# Residential pricing structure



## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

Newbie here, looking for experienced members insight. After spending the year researching how to price snow removal effectively and talking to customers and other operators in the area, this is the system I have come up with for pricing. If anyone here can offer tips and advice on things I may face or have simply missed it would be much appreciated.
Background info to remember-
Solo Operator
1 ton with 9'6 V Plow
Tailgate Spreader
Rural New England country setting
10 mile service area
No apartment complexes
95% gravel
Most people would rather call when they are in need of a plow rather than have regular service indicating that establishing a regular route will be difficult (not impossible)
All this being said this is what I've come up with. 
Pricing per push by the square footage with rates based on snow depth (1-6in 6-12in 12in+), and an included service charge. (Price = sqft x rate + service charge)
Here's an example using random numbers
House A-
5000ft² driveway with 4in of snow
$40 plow (5000ft² x .003 + $25)

House B-
8000ft² driveway with 8in of snow
$65 plow (8000ft² x .005 + $25)

House C-
3000ft² driveway with 12in of snow
$46 plow (3000ft² x .007 + $25)

Obviously the actual numbers and prices are subject to what the local market can bear. It's the structuring I'm interested in and weather or not this is good for this kind of area. I plan to encourage people to get regular service at the lower rate so I can establish a more structured route but at the same time I want to have a system in place for when Joe Shmo calls up cuz his snow blower broke 2 weeks ago and he can't find his shovel. Please let me know what y'all think.


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

Add 50% if they choose when you plow

But I have a ??
OK it snowed 3 inches and they drove through it and packed it down snowed another 2 inches they drove through it impact it down now it’s snow 6 inches and it’s to rutted up and slippery and pack down,
Now they call you to clear the drive.
how are you going to plow/ clear this to gravel?

set a 2 inch trigger for everyone and if they don’t agree Move move on.


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## m_ice (Aug 12, 2012)

Hydromaster said:


> Add 50% if they choose when you plow
> 
> But I have a ??
> OK it snowed 3 inches and they drove through it and packed it down snowed another 2 inches they drove through it impact it down now it's snow 6 inches...


That's 5" in 'Merica


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## fireball (Jan 9, 2000)

Okay, at least you are thinking about something. What you should be thinking about is what it costs YOU to provide a service to a twenty mile radius of your home basis. What does it cost you to drive 75,000.00 worth of equipment to their driveway


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

It is quite easy to explain to people that your prices are based on a route.
For the route to be worth it you need to mobilize on a trigger or better yet the lowest trigger of your pickiest customer.
Otherwise you will become an on call service and find yourself going out on a sunny day 2 days after a snowfall for someone who stacked several snowfalls and wants you to clear their driveway now for $25.
Covet your days off and create a route...


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## SHAWZER (Feb 29, 2012)

m_ice said:


> That's 5" in 'Merica


12 1/2 cm in Metricanadadian ....


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## jonniesmooth (Dec 5, 2008)

On call service would start at $100 minimum.
Not hard to explain why to the customer. 
Every time you go out,it's to do 1 driveway.
Because they want to call the shots and not be on your route.


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

$100 seems cheap considering I have to rewash the truck after 1 driveway.


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## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

I forgot to mention for the people who calculate everything on how long a job takes that with efficient equipment, strict service area


Hydromaster said:


> Add 50% if they choose when you plow
> 
> But I have a ??
> OK it snowed 3 inches and they drove through it and packed it down snowed another 2 inches they drove through it impact it down now it's snow 6 inches and it's to rutted up and slippery and pack down,
> ...





Hydromaster said:


> Add 50% if they choose when you plow
> 
> But I have a ??
> OK it snowed 3 inches and they drove through it and packed it down snowed another 2 inches they drove through it impact it down now it's snow 6 inches and it's to rutted up and slippery and pack down,
> ...


Good food for thought. Still new to this but from the information I've gathered most people around here don't even want their driveway touched UNTIL it's been packed down and frozen. They are all gravel or dirt with potholes and want that freeze layer to level it out some. Come to think of it plowing in these parts goes against every industry standard I've read about. We are saturated with uninsured plow by the minute types and I refuse to go that road. I'm trying to find the balance that gets the company name out there with clients and then rein in the restrictions next year to shape how it should be done.


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## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

Mr.Markus said:


> It is quite easy to explain to people that your prices are based on a route.
> For the route to be worth it you need to mobilize on a trigger or better yet the lowest trigger of your pickiest customer.
> Otherwise you will become an on call service and find yourself going out on a sunny day 2 days after a snowfall for someone who stacked several snowfalls and wants you to clear their driveway now for $25.
> Covet your days off and create a route...


This is my fear and quickly becoming fruition. However it's a small town and it's who you know. I did all the advertising and handshaking since this past summer and landed hardly any good customers. People just aren't used to things being done professionally. I'm thinking most of my customers will be landed mid season allowing me to set better standards for next year yet still not have the truck sit all winter. I'm not afraid to grow This side of the business slow over taking all jobs. I've already turned away a lot of accounts because I won't work to loose money. Again I'm just looking for an acceptable compromise to drum up a little business.


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

Small towns arent hard to market. Logo the truck with a phone,email or text, put your plow on and park at the local diner or grocery store....lol.


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## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

Mr.Markus said:


> Small towns arent hard to market. Logo the truck with a phone,email or text, put your plow on and park at the local diner or grocery store....lol.


You just nailed my marketing strategy! Except it was a gas station and she's been there ready to go since October 1st lol. I guess the problem is everyone wants an on call plow once the snow has landed and I just want to be structured reasonably with my pricing. I guess there is no substitute for trial and error and learning on the go.


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## fireball (Jan 9, 2000)

In the school of bad luck, trail and error can be expensive. And most guys learn that they haven't even covered the depreciation on their truck after 5 years of reasonable pricing. You have to set the price based upon your costs, not the customer paying what he wants


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

Hydromaster said:


> Add 50% if they choose when you plow
> 
> But I have a ??
> OK it snowed 3 inches and they drove through it and packed it down snowed another 2 inches they drove through it impact it down now it's snow 6 inches and it's to rutted up and slippery and pack down,
> ...


most his drives are gravel 2" trigger is a little low.... no?

(I wont plow gravel so I dont know)


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

Yes, I read that part about the gravel.
The issue is the time and hassle scraping
Rutted and hard packed snow. With a snow plow.
it’s time consuming and it’s hard on the equipment.
Now, if he had a grader or a belly-plow…

gravel or not I set my trigger depth at 2”.
But then I sell a seasonal contract
Not a per push ,Waite until They might call you someone day agreement


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## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

theplowmeister said:


> most his drives are gravel 2" trigger is a little low.... no?
> 
> (I wont plow gravel so I dont know)





theplowmeister said:


> I couldn't find another contractor in the area with a 2in trigger. Several went at 4in. After asking about 75-100 locals not a single one said they would want a plow at 2in. Several local businesses said they preferred 3in. I took this all into account and decided 3in was the best for the area. I only service residential so this seemed to be the way to go.


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

cjames808 said:


> 24 hour storm? Just make them sign your contract and be very clear on pricing. That is what they get charged on. I wouldn't be worried just price it right.
> 
> I do end up with many many requests and terms like this. However we just do them all with good timing and do a solid job and never had a problem. The only thing we watch is if a 1" or 2" trigger and its go go go. I will max out their triggers, if it's 4-6" storm your probably getting cleared 2-3 times with 1-2 salts.





1olddogtwo said:


> As as mentioned, snow falls in inches, not cm, sometimes it falls in feet, or is it foot.....
> 
> Either, nobody plows at 2.75 inches. (7cm) but 2 inch is a ok trigger (5cm).





jonniesmooth said:


> I do a 2" trigger on my residential seasonals.
> I have residentials that are <2" also, but are per service.
> Commercial accounts are all <2" trigger.
> <2" we might broom, or we may plow & salt.
> ...





EWSplow said:


> I have a couple 2" triggers on residential. They have been clients for about 12 years. About 9 years ago I changed my policy and won't sign up a new client for anything more than a 1" trigger.
> I've had to dump a few along the way, because they signed up for 1", then wanted to dictate when we show up.
> It is just too confusing when scheduling routes to have those 2" triggers on some. Most of the time we've over serviced them and they throw an idle banter fit about it.





Kvston said:


> Charge per instance. Set a 2" trigger or less and gauge your average speed in km per hour. Then divide it up based on your per hour rate. I advise more $ for dirt or gravel. Be sure to include an extra fee for pushing the banks back, sanding or salting.
> 
> Mira nice if you have a long straight shot to plow instead of forward and revers a bunch of times.





EWSplow said:


> Can you talk them into a lower trigger? 2, or 3"?
> Youd knock them out quicker.
> Also, maybe add for more than say 6".





EWSplow said:


> Almost all of mine are 1" trigger. I have a couple 2" and a couple 3". I haven't signed up a new client with a trigger more than 1" in nearly a decade.





BUFF said:


> Here it's $35 per with 2" trigger for a 500sqft driveway, 20' of 36" walk, no salt and takes 5-7min.


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## EWSplow (Dec 4, 2012)

Numb3rs1424 said:


> I forgot to mention for the people who calculate everything on how long a job takes that with efficient equipment, strict service area
> 
> Good food for thought. Still new to this but from the information I've gathered most people around here don't even want their driveway touched UNTIL it's been packed down and frozen. They are all gravel or dirt with potholes and want that freeze layer to level it out some. Come to think of it plowing in these parts goes against every industry standard I've read about. We are saturated with uninsured plow by the minute types and I refuse to go that road. I'm trying to find the balance that gets the company name out there with clients and then rein in the restrictions next year to shape how it should be done.


You should be marketing the fact that you are a legitimate business paying high insurance costs to provide a safe path for your clients. Point out the consequences of using an uninsured contractor.
Maybe add that by servicing their properties on a scheduled service means that you are checking their properties regularly.


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## scottr (Oct 10, 2013)

OP.. My service area is much the same, every driveway I plow is gravel, there might be 3-4 paved drives in the 300 houses that make up my subdivision. I don’t plow until everyone has driven on the first few 2” snows and gotten a base packed down. Your area is likely full of rural folks that have a do it yourself attitude and drive good 4WD and AWD rig, but don’t want to moves their own snow ? This is how my area is. Nobody calls me for 2” unless there have been several snows back to back. If I went to all my customers and told them I’m changing to a 2” trigger, they would say “ I’m sorry to hear that, it’s been a good 25 years, I’ll call someone else”. There’s less than 2% of residential customers that run off a small trigger where I live. All that to say, every location is different, folks living in town houses and cookie cutter housing complexes are likely the type who will go along with a 2” minimum. Not where I live. ( I’m not trying to offend anyone giving their advise here, I realize there are places where this works). Travel time will eat your lunch, If the area can support it, try and lessen that 10 mile area. Or, get out there, win there loyalty and break even for the first season, then pair it down so your not traveling all over. One more comment, Went we get a 4” or larger snowfall, almost all my customers call for plowing and my route is set, I call or text the other, letting them know I’m out and they always give me the green light to plow them. I don’t have to wash my truck like others, we don’t use salt or gravel on residential drives So those costs aren’t a factor for me. I average 200 per hour. Not huge money but good extra income for me. ( I don’t travel more than 2 miles from my shop) Just my 2 cents.


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## Numb3rs1424 (Nov 26, 2021)

scottr said:


> OP.. My service area is much the same, every driveway I plow is gravel, there might be 3-4 paved drives in the 300 houses that make up my subdivision. I don't plow until everyone has driven on the first few 2" snows and gotten a base packed down. Your area is likely full of rural folks that have a do it yourself attitude and drive good 4WD and AWD rig, but don't want to moves their own snow ? This is how my area is. Nobody calls me for 2" unless there have been several snows back to back. If I went to all my customers and told them I'm changing to a 2" trigger, they would say " I'm sorry to hear that, it's been a good 25 years, I'll call someone else". There's less than 2% of residential customers that run off a small trigger where I live. All that to say, every location is different, folks living in town houses and cookie cutter housing complexes are likely the type who will go along with a 2" minimum. Not where I live. ( I'm not trying to offend anyone giving their advise here, I realize there are places where this works). Travel time will eat your lunch, If the area can support it, try and lessen that 10 mile area. Or, get out there, win there loyalty and break even for the first season, then pair it down so your not traveling all over. One more comment, Went we get a 4" or larger snowfall, almost all my customers call for plowing and my route is set, I call or text the other, letting them know I'm out and they always give me the green light to plow them. I don't have to wash my truck like others, we don't use salt or gravel on residential drives So those costs aren't a factor for me. I average 200 per hour. Not huge money but good extra income for me. ( I don't travel more than 2 miles from my shop) Just my 2 cents.


Thank you for this! I was starting to think I live in a different world. It really goes to show just how different things can be depending on your location. I still have a full time job but I started this business to eventually leave that and become fully independent. Plowing is just a portion of property maintenance and I'm hoping it leads to plenty of summer work. Yesterday was the first plow of the season and I just had a several customers call me asking if I could come again before they leave for work tomorrow. It didn't even accumulate today just a dusting, and these were customers who were very serious about not plowing less that 3". Looks like at even above normal pricing people really appreciate dependable professional service. Oh and they are only a mile away so I don't mind going the extra mile... No pun intended


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## scottr (Oct 10, 2013)

Good deal.


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## Rob80x (6 mo ago)

scottr said:


> OP.. My service area is much the same, every driveway I plow is gravel, there might be 3-4 paved drives in the 300 houses that make up my subdivision. I don’t plow until everyone has driven on the first few 2” snows and gotten a base packed down. Your area is likely full of rural folks that have a do it yourself attitude and drive good 4WD and AWD rig, but don’t want to moves their own snow ? This is how my area is. Nobody calls me for 2” unless there have been several snows back to back. If I went to all my customers and told them I’m changing to a 2” trigger, they would say “ I’m sorry to hear that, it’s been a good 25 years, I’ll call someone else”. There’s less than 2% of residential customers that run off a small trigger where I live. All that to say, every location is different, folks living in town houses and cookie cutter housing complexes are likely the type who will go along with a 2” minimum. Not where I live. ( I’m not trying to offend anyone giving their advise here, I realize there are places where this works). Travel time will eat your lunch, If the area can support it, try and lessen that 10 mile area. Or, get out there, win there loyalty and break even for the first season, then pair it down so your not traveling all over. One more comment, Went we get a 4” or larger snowfall, almost all my customers call for plowing and my route is set, I call or text the other, letting them know I’m out and they always give me the green light to plow them. I don’t have to wash my truck like others, we don’t use salt or gravel on residential drives So those costs aren’t a factor for me. I average 200 per hour. Not huge money but good extra income for me. ( I don’t travel more than 2 miles from my shop) Just my 2 cents.


I know it's an older post but same thing here in Northern Michigan. I even run a pipe with a slit in it over my cutting edge so it doesn't tear into the gravel or lawn. People here expect to have a base layer of snow pack and are ok with it. We don't scrape any driveways down to the surface or use any salt except on steps where the roofs drip off. Usually only plow for 4" plus of snow.


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## Plowing to the 80's (1 mo ago)

I have a buddy that plows in the sticks, I understand your clientele. We get a lot of snow and it's cold so gravel is not an issue and no salt at all. He sets every rule and parameter and if you dont like it, call someone else. He charges top dollar, is full every year and does a perfect job. You dont grow that type of business in 1 season, but it wont take long to build a name and get referrals if you do things right.

As someone else in the thread said earlier, I charge seasonal for everything. I know it's maybe not an option for you (unless you have some historical data on number of snowfalls etc), but I do this for multiple reasons. It costs time and money to sit around calculating and invoicing people monthly or whatever interval. You have to track every visit and then all this different rates for accumulation seems like a nightmare and opens the door for disputes. I'm talking out my ass on that, because I dont know for sure just an fyi!

It's very difficult to go above and beyond if you are billing per push in my opinion. We advertise 5cm but we almost always go even for much smaller amounts. Dont ever not show up. This is the standard we have set and it is now our customers expectations. There's no such thing as going too much if you charge a proper seasonal rate. 

We get a lot of snow and a good solid base. During warming periods, we even go out and scrape every driveway to clear any slush so the ruts dont freeze. It happens often where the city plows will do some street widening and make giant windrows in all the driveways, we send our guys out to scrape that, even if it hasnt snowed for a week.

Sorry to ramble on, just wanted to share that doing a perfect job and going above and beyond is how we built a premium snow service and I have a buddy that does the same thing in the sticks. Charge what you charge.

I hear this often "Wow, that price is double what I paid last year" I ask if that guy retired or is he too full this year? Ohhh he sucked? Exactly.


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## Rob80x (6 mo ago)

I have never done seasonal contracts but may do that next year.


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## BossPlow2010 (Sep 29, 2010)

Rob80x said:


> I have never done seasonal contracts but may do that next year.


Do it this year and pro rate it, or don’t and consider it a a late signing fee


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## Rob80x (6 mo ago)

BossPlow2010 said:


> Do it this year and pro rate it, or don’t and consider it a a late signing fee


Not a bad idea. I only have a couple of accounts for this season. May ramp it up next year as there’s a large cluster of houses within a 2 mile radius of me so I can keep the route tight if I choose to grow more. I used to plow more years ago, but have kind of enjoyed just having a few neighbors to take care of now.


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