Tree Removal Pricing

[stltreedr]

Hi fellas,
I'm new to the forum, but really want to see what everyone thinks about this. I've spent the past 4-5 years trying to normalize tree removal pricing by common factors, ie. tree size, location, etc... I think I am pretty close to having it down, and wanted to see what others in the industry think of this.

I've created a page on my website that allows customers to enter six measurements from their tree: DBH, Height, Spread, Distance from driveable surfaces, distance from powerlines, and percentage of overhang. From these measurements, my formula calculates: Tree Takedown cost, Cleanup cost, and debris disposal cost. There is a disclaimer at the end, but under normal circumstances, with accurate measurements, the quote is guaranteed to be accurate. The page is still fairly new, but so far, it's been competitive in my area while still giving profitable quotes.

I hope I don't get kicked out on my first post, but I'm going to give you the link so you can let me know what you think.
Constructive criticism is welcomed.
Thanks in advance to you all.

Tree Removal Cost Calculator

 

[no tree to big]

thats a neat thing you have come up with could be good could be bad, only time will tell. I played around with it a bit cause I'm board. I used it to price the trees I have on my property and a few I have cut down recently it seems that it underprices some of the smaller trees by a little, I put in the specs for a smaller ash I took down it spit out like 330 bucks but it was easily a $450-500 tree then for a pretty big tree I have on my property it priced it at 3500 bucks but I would say its only worth 18-2000 because of the branch structure of it ) 4 cuts and the top is out then just block down the spar) for what I played with for medium sized stuff it seemed to be pretty close

 

[carolinaclimber]

pretty cool

That seemed like a pretty accurate calculator. Priced it about right for the one I did this past weekend. The only thoughts I have about the calculator is (especially if you climb-no access to or for a bucket truck) I'd be worried to stand behind it 100% before finding out the hazzards within the tree like rot, heavy lean, root decay, etc. Really good idea though, I like it overall. I bet it took a while to get it dialled in that close.

 

[stltreedr]

thats a neat thing you have come up with could be good could be bad, only time will tell. I played around with it a bit cause I'm board. I used it to price the trees I have on my property and a few I have cut down recently it seems that it underprices some of the smaller trees by a little, I put in the specs for a smaller ash I took down it spit out like 330 bucks but it was easily a $450-500 tree then for a pretty big tree I have on my property it priced it at 3500 bucks but I would say its only worth 18-2000 because of the branch structure of it ) 4 cuts and the top is out then just block down the spar) for what I played with for medium sized stuff it seemed to be pretty close

Thanks for your input. The calculator is designed to be more competitive on smaller trees, because those are where i can make the most money per hour. So far i have been able to remain competitive but profitable on trees of all sizes. Cost of living is probably at least 20 pct higher in chicago, so keep that in mind. I can also adjust up and down by percentages to win more jobs, or go higher to maximize profit if im already too busy. Thanks again checking it out.

 

[capetrees]

Lots of variables to consider. I assume this is for hardwoods only? For the tree I put in, cleanup came to aroundf $10. The trunk was too big for the chipper so off to the dump it goes for more that $10.

 

[Stihlasaurus]

Impressive

The quote I got seemed about right. What I like about this is it teaches the homeowner what you are charging for. They realize that their price is based on the work you are doing and not some guess pulled out of wherever. Your whole website is nice and makes me want to improve mine some more.

Very impressed.

You could probably licence the module you use to other tree people to put on their websites. Just another way to make money for something you developed. Of course, you would not licence it to your competitors.

 

[stltreedr]

Lots of variables to consider. I assume this is for hardwoods only? For the tree I put in, cleanup came to aroundf $10. The trunk was too big for the chipper so off to the dump it goes for more that $10.

The debris disposal fee is based on a full truckload of debris. I would think that if the fee was only 10 bucks it probably wasnt a full load. If you dont mind, send me your input numbers and ill check it. I dont know about everyone else, but i dont dump unless i have a full load, and 50 bucks is about the average cost of a load around here.

 

[stltreedr]

The quote I got seemed about right. What I like about this is it teaches the homeowner what you are charging for. They realize that their price is based on the work you are doing and not some guess pulled out of wherever. Your whole website is nice and makes me want to improve mine some more.

Very impressed.

You could probably licence the module you use to other tree people to put on their websites. Just another way to make money for something you developed. Of course, you would not licence it to your competitors.

Thanks for your kind remarks. I just got an email from a guy in KY and we are going to come up with some sort af agreement.

 

[tree md]

Very cool!

I just used it to calculate two of the larger trees I priced today. The calculation for the larger tree I priced was between 4 and 5 hundred dollars more than what I bid on that tree but there are mitigating factors on that tree; About a third of it's structure is missing from an ice storm we had a few years back and there is virtually no brush on it. The second calculation spit out $1754 and I priced that tree at $1800. Pretty dam close and you would have probably beat me on that bid except for the fact that I discounted the original price of that tree by 10% for a special promotion I have going now.

 

[stltreedr]

sounds like pretty good feedback...So far. Thanks to all of you for checking it out.

 

[Toddppm]

Very interesting. I priced out a tree on my property just to see and it came out close to what i'd charge. But the separate price for just cutting down and then cleanup is not something I'd want them to know. We don't do too many non cleanups and I truthfully don't want them.

 

[stltreedr]

Very interesting. I priced out a tree on my property just to see and it came out close to what i'd charge. But the separate price for just cutting down and then cleanup is not something I'd want them to know. We don't do too many non cleanups and I truthfully don't want them.

Really? My favorite jobs are the ones that I don't have to clean up, and it offers my "do it yourself" cusotmers a safer, lower cost alternative. Do most of the rest of you agree with Toddppm? I thought we all loved to leave everything lay.

 

[tree md]

Personally, cut and leaves are my favorites too. I like put it to the curb for FEMA storm work. If you have a large work load and are trying to push through a lot of volume with the least amount of overhead, cut and leave is what you love to do. If you are trying to support a larger outfit and keep men working then you would rather pay your guys to clean it up.

Just my .02.

 

[Toddppm]

Really? My favorite jobs are the ones that I don't have to clean up, and it offers my "do it yourself" cusotmers a safer, lower cost alternative. Do most of the rest of you agree with Toddppm? I thought we all loved to leave everything lay.

I dunno, just like to make mo money at one place and people that want to cleanup themselves seem like the cheapest/least loyal customer out there. I rarely get the request in most of the areas I work though.


I'm impressed so far with the calculator, just ran another one that I bid today and it came out almost exactly the same as I bid it! Easy Maple in front yard partially over the house.

 

[stltreedr]

I dunno, just like to make mo money at one place and people that want to cleanup themselves seem like the cheapest/least loyal customer out there. I rarely get the request in most of the areas I work though.


I'm impressed so far with the calculator, just ran another one that I bid today and it came out almost exactly the same as I bid it! Easy Maple in front yard partially over the house.

That makes sense... I guess it really depends on what area your're in. Thanks for checking out the calc. All of these accurate quotes are leading me to believe that it's really close.

 

[axetree]

great work! came up close on all the ones i did. like others said it will help ho's realise what they are payin for instead of "its just a tree" the will have to take time to notice its over the house how big it is and power lines around. good work seems accurate

 

[RAG66]

Most of the time customers call because they know it is too big or tricky. I find every tree to be different and often the customer is a referal who knows it is expensive. I explain the issues with each case and the customer thanks me for the time and for being informative. You may get close on a good portion with a chart or calculator but it seems there is always a catch. The price of tree removal is not something I want to compare to a cookie cutter price structure. I try to figure drive time, actual job time and return time. That is just the begining of figuring price, maybe I'm too complicated. Good luck with this though, I'm thinking every tree is different.

 

[stltreedr]

Most of the time customers call because they know it is too big or tricky. I find every tree to be different and often the customer is a referal who knows it is expensive. I explain the issues with each case and the customer thanks me for the time and for being informative. You may get close on a good portion with a chart or calculator but it seems there is always a catch. The price of tree removal is not something I want to compare to a cookie cutter price structure. I try to figure drive time, actual job time and return time. That is just the begining of figuring price, maybe I'm too complicated. Good luck with this though, I'm thinking every tree is different.

Thanks fo the comments, RAG66.

I don't think you're too complicated, and I agree that face-to-face is the best way to create customers. This is a tool that can help get my foot in the door, especially with those clients that have never used a tree service before and have no idea. If I am on a referral job, I explain the process to the customer while I'm taking measurements. This buys me an extra 5 or 10 minutes of time with them, and they don't think I'm basing the price off of how nice their home is, or what I think they can afford.

I've found that the calculator is more accurate, or at least more consistent, than my estimated time X rate bids were. Seems like I was underbidding some and overbidding others. Try it out on a few, and see what you come up with.

Version 2 will be customizable by zip code, so I can address the drive time issues.

All these comments are great, guys. Keep them coming!
Have a safe week.

 

[swyman]

This is an excellent calculator! It is real close as everyone has stated, granted every job is different but on an average I think it is really cool. How do I get it!

 

[RiverRat2]

I just ran your calculator on a fair sized sweet gum in my front yard and you beat me by 750.00 however it has power lines on three sides,,, 18' from a 7.2 kV hi tension distribution line with pole mounted Xfmer that feeds two houses and will require blocking down around two house power, phone, and cable tv feeds,

For me,,, I wouldnt touch it for less than 1600.00 low and 1800.00 high w/the stump ground


you came in @ 1150.00 but it threw in the disclaimer for less than 15' for the power line,,, and your disposal fee is way cheaper than mine like 125% cheaper

pretty cool the way it works though, Im just not too hip on a garuntee of the price calculated by #'s input by Joe customer,, especially with any hazard tree,, period,,,