# Need help on pricing drive ways



## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

Hi all im kinda new to the plowing not sure how to charge per driveway my minimum is charging $30. is that to little or what.? All i am doing is stopping in places and giving them a "business" card to keep me in mind any idea on how to get more/make more $ thanks 

Curtiss


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

Id say $30 is a good base, depending on the driveway. But you have to take into account the "challenge" of doing the driveway, I charge less if all I have to do is just push straight down and then Im done. But everyone is different.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

the driveways i do some i back drag then push but some times i get ones where its just a stright push


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

depending on how u have to backdrag and stuff you can always charge an extra 5 bucks. Some do that.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

Without seeing a driveway i cant give exact numbers, But my minimum is $35 bucks thats for the tiny little driveways which i dont really do. And my average is $50-55 bucks. for the straight shot driveways, I get as close to the garage doors as i can and move on, I don't get out to shovel. My highest driveway is $200 bucks its a long windy gravel drive about half a mile long.


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## RepoMan1968 (Jan 9, 2012)

curtiss;1436164 said:


> Hi all im kinda new to the plowing not sure how to charge per driveway my minimum is charging $30. is that to little or what.? All i am doing is stopping in places and giving them a "business" card to keep me in mind any idea on how to get more/make more $ thanks
> 
> Curtiss


there are 50' drives and 5000' drives . explain your theory


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## Banksy (Aug 31, 2005)

I'm just curious as to why this is in the NON-commercial section.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

RepoMan1968;1437392 said:


> there are 50' drives and 5000' drives . explain your theory


small res drives 50' go for 30$ and go up i go by eye when i charge nothing gets done for under 30$ though.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

Banksy;1437456 said:


> I'm just curious as to why this is in the NON-commercial section.


just kinda posted it


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

THEGOLDPRO;1437389 said:


> Without seeing a driveway i cant give exact numbers, But my minimum is $35 bucks thats for the tiny little driveways which i dont really do. And my average is $50-55 bucks. for the straight shot driveways, I get as close to the garage doors as i can and move on, I don't get out to shovel. My highest driveway is $200 bucks its a long windy gravel drive about half a mile long.


yea ive been trying to hit the larger driveways more $$ and i try not getting the shovel out


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## 2ExploreSnow (Aug 30, 2011)

You should figure out what it costs you run your truck... I know, sounds obvious. Then figuring out a min works itself out.

You may want to consider doing front walkways, stairs, maybe even a porch. True, some have their kids do it, but others may be willing have you add it to the bill... that may include using some de-icer.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

2ExploreSnow;1437686 said:


> You should figure out what it costs you run your truck... I know, sounds obvious. Then figuring out a min works itself out.
> 
> You may want to consider doing front walkways, stairs, maybe even a porch. True, some have their kids do it, but others may be willing have you add it to the bill... that may include using some de-icer.


thats why i dont charge below 30$ on a job 
oh yea i will break out the shovel once and awhile and as for de-icer/sand i charge extra. payup


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## RepoMan1968 (Jan 9, 2012)

curtiss;1437643 said:


> small res drives 50' go for 30$ and go up i go by eye when i charge nothing gets done for under 30$ though.


so you can do a 50' drive on 9% grade with 16'' on it for 30 bux ? YOUR HIRED.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

RepoMan1968;1438147 said:


> so you can do a 50' drive on 9% grade with 16'' on it for 30 bux ? YOUR HIRED.


well like i said "small res drives 50' go for 30$ and go up i go by eye when i charge nothing gets done for under 30$ though." everything i do goes by eye or experience.


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## RepoMan1968 (Jan 9, 2012)

gotcha .Thumbs Up


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## nepatsfan (Sep 16, 2004)

I would make that per push.....not per storm. our min is $35 but it is per push. We offer shoveling but make sure if you do break out a shovel.....charge accordingly. We have a couple houses where the walks cost more than the driveway.


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## curtiss (Jul 29, 2010)

nepatsfan;1438490 said:


> I would make that per push.....not per storm. our min is $35 but it is per push. We offer shoveling but make sure if you do break out a shovel.....charge accordingly. We have a couple houses where the walks cost more than the driveway.


Ohhh yea i figured that out once as soon as i drop the plow they get charged per push made a mistake before and as for the sidewalks  had a few of those before.


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## tonylillo (Sep 23, 2011)

In North Jersey, I charge $75 per hour 1 hr minimum, then 1/4 hour billing after that rounded to the next highest 1/4 hr. So if it takes me 1 hr 20 minutes, then they are billed for 1 hr 30 minutes at $75 per hour. I also charge $25 per hour for snow blowing same 1 hr minimum and same 1/4 hr addition. I have 15 contracts at this time, two of them are factory lots and one is a church lot.

Thanks, Tony


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

tonylillo;1454172 said:


> In North Jersey, I charge $75 per hour 1 hr minimum, then 1/4 hour billing after that rounded to the next highest 1/4 hr. So if it takes me 1 hr 20 minutes, then they are billed for 1 hr 30 minutes at $75 per hour. I also charge $25 per hour for snow blowing same 1 hr minimum and same 1/4 hr addition. I have 15 contracts at this time, two of them are factory lots and one is a church lot.
> 
> Thanks, Tony


lol There is a reason you only have 15 accounts, Your pricing structure is retard3d. So your saying if you plow a driveway no matter how long it takes you, you charge 75 bucks minimum? then another charge for billing??? Come on man get with the program here.


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## tonylillo (Sep 23, 2011)

your prices work for you my prices work for me your editorial reply is not needed nor appreciated


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## South Seneca (Oct 22, 2010)

Driveway prices totally depend on where you are. Around here there are so many "good neighbors" with old plow trucks, that go around plowing for nothing, that it's hard to get paid anything to plow a driveway.


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## THEGOLDPRO (Jun 18, 2006)

tonylillo;1454196 said:


> your prices work for you my prices work for me your editorial reply is not needed nor appreciated


I dont really care if its needed or appreciated, Im letting you know you will never survive in this industry pricing things like that, Like i said there is a reason you only have 15 accounts.

This guy wants people who actually know how to price driveways to give him some honest,good information so he doesn't look like a moron when going to give a price for plowing, Not somebody who "says" they charge a minimum of 75 bucks plus a fee to bill out  to plow for 5 minutes in a driveway. like i said get with the program.


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## 2006Sierra1500 (Dec 28, 2011)

I guess we're low ballers then. We charge $25 for smaller driveways and $50 or $75 for longer ones. But then again we have a larger area that we plow..idk how to describe it, its kinda like a year-round summer camp.


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## Mbrule (Oct 31, 2011)

You guys charging all these big bucks to plow driveways, do you have appropriate insurance?


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## dc240nt (Apr 11, 2012)

I do residentials with sidewalks and entries included for 35.00 each. I have one larger drive that I charge 45.00. Three small apartments are 50.00 each. Just the driveway for 25.00, but everyone wants the walks done also. I averaged 1/2 hr at each residence except the bigger one which was about 40 minutes. I tried to base my price on 75.00 per hr. It didnt always work out that way, but I wasnt off by much. I did come up well short of that with the apartments, they took about an hour each. If I keep these three accounts, I will make the adjusted price change or drop them. This was my first year, so for this coming Im planning on a seasonal pricing option.


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## kg26 (Feb 5, 2013)

Dang I just did a drive way 2cars wide about 50-60ft long and 120ft of side and walk for $35 bad move?


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## dc240nt (Apr 11, 2012)

dc240nt;1473532 said:


> I do residentials with sidewalks and entries included for 35.00 each. I have one larger drive that I charge 45.00. Three small apartments are 50.00 each. Just the driveway for 25.00, but everyone wants the walks done also. I averaged 1/2 hr at each residence except the bigger one which was about 40 minutes. I tried to base my price on 75.00 per hr. It didnt always work out that way, but I wasnt off by much. I did come up well short of that with the apartments, they took about an hour each. If I keep these three accounts, I will make the adjusted price change or drop them. This was my first year, so for this coming Im planning on a seasonal pricing option.


Alright, new season and new adjustments.
This year I have 19 accounts. The residentials are all $40.00 each and include sidewalks and front entry. I have two small apartments at $75.00 each. Three residentials are seasonal at $500.00 each. One large Day Care at $75.00. Lutheren Social Services (3 stops) at $125.00.
4 on call accounts which end up calling almost every 2 inches anyway.

The residentials all take me 15-20 minutes to complete.
The Apartments take around 25-40 minutes.
The Day Care takes 30-40 minutes.
Lutheran Social Services takes 1.25 - 1.5 hrs.

Two agreements are on a 1 inch trigger and they pay me $175.00 per out.
All the others are on a 2 inch trigger and I clear over $800.00 per out.

I've had them all done in as little as 10 hours and the longest was 14 hours working by myself with a plow, blower and shovel. It takes longer on them -30F nights than it does when its +15F.


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## doskennel (Oct 12, 2012)

Reply to : Dang I just did a drive way 2cars wide about 50-60ft long and 120ft of side and walk for $35 bad move?



That was a little cheap unless they are family or friend and your giving them a discount. Could charge a little more. And have a simple structure in case of storm you could get screwed.


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## dc240nt (Apr 11, 2012)

Well, top end price around here is $50.00 per residential and the lowend scraps are at $25.00 per. I could move a little on the apartments but I'll keep the residentials right where they are. They are all good clients who communicate well with me and pay in a timely manner. Ive built a good relationship with them. I dont want to feel as if I'm gouging someone, there seems to be a lot of that happening around here. One thing I will change is right now I dont have a claus for different snow depth. Maybe I'll add $20.00 at 8 inches? Around here its the wind that gets people, it either blows them fairly clean or it piles it in on them. I've seen 3 inches of snow stack 3 feet deep in several driveways. I'll stick to what I'm doing, its working, I'm happy, and more importantly, my clients are happy.


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## kg26 (Feb 5, 2013)

doskennel;1589454 said:


> Reply to : Dang I just did a drive way 2cars wide about 50-60ft long and 120ft of side and walk for $35 bad move?
> 
> That was a little cheap unless they are family or friend and your giving them a discount. Could charge a little more. And have a simple structure in case of storm you could get screwed.


I have a pricing rule for built for inch accumulations.


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## JimMarshall (Jan 25, 2013)

30 dollar minimum for regular customers, new people/ call outs, unless they are real close get a $100 minimum.


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## kg26 (Feb 5, 2013)

Guess that makes it easy to see who a motivated customer is.


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## JimMarshall (Jan 25, 2013)

kg26;1590300 said:


> Guess that makes it easy to see who a motivated customer is.


I shouldn't have said new customer..... That was misleading.... I'm talking about the one time only my driveway hasn't been cleared all season, and is 10 miles out of my way callout type customer. I'm not in this for practice.


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## kg26 (Feb 5, 2013)

In my market its tight they expect to have all walks included.


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