Measurement Assistant: The Only Lawn Care Estimator You’ll Ever Need
How much time are you spending on lawn care estimates for potential customers? For most professional landscaping companies, it takes a large chunk of time. First, you take a 10-minute phone call, then you drive 20 minutes to their property to spend 30 minutes measuring and figuring, and by the time you get back to your office, you’ve worked an hour and a half for free.
Don’t get us wrong, investing in a thorough estimate is critical to making a profit, but is there a faster way to get the same information? Let’s look at what lawn mowing business owners are doing to speed up the process.
What is Measurement Assistant?
Measurement Assistant is an industry-leading lawn care estimate tool designed to streamline the estimation process for landscaping professionals. It allows for the creation of accurate landscape estimates from any location, in any weather condition, quickly and efficiently. Utilizing advanced mapping technology and high-resolution aerial photography, this software enables precise measurements and estimates, significantly reducing the time and effort traditionally required for on-site evaluations. Request a free demo today to see Measurement Assistant in action!
What are the Benefits of Using Measurement Assistant?
Using Measurement Assistant brings several key advantages to landscaping businesses, including streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery. This tool significantly reduces the time and resources required for creating accurate landscaping estimates, enabling businesses to respond faster to client inquiries and manage more projects efficiently.
- Increased Accuracy: Ensures precise measurements for landscaping projects.
- Time and Cost Savings: Reduces the need for on-site visits, saving both time and travel expenses.
- Improved Customer Satisfaction: Enables quicker turnaround times for estimates, improving client service.
- Enhanced Efficiency: Simplifies the estimation process, allowing for more focus on core business activities.
- Competitive Advantage: Provides a technological edge over competitors still relying on traditional estimation methods.
What It Takes To Estimate a Lawn Care or Lawn Mowing Job
Providing professional quotes to customers is an essential part of the business. Without bidding on new jobs regularly, you won’t get very far. As a general rule, this means you have to dedicate some time to try to bring in new work. For most companies, that means planning, traveling, visiting properties, observing, and measuring.
Travel, Measure, Repeat
Travel and measuring can be particularly time-consuming. Measuring usually involves walking around a property on foot with a measuring wheel and noting the measurements on paper. Who has time for that when you still have lawns to mow? Whether you have the time or not to dedicate to a proper estimate, cutting corners can cost you money when you miss something because you underestimated.
To get an accurate price for your customer, you’ve also got to consider things that might slow you down. Obstacles like pools, trampolines, and fences can add labor to your quote. Seeing the lawn in person can also help you identify if your customer would benefit from additional lawn care services, including fertilizer, aeration, or overseeding. Getting rid of estimating completely is not an option in this industry, so how can lawn care business owners streamline the process?
Related Blog: “How to Charge for Lawn Care Services″
Cost Calculating: Factors That Affect Lawn Care Estimates
When it comes to estimating lawn care services, several factors come into play that can influence the total cost. Understanding these factors is crucial for both lawn care professionals and homeowners seeking reliable estimates. Here are some key factors that affect lawn care estimates:
Lawn Size
The size of the lawn is a significant determinant of the overall cost. Larger lawns require more time, labor, and resources to maintain, resulting in higher estimates compared to smaller lawns. In most cases, the average cost per square foot for typical lawn care services (lawn mowing and trimming) is between $0.01 and $0.06, and the average total cost of lawn care services is between $30 and $70 per hour.
Lawn Terrain and Complexity
The terrain and complexity of the landscape can impact the difficulty of the job, leading to varying prices. Lawns with slopes, uneven terrain, or intricate landscaping features may require additional effort and specialized equipment, affecting the estimate.
Grass Type and Condition
The type of grass and its current condition play a role in determining the level of care needed. Different grass species have varying maintenance requirements, and lawns that are in poor condition or need extra attention may incur higher costs.
Frequency of Lawn Mowing and Services
The frequency at which lawn care services are needed affects the lawn care estimate. Regular maintenance schedules, such as weekly or bi-weekly visits, may offer cost savings compared to one-time or sporadic service requests.
Location
The location of the property can impact pricing due to regional variations in labor costs, equipment availability, and market competitiveness.
Lawn Care Services Required
The specific services requested have different price ranges. The more services required, the higher the estimate may be. Typical lawn care services include:
- Lawn mowing
- Lawn fertilization
- Weed control
- Lawn aeration
- Lawn winterization
- Irrigation system maintenance.
- Yard Cleanup
Cutting Time Spent on Your Lawn Care Estimate
You may have tried using some free satellite imaging websites to save time by cutting out travel and on-foot measuring time. While this can work in a pinch or for rough budgets, it comes with some risk.
Free Services Can Be Risky
Scale issues, site changes, and surprises are some of the things that can come back to bite you when using free satellite imagery sites that do not guarantee accuracy. Free online calculators may be helpful if you already know the square foot quantities, but they do nothing for you if you don’t have an accurate measurement or fail to factor in additional costs for labor-intensive items. The total cost of relying on free services might be more than you expect.
Measurement Assistant Streamlines Lawn Care Price Calculating
As a professional lawn care provider, you need the right tools for the job. Investing in a lawn care estimator that streamlines your cost-calculating processes is essential for scaling your business. Measurement Assistant by RealGreen eliminates drive time and drastically reduces your measuring time, which means fewer costs to run your business. Rather than spending a few hours on estimates, you can be done in a few clicks. With our lawn care estimator, you can get more lawn mowing jobs done while also sending out more quotes.
Difficult Jobs Done in Minutes
Have you ever had a nightmare job that seemed impossible to measure? Measurement Assistant solves that problem, too. With just a few clicks, you can accurately measure even awkwardly shaped yards. Don’t waste any more time or money trying to do the math in your head or on paper. Let our lawn mowing cost calculator work for you.
Some lawn care companies may choose a hybrid approach, using our lawn care estimator to figure out quick costs to provide an immediate budget price to the customer. Then they schedule a stop by the property on the way to a regular lawn mowing job just to confirm there are no significant obstacles that would add extra costs and raise the price.
Related: “Lawn Care Software: Ditch the Lawn Care Pricing Spreadsheet”
Quick Estimates Means Satisfied Customers
In today’s fast-paced world, you can’t keep potential customers waiting. There is nothing worse than a prospective client calling for a lawn care quote, and by the time you get around to completing the estimate, they have already signed up with your competitor. The early bird gets the worm. Impress your clients and get your professional estimates out faster with the Measurement Assistant lawn care estimator so that customers can hire you for lawn care services on the same day.
Limit Your Obstacles, Create a Smoother Cycle
When you begin using Measurement Assistant, you’ll find that a lot of doors open up. No longer does the homeowner have to be home to let you through locked gates and fences. For business contracts, you can skip time-consuming security clearances. Weather is no longer an obstacle; you can measure a yard from your office, even during rain or snowstorms.
Open your market to new lawn-mowing customers without ever stepping foot on their property. Calculate your lawn mowing cost for each property by using our lawn care estimator and deliver the estimate on your way to your next lawn care job.
When you save money, you can charge customers a lower price. The costs involved with traditional budgeting of service prices can be reduced when you factor in how much time and money is saved by using Measurement Assistant. This creates a repetitive cycle, as quick estimates and lower prices equal happier customers who bring in more business.
Grow Your Lawn Care Services with RealGreen’s Software Solutions
Since you’re spending less money and effort driving out to prospective properties that may never materialize into service contracts, you’ll find that you have more time to dedicate to your customers and your growing business. Rather than dreading the phone calls asking for quotes, you can be excited to provide professional, quick-response lawn care service quotes. You can focus on dedicating more time to delivering lawn care services and growing your landscaping company with RealGreen’s lawn care software.
Sign up for a free demo today to find out more about how we can help you grow your business with our effective software and marketing solutions.
FAQS
How do I estimate a lawn mowing job?
For most lawn mowing jobs, first, calculate the square foot area of the yard. Determine which type of mower you’ll need to use. You can use both of these factors to calculate how many hours to charge for mowing services. On top of mowing labor, add all of your other costs, including gas, travel time, and loading time. Don’t forget to factor in additional labor for obstacles to mowing around and edging requirements. Last, add overhead and profit to your costs to get the total quote amount you’ll provide to your customer.
How much should I budget for lawn care?
Many homeowners don’t realize how much is involved in lawn care service and are just looking for a quick budget rather than committing to a regular service contract. If you need to come up with an immediate budget, factor in your hourly rates plus a percentage cost apportioned for maintenance on your equipment—known as overhead—plus profit. For example, let’s consider your time is worth $20 per hour, and it takes you one hour to mow a lawn, 30 minutes for travel each way, plus one gallon of gas. Your cost is around $45. If you add 25% in overhead and profit, your budget to your customer goes up to about $56.25 for one hour of professional mowing service.
How much does it cost to maintain a healthy lawn?
The cost and what you charge the customer are different. If you only charged your customers your cost, you would quickly go out of business. How much it costs to maintain a lawn is highly variable, depending on the size of the lawn and the services required. If basic services of mowing and fertilizer are needed, you will calculate the cost by adding your material and labor costs for each service. Most professional lawn companies buy fertilizer in bulk to save on costs and increase profit margins.
