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If it takes you a full day, then you don't really need to see the photos. If you can earn £x per day doing other jobs, then that should be what you charge for doing the graveyard. The extra cost of mower blades is balanced out by the fact that there is no transport cost between jobs.
Yes. I used to be £180 a day, buy was going to increase to £200.
Would you say that was about going rate ?
( Essex area). I really have little idea what others charge.
When I strim all the graves and sides it takes approx 1 3/4 days.
Thanks
I am as far from Essex as I could be, so no idea of going rates there. However, if income is £180/day, at 5 days/week, 30 weeks per year typical grass cutting only gives you £27k BEFORE expenses such as vehicle, fuel, repairs, replacements, insurance, admin etc etc.
I'm now retired, but my typical daily income during those 30 grass cutting weeks was £275--£300
Ok thanks.
Essex is similar to London prices, or at least closer to them than say up North.
I probably should charge more for the graveyards as they are very hard on the machines.
I'm up north as far as you can go before you hit Scotland £180 per day is a terrible rate. I do £200 per day at 1 regular customers the rest is much more it's fine for £200 if you aren't running machines all day and you are at the same job all day but definitely no good if your mowing grass. I aim for minimum £350 per day for mowing.
My running costs are £7.67 per hour so on an 8hr day before I make any profit I have to make £62.08 just to cover costs now take that off your £180 your left with £117.92, you'd be better off stacking shelves in Tesco all of our hourly costs will be similar
We used to do 4, they are bloody hardwork and machine breakers. The churches/councils PCC's do not have a realistic view of the costs and are very happy to let Harry who is retired and happy to mow the pretty bits foc which distorts the real costs. A full days mowing on churchyards regardless of kit used we would be £500 plus vat take it or leave it plenty of easier mowing out there. At £200 day you are losing money!
My comments - I can't see any cut grass on the top - surely you aren't boxing it all off?
All my churchyards are discharge cut, bar one section on one around the porch and the memorial bench.
Wheter the price works for you depends on your business outgoings and set-up. If you are South, £200 a day is rather much on the cheap side.
The Churches I do are rural, so possibly a bit smaller but are all on fixed price cutting with the churchwarden obliged to provide a set of dates pre-season prior to which they require a cut.
Other than that the scheduling is my department, between three weeks and a month between cuts.
No less than my minimum charge of £40 even for the very, very smallest one I can literally walk round with the strimmer in 35 minutes.
At £180 per day you are hugely under charging. Using hand mowers on this job is very inefficient and really very hard work.
I have a Toro 4875 zero turn [48 inch] and a Stiga Park 700 WX [4 wheel drive]. They are both mulching mowers, so no collection and no ‘cut and drop’. This is by far the best way to do these jobs.
I currently have one churchyard [15 years –cut every three weeks] and one cemetery [9 years – cut fortnightly] that I mow. [Thankfully most of my work is far simpler and easier than negotiating grave runs etc.]
The churchyard takes me two hours on the Toro and less than two hours for my strimmer man. The price is £260 and I consider that to be very cheap. I am helping out my local village church at this price. I pay my strimmer man £80, so I am making £180 for two hours.
The Council Cemetery is £450 per cut. Two hours on the machine and again, about two hours for my strimmer man. He gets £110.
Even a small hand mowing job would not be less than £40 [I have just one of these]. Think of the difference in scale.
Mowing should be at least £60 per hour with £100 per hour easily doable with the right equipment.
Any churchyard or cemetery should be at least £250 per cut, but ideally more than this and far more if they only want it cutting once a month.
Pretty simple.for grass cutting I try and average £60hr so if you know how many hours it takes just times it by 60, if your happy with less you can knock a bit off.
Easiest way is work out your total costs for the year divide it by the hours you do which works out your hourly running cost. You will be amazed at how much it actually costs you per hour