! You can then take the numbers/price per yard and add the total yards for the day and get your total price per day. Then you can figure it up to week/month/year and project your businesses revenue for the year! Awesome

[@ehexzs10]

When do u time them bc in spring it takes longer double cuts/ extra edging. Summer no double cuts and edge walks every other week

[@caseydavis6935]

Do you have some average metrics that you can share that you use to price a yard initially in order to quote it, sell it and get it on the schedule ? Sq ft per hour mowing + linear ft per hour trimming and edging?

[@eric3434]

Jesus, i need to get out of computer engineering and into cutting lawns. You are making more than me.

[@angelellis7690]

Great video. I love this! “That is dum” hahah God bless u bro. There’s definitely money in lawn mowing.

[@HDwasteSolutions]

RAISE THE PRICE!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

💯

[@chriswhite9363]

I have no problem canceling a client do all the time cause soooo low win some lose some😂😂👍

[@andreabond3501]

In Australia we have a guy called Jim He has franchise lawn mowing

[@dereke7972]

Great information, a bit hard to hear at times as the music is quite loud

[@andreabond3501]

Done course still Struggling

[@ericstinnett9182]

Great video, ok I understand the math to a certain point. I need your help to help me understand even more. My question is how do you calculate that in paperwork? If I cut a yard and takes 15 minutes, the person writes a check for $60 I believe it’s $240 a hour. That’s great but when it comes to deposit, it’s $60 not $240. Now are you saying if I cut 4 yards in 15 minutes at $60 ea. I can make $240 an hour? Thanks

[@FloridaTurfPros]

That’s correct. Once you have jobs extremely profitable then you start grouping locations together

[@bradleyb7210]

This was one of the best lawn videos I have ever seen! Great information bro! Thanks! Brad from Palm Harbor, Florida 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johncunningham3039]

Hey Johnathan. I enjoy your videos greatly. I am curious if I am not doing something wrong. I was told that you should do your first step in taking the minutes spent on the property and divide by 60. But your second step is confusing me. I was told to take the answer from the first step and multiply it by my hourly rate to determine what I should charge for that property. Am I doing it wrong? We don't have people here that would pay $136/wk for lawncare services. Please help me as my business is drowning. Like you, I do my lawn care on the side as I am a full-time teacher. I often share what I learn here to help my students who want to earn money over the summer understand how to charge and other things with their business. Thank you for your help.

[@garlandalmarode6396]

136.00 would be for an hour.

[@Timberbeartrail]

You’re talking about those numbers in the beginning the 28/60 and 40 said I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about

[@RockyTopSplash]

It's your price you charged.. divided by how long it took you... tells you how much per (hypothetical) hr you're making

[@larrywilliams6353]

Defense size yard price is gonna be different

[@jyctv5827]

My man let the truth be told

[@bryantaylor7752]

Hi Jonathan I have a lot of yards I cut every 2 weeks question should I concentrate on weekly cuts instead of bi weekly cuts. Please advise and you have help me out a lot in my business keep doing what your doing I really appreciate you!!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You don't have to focus on weekly, just make sure the biweekly lawns are being serviced in an efficient time frame.

[@Mark-zi2og]

Jon’s dropping nuggets! Golden nuggets. Man I was thinking about your tip #1 from yesterday the whole time I was mowing today.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I’m checking more lawns today myself 💪🏼

[@alal5878]

I appreciate your help brother. This is really helpful for my lawn care company, the math makes total sense so I appreciate you. God bless you bro

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Glad you enjoyed.

[@erickf899]

Thanks Jonathan, we all love big profits!

[@nsm4581]

If you do those houses on a weekly basis don you have to divide by 4. Or is this a one time cut?????

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Price per cut

[@randyriley6881]

I have a question about time of season. Are you timing the difference between growing and non growing season.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

This is a really good question, and one I should have addressed in the video. Ideally, you want to be checking the yards during the heaviest growth of the season, whatever that is for your market. But if that time has already passed, you still need to do this, because it lets you know what lawns are more profitable than others. You can then focus your efforts on targeting the better lawns with marketing materials.

[@LLC_Turf_Pros]

I love how you have broken this stuff down. It’s helped me so much! I don’t have the volume I need to get but my profits per yard are great just taking your advice. My issue here in Round Rock/Hutto Texas area is drought the passed 2 seasons. We have had no rain since May. But I do have a mix of ugly and nice lawns. A lot of lawns that are actually being watered haven’t cancelled but a lot of the ones in Hutto have cancelled. So I have had to rethink a few things. Not only do I need a lot more lawn clients, I am going to start adding pet waste removal. No matter the weather that service has to be done and it’s supported in my market.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Way to think outside the box. That's the great thing about lawn maintenance... you have to be at someone's home so frequently that it present you with many other opportunities. Good luck to you.

[@GramsLawnService]

Do you run all solo crews? Two or three man crews?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

2 man crew most the time, 3 if we're really behind

[@JOSEMORALES-us5vr]

You're the goat!!

[@seansmith2298]

I rarely comment on YT videos, but I just had to tell you this is so helpful! I've started timing each customer/yard and already have a plan going into next season. Thank you!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Right on... glad it is helping you!

[@backcreekquads1963]

THANK YOU! Needed the motivation.. Time to get busy...

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You got this!

[@bobafettfan32]

My new minimum for 2024 is $50 regardless how small the lawn is. Weekly service only for ALL new clients. As the mowing season ended and leaf cleanup started this past fall I told all established clients that anyone below $50 will come up to this price. I told all every 2 week clients there would be a major price increase to stay on that schedule. No one fought it and agreed to my terms. This will be me 3rd year full time, first 2 years full time was learning about prices, because b4 it was my side hustle and I mowed cheaper than I should have. $40 is the new $20 lawn guy. You mow for less than $50 weekly/$65 every 2 weeks you are screwing yourself.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Agree. It depends on lot size/market of course, but if your market will support higher prices you should definitely move in that direction.

[@bobafettfan32]

I appreciate your content. I watch you, Blades of Grass, Brian's Lawn Maintenance, BB Lawn Care and Top Notch. You all give good advice.

[@connorreid9156]

This is gold! I really want to implement this on our snow route this winter.

[@krunostublic3818]

Timing customers yard is good, but customers here (Croatia) wants to know what will be the price before starting lawn care... So how to do that? I'm yet to open my company so I dont have experience in taking prices

[@FloridaTurfPros]

You just need to know how long you expect a lawn to take, then you can back into your price based on what you want your hrly rate to be. I have a video coming on this next Monday, so stay tuned for it. You will find it helpful.

[@krunostublic3818]

Ok thanks

[@andreabond3501]

Have you used Scag mowers before ?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Yes, I have. Not overly impressed, but it's just a mower. I'm not partial to any brand. Just whichever one breaks the least.

[@zacklamoureux8792]

I've been charging 35-40$ and people were going with someone else. I can't cut gross for 20$. i feel like i'm too high but i see others even higher with clients. lol it's not easy to start :P

[@zacklamoureux8792]

Also how in the world it takes you 20 minute.. haaha

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Good equipment and been doing it a long time!

[@fivepointslawn2275]

This is exactly why I scroll to watch lawn videos . Thanks , telling me something I already new in a different way .

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Glad to help

[@kylecrumpton1048]

So if you have a 2 person crew I’m assuming you divide that end number by 2 to get the per man hour rate per each employee?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Yes, that is correct. You will see the more employees you add, the quicker the job becomes, but your per man hr rate will not be as good as one person. 3 employees, though there is a lot of value in running a 3 man crew for different reasons, is even less profitable on a per man hr basis than a 2 man crew, even though a 3 man crew can complete lawns lightning fast. 2 man or 3 man each have there own pros and cons depending on the scenario and task at hand.

[@kylecrumpton1048]

Do you provide coaching calls? If so can go somewhere to see prices or actions to take?

[@AskJose]

Damn right. Yesterday’s price is not todays price. It is not your job to be affordable!

[@JsCrazyCutzLLC]

Solid 💪💯

[@briangay9402]

Great Content. I started doing this about 2 years ago and my profit margin went through the roof. Thanks for sharing

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Nice work!

[@briangay9402]

@FloridaTurfPros thanks. How did you all make out in the storm down there?

[@premierlandcape]

These last few videos have been awesome love this

[@FloridaTurfPros]

thank you

[@mikehardaway11]

Love the content brother. I would love to talk to you about the structure on how you pay your self. Looking to go all in FT next season. Keep it up brother.

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I'm an S Corp and pay myself a weekly salary from the business. What's left in the business is either reinvested or taken by me at the end of the year as a shareholder distribution.

[@mikehardaway11]

@@FloridaTurfPros thank you for replying. I’m currently LLC and doing the profits first method. 40% OPEX , 25% tax, 25% Draw, 10% profits. But I been thinking about the salary option as well since it wouldn’t fluctuate.

[@brandonedwards1408]

​@FloridaTurfPros, that's that irs cutting a check to you for losses

[@alphacharlie65ms]

So, you are saying, there is more money in small lawns that you can use a rider mower on?

[@FloridaTurfPros]

No, you must have missed it.

[@Lawnboy85]

"This is what we're capable of doing (pointing at $213/man hour) and we're doing this (pointing at $95/man hour)?" I love it! I've had my mowing business for 20+ years and your last few videos have really motivated me to restructure my pricing/clients so I am more profitable and more in control of my schedule. Thank you so much!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

Wishing you only the best. You can do it!

[@vonhanson]

I like yardbook, it can do this each visit if you really want.

[@turningoveranewleaflawncar952]

I use Yardbook for this and love it! I'm a solo guy and just punch in and out on each yard and check it out in the evenings to see how profitable each yard was.

[@TRUEALARMER]

hey man. thanks for the inspiration. you have a no bs channel

[@FloridaTurfPros]

I appreciate that!

[@clutchshot3306]

I dont comment much but this totally changed my perspecive on tracking profitablity. This definitely works with our garage door service business! Thank you so much for sharing this! This is gold!

[@FloridaTurfPros]

glad it helped!