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Price per job only.
Price for one-off's and annual contract for regular maintenance. Our 'hourly rate' is my business and the customer only needs to know the bottom line.
No, I can't see the difference either + I'm sure most gardeners doing routine maintenance don't do a complete day in a garden anyway.
There is no difference really, which is why we give a price per job for one offs. The customer knows what they are getting and how much they will pay. I've seen plenty of gardeners on an hourly rate, making jobs last far, far longer than they should. Time and again, a new contract customer seems amazed at how much work 2 men can get through in an hour, when their previous gardener would take five!
But then what are you charging for the two guys for that hour and what is the lone gardener charging?
It could well turn out to be the same. If that were the case the customer should not care as the job got done in the end for the same amount of money.
It could also mean that you use tools the other gardener does not use. We all now that some tools get jobs done quicker.
Most of mine is contract as well, or fixed rate for a one-off. So many maintenance customers ask for simple monthly payments on standing order now as it suits them as well as me.
I'm confused by the difference between a day rate and hourly rate as well? Seems the same thing to me unless you are discounting for 1/2 day or a day on one site?
I do charge different amounts for different jobs, hance hourly rates being imposible to work around in most cases. 2 hours cutting an overgrown hedge means expensive gear and a lot of waste, 2 hours hand weeding might involve a £20 garden fork and the customer's wheelie bin. 1 hour lawn cutting could be an easy site with a compost heap, or a steep slope with loads of trees dotted in the lawn, and masses of wet grass to remove.
After having read up on what the others are doing in previous similar posts, I have gone hybrid and use both in my pricing. The first two hours are fixed price, every hour thereafter is slightly less than half the fixed price. Depending on the garden size I tell the customer what to expect cost wise. Or they may insist on just the two hours.
I am not that good yet at pricing one offs. Afraid I might get a really poor garden and end up having to work for free because I underestimated. So I stick to my hourly rate. But some customers don't like it, usually those with really poor gardens.
There are a ton of threads on the forum on hourly rates.
As for a day rate, I would never say to a client it will cost you X amount to have me here for the day.
Price per job, never discuss with the client how long it will take, that is a can of worms.
Sometimes you get it wrong and do a job too cheaply, but it makes you remember for next time around!
I'm very like Paul, certain jobs have certain rates... Although all the client should know is it will cost X amount to do Z job.
The problem with using set hourly rates is that you get into the mindset that you are selling a commodity. You set yourself up against everyone else working to hourly rates and compete on the one thing you can never win on - your price. There will always be someone cheaper than you. Gardening, landscaping, grounds maintenance, whatever it is, is not a commodity. It is a service. If you can provide a better service to the customer then you are entitled to charge a higher price.
There are also numerous other market factors to consider when giving a quote. It is not as simple as x rate for x work whatever the job. Where I am for example, at this time of year, people are struggling to find good contractors to carry out work at short notice. Now if someone wants work done, at short notice, with a guarantee of quality, then they are going to have to pay good money for it. You are not forcing them to buy, they are perfectly entitled to say no. But if you have under charged by using a fixed hourly rate when the customer would have paid a lot more then you are making errors in your business. Leaving money on the table.
If you are unsure about charging fixed prices then read a couple of basic books on pricing. It really will change your perspective.
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