How to Price a Multi-Round Lawn Care Program
Most small lawn shops start with a price someone else charges and nudge it up or down. That works until fuel goes up, a bag of fertilizer jumps $6, or you notice the small lawns keep you busy but the bank account doesn't move.
Here's a straightforward way to build program prices from your own numbers. It takes an hour with a calculator. After that, updating it each winter takes ten minutes.
Example numbers only. Every dollar figure below is made up to show the math. Use your own costs, your product labels and your local market.
Step 1: Write down your rounds
List each round in the program and what goes down in it. For example, a five-round program might be:
- Early spring: pre-emergent + fertilizer
- Late spring: fertilizer + broadleaf weed control
- Summer: fertilizer
- Late summer: fertilizer + broadleaf weed control
- Fall: fall fertilizer
Price each round on its own first. Rounds use different products, so they cost different amounts.
Step 2: Work out material cost per 1,000 sq ft
For each product: bag (or jug) cost ÷ how many thousand sq ft it covers at your label rate.
Example: a $40 bag that covers 12,500 sq ft at your rate costs $40 ÷ 12.5 = $3.20 per 1,000 sq ft.
Add up every product in the round. If round 2 uses that fertilizer ($3.20) plus a weed control mix that costs $1.10 per 1,000 sq ft, round 2 materials are $4.30 per 1,000 sq ft.
Step 3: Work out your cost per stop
Some costs grow with lawn size (materials). Others are about the same whether the lawn is 4,000 or 14,000 sq ft. Price those per stop:
- Labor. Use the loaded hourly cost (wage plus payroll taxes and workers' comp), not just the wage. Example: $32 an hour × 30 minutes (20 on the property, 10 driving) = $16.00.
- Truck. Fuel, maintenance, truck insurance, spread across stops. Example: $6.00.
- Overhead. Office, software, licenses, insurance, marketing. Take the yearly total and divide by the stops you expect to run. Example: $24,000 ÷ 3,000 stops = $8.00.
Example cost per stop: $16 + $6 + $8 = $30.00.
Step 4: Add your margin the right way
Pick a target gross margin, say 40%. Then divide by (1 − margin). Don't multiply by 1.4.
- Wrong: $30 × 1.4 = $42. That's only a 29% margin.
- Right: $30 ÷ 0.60 = $50. That's a true 40% margin.
Do the same to the materials: $4.30 ÷ 0.60 = $7.17 per 1,000 sq ft.
Step 5: Build the round price
Round price = base per stop + (rate per 1,000 × lawn size in thousands)
For an 8,000 sq ft lawn in round 2: $50 + ($7.17 × 8) = $107.33. Round it to $107.
Why not just charge per 1,000 sq ft?
If you took that $107 and turned it into a flat $13.42 per 1,000 sq ft for everyone:
| Lawn size | Flat per-1,000 price | Your cost | Base + per-1,000 price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 sq ft | $53.67 | $47.20 (only 12% margin) | $78.67 |
| 8,000 sq ft | $107.33 | $64.40 | $107.33 |
| 20,000 sq ft | $268.33 | $116.00 | $193.33 |
Flat per-1,000 pricing underprices small lawns and overprices big ones, where you're more likely to lose the bid. If you prefer a single per-1,000 rate, at least set a minimum charge per visit that covers your cost per stop plus margin.
Step 6: Add up the program
Repeat step 5 for each round, then total it. Example, 8,000 sq ft lawn:
| Round | Materials per 1,000 | Round price |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pre-emergent + fertilizer | $5.00 | $116.67 |
| 2. Fertilizer + weed control | $4.30 | $107.33 |
| 3. Fertilizer | $3.20 | $92.67 |
| 4. Fertilizer + weed control | $4.30 | $107.33 |
| 5. Fall fertilizer | $3.60 | $98.00 |
| Program total | $522.00 |
Most customers find a program total (or a monthly amount) easier to say yes to than five separate prices. Keep the per-round prices handy for customers who join mid-season or skip a round.
Step 7: Sanity-check it
- Route density. If a new customer is 25 minutes from your nearest stop, your labor and truck cost for that stop is higher. Charge more or say no.
- Add-ons. Price grub control, lime, and aeration and seed separately with the same method. Don't bury them in the program.
- Prepay discount. If you offer one, it comes out of your margin. A 5% discount on a 40% margin program leaves roughly 37%.
- Your market. If your number is far above what the area pays, look at your cost per stop first. Drive time is usually the culprit.
- Once a year. Update bag prices, wages and overhead every winter before renewals go out.
Worksheet: price one round
| Line | Your number |
|---|---|
| A. Materials per 1,000 sq ft (all products in the round) | $ |
| B. Loaded labor per stop (hourly cost × hours on site and driving) | $ |
| C. Truck cost per stop | $ |
| D. Overhead per stop (yearly overhead ÷ yearly stops) | $ |
| E. Cost per stop (B + C + D) | $ |
| F. Target margin (for example 0.40) | |
| G. Base per stop = E ÷ (1 − F) | $ |
| H. Rate per 1,000 = A ÷ (1 − F) | $ |
| I. Lawn size in thousands of sq ft | |
| Round price = G + (H × I) | $ |
Want your price sheet to live where you write estimates? MiteyRoute builds the estimate right on the property: programs, rounds, add-ons and an optional prepay discount, priced from your rate per 1,000 sq ft. Your customer sees the total, not your math. We're taking a few pilot shops now. The pilot is free, and we set up your programs and rates with you. Email hello@getmiteyroute.com or see pricing.