My neighbor's kid is a high school student in WNY and is preparing to start his own landscaping business. He's trying to figure out how to quote his jobs and has asked for some advice. He's already got a good quote for mulch, about $800 for that job. Now, he's looking to quote for a stone job that involves 4 yards of stone and a yard of topsoil. We're wondering if a quote of $1200 for the stone job is reasonable or if it needs to be adjusted. Any insights on how he should approach this?
2 Answers
Adding stone does change things a bit! If he’s also including other elements like boxwood and paper, he might want to adjust his quote upwards to reflect that extra work and materials. It’s totally fine to charge a bit more for a stone job since it can be more labor-intensive. Just make sure he scouts around for the best prices on those materials first!
First, it’s great that he’s starting his own gig! For pricing the stone job, it really hinges on the costs of the materials. If he’s paying around $20 per ton for the pea gravel and factoring in the topsoil, he needs to ensure he’s covering his expenses and making a profit. Given that mulch is quoted at $800, about $1200 for the stone could be reasonable, but he should double-check his costs before solidifying that number. Also, keeping in mind any other plants like boxwood he mentioned could also tweak the quote a bit. Bottom line, he should calculate his total cost plus a markup for profit!
Yeah, and don’t forget about the truck and equipment he can use for free! That’s a pretty big saving on overhead. He should definitely capitalize on that.
Exactly! Knowing your costs is key. It’s good to have a buffer in his quotes too, in case something goes awry!