There have been many requests lately for providing costs for various aspects of work. When starting up or when you are not sure how to work out rates for a new style of work, it is easy to fall into the trap of asking someone what they charge.
That is a quick way to price wrong and ultimately go under...
The only way you can price is to work out your rates and then ask for help in how to interpret/use these figures. No one can provide you your figures. Its not that we don't want to...we simply can't know your costs in your region (nor should we...).
The 'How to do it", either comes from:
- reading threads below to help understand the concepts of pricing and apply to your own situation
- leverage books like Spons guide to Small Landscaping Works (one of the most used books on my shelf -~£30 from Amazon : Spons Small Works (Amazon)
- experience (and thus very relevant for you)
Here are some very, very relevant thread from the annals of LJN to read:
working-out-charging-rates
overhead-recovery
Simon's Pricing Debate
How-much-does-it-cost-you-to-work-per-hour
hourly-cost-of-running-your-business
what-hourly-rate-for-knapsack-spraying
cost-plus-basis-vs-fixed-quote
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Replies
As usual, well said Gary.
In fact there is masses of information that is on the LJN, there for the taking.
My top tip is to check out Gary's profile & read all his posts, that should keep you going for a bit. LOL
Don't know how to take that Geoffrey ! :-0))) PMSL.......
Well you got Gold in 2012, didn't you Gary?
pssst...we don't talk about that now ;-)
Still your many posts, & other notables (and er mine) are a
silver mine of information for those wanting more knowledge.
That goes for a lot of Members - One of LJN's strengths is its member's willingness to share and give to all.
The collective knowledge on here is simply amazing and as Kerry said to me earlier..oh I how I wish it was around when I started up.
It should be mandatory for every new member to sit down, search and read old relevant posts lol !!!
IF ANYONE KNOWS OF OTHER GOOD THREADS, PLEASE DO ADD TO HERE
I have always thought pricing to be very dangerous ground on here prices and costs will vary greatly with area. I have often wondered why the question has needed to be asked in the first place. To my mind, to even consider taking a task on, you MUST have an some idea of the time it will take and the materials required. Is it a case of trying to run before you can walk or just a lack of confidence?
You are spot-on, Colin and Gary. We see everyone from the one-man jobbing gardener through to huge commercial companies here, working all over the country and in a wide variety of areas that have massively different overheads. You just can't say there's a "price" for the different sorts of work we all do.
The key is to understand how your costs, easy to see on your annual accounts, affect your real earnings, and how you can add value to your business to keep ahead of the local competitors. It's good that we have so many experienced people here, most of whom would be happy to talk through people's businesses if they want specific advice.
The links above do not seem to work mate as when you click them it comes up invalid link.
Since I wrote this thread, the articles have been moved from the KBO to The Hub.
When I get five minutes I will try to update the links, but in the meantime the threads should still be searchable (?).
In fact, time spent searching/reviewing old threads on LJN will show up loads more useful information
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