The itemized list
Typical annual numbers for a two-person crew running one truck. Yours will differ; zeros are rarely honest:
| Cost | Typical annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mower replacement fund | $4,000 – 8,000 | A $12k Z over 1,500 hrs is $8/hr — plus trimmers and blowers on 2–3 yr cycles |
| Repairs, blades, belts, tires | $1,500 – 3,500 | Grows every year the replacement fund shrinks |
| Truck & trailer (payment, tires, brakes) | $6,000 – 12,000 | Stop-and-go towing eats brakes and transmissions |
| Fuel — truck AND equipment | $4,000 – 9,000 | The truck usually burns more than the mowers |
| Workers' comp & payroll taxes | 20 – 35% of wages | The burden that turns $18/hr into $23 |
| General liability insurance | $800 – 2,500 | A rock through a window costs more |
| Drive time | 25 – 40% of paid hours | Paid like mowing, billed like nothing — unless it's in the price |
| Estimates, callbacks, gate re-checks | 3 – 6 hrs/week | Unbillable, unavoidable, priced in or eaten |
| Winter | 2 – 5 months | The season's margin has to fund the off-season, or the crew won't be back |
The two that end businesses
The equipment replacement fund is invisible right up until the hour meter isn't. Crews price against wages and fuel for three seasons, bank what feels like profit, and then a $13,000 replacement mower converts three years of "profit" into a loan application. Put $8–12 per crew-hour into the price and the replacement buys itself.
Winter is the other. A season that ends with two months of expenses in the bank was a good season; one that merely paid its bills was a slow-motion failure. This is why the 12-month contract spread exists, and why margin isn't greed — it's February.
What to do with the list
- Put your real numbers in each row and total them.
- Divide equipment costs by real crew-hours to get your $/crew-hr equipment rate; feed everything else into the overhead percentage.
- Run your three most common lawn sizes through the pricing calculator and compare against what you charge today. Most operators find one tier they've been mowing at a loss.
Turn the list into prices
The free calculator folds crew cost, equipment, overhead, and margin into a per-cut price. The $29 workbook keeps it all on tunable sheets — crew costing, route planning, and a season tracker that shows whether February is funded yet.
Free Pricing Calculator Full Workbook — $29