In this guide 9 sections
“What would be a fair price to cut, clean up and haul off?”
That one question pulled 90 comments in my Facebook group this week. Guesses ran from $100 to $600 for the same photo.
None of them were wrong. None of them were right either. You can’t price a cleanup off a photo and a number someone else charges in another town.
You price it off your time, your hourly rate and what the dump charges you. Here is how I do it.
The short answer
- Work out the hours. Every minute on site, plus loading, driving to the dump and unloading.
- Multiply by your hourly rate. Mine works out to $1 a minute. If you’re new, aim for at least $60 an hour.
- Add the dump fee on top. Ring your local green waste dump and ask what a load costs. Never swallow it.
- Round up. Cleanups always take longer than you think. Nothing ever goes faster than planned.
- Get paid before you start, or as soon as you finish. One-off customers are the ones who go quiet on invoices.
Ask these questions before you go
The first thing I ask anyone who rings is: “Were you looking for a price on a one-off or a regular visit?”
A cleanup is a one-off. It gets priced like one. Then I ask:
- How long is the grass? Ankle high and knee high are two different jobs.
- What else is there? Branches, hedges, weeds in the beds, old furniture, kids’ toys, dog mess.
- Does everything get taken away? Or can the clippings go in their own green bin or compost?
- Can you send me a photo? It saves a trip for the easy ones. Big jobs I still go and look.
- Is it a rental or a sale? End-of-lease jobs often come with a promise of regular work that never shows up. Price them as a one-off, every time.
Then, before I say a price, I tell them my minimum: “Just so you know, our minimum for one-off jobs is $60. That covers up to 60 minutes of work. If it’s more, I’ll let you know when I see it.”
That one line sorts out the people looking for a $40 miracle before you’ve started the van.
More: Incoming lawn mowing quotes: 7 red flags and What should your minimum charge be for lawn mowing?
My formula: time times rate, plus the dump
Here it is:
Price = (hours on site + hours hauling) × your hourly rate + dump fees. Then round up.
That’s it. The hard part is guessing the hours honestly.
Long grass doesn’t mow at normal speed. You’re raising the deck, going half a width at a time, stopping to empty the catcher every few metres, then coming back over it lower. A lawn you’d cut in 20 minutes every fortnight can take an hour when it’s knee high.
When you walk the job, break it into pieces and time each one in your head:
- Mowing (count it at two or three times your normal time if it’s long)
- Trimming and edges
- Hedges, branches, beds
- Raking and blowing up
- Bagging and loading
- Driving to the dump, waiting, unloading, driving back
Add them up. Then add a bit, because you will hit something you didn’t see. A hidden tap. A buried hose. A wasp nest in the hedge.
Don’t know your hourly rate yet? Work it out with my free hourly rate calculator. It takes two minutes and you’ll use the number on every quote you ever do.
A worked example
Here is a made-up job. Plug in your own numbers.
Overgrown back yard. Knee-high grass, two shrubs to cut back, a pile of branches by the fence. Everything goes.
- Mowing the long grass: 60 minutes
- Trimming and edges: 20 minutes
- Cutting back the shrubs: 30 minutes
- Bagging, loading and blowing up: 30 minutes
- Dump run there and back, unloading: 40 minutes
That’s 3 hours. At $60 an hour that’s $180 of time.
Say the dump charges $40 for that load. Now you’re at $220. Round it up to $240, because it will take longer than three hours. It always does.
Now look at what most guys would have quoted off the photo: “Eh, $120, it’s a small yard.” That’s half a day’s work for $40 an hour, before you pay the dump. You’d be working for nothing for the last hour and a half.
Small yards with lots of stuff in them are the trap. Price the work, not the square footage.
Don’t give the haul away for free
“Haul off” is the part everyone forgets to charge for. It’s not just the dump fee.
- Loading takes time. Bags have to be filled, carried and lifted.
- The drive to the dump and back is paid time. It’s just as much your time as the mowing.
- The queue at the dump on a Saturday can be 20 minutes on its own.
- Unloading takes time too, and you’re usually doing it by hand.
- The dump fee goes on top, at cost or with a bit added. Never inside your hourly rate.
Ring your local green waste dump this week and ask what they charge for a trailer load, a ute or pickup load, and a few bags. Write the numbers down in your phone. Now you can quote a haul away on the spot.
If you don’t have a trailer, bag it. I’ve worked for years with bags behind the cab. Just know you’ll be making more trips, and charge for them.
If the customer has a green bin with room in it, ask if you can use it. That’s a few dollars off their price and a dump run off your day. Everyone wins.
More: Running a lawn care business without a trailer
Protect yourself on big jobs
Cleanups are where disputes happen. The customer forgets how bad it looked. You forget what you agreed to take away.
Three things I do:
- Take a video before you start. Walk the whole yard on your phone. If there’s ever a question about what it looked like, you’ve got it.
- Say exactly what’s included. “Mow, trim, cut back the two shrubs by the fence, take everything away.” Text it to them so it’s in writing.
- Get paid up front for one-offs. I text my account details with the price. 99% of real customers don’t mind. The few who argue about paying first are usually the ones who never would have paid.
If something changes on the day, like they ask you to “just quickly do the side as well”, give them the extra price before you do it. Not after.
More: Getting paid on time
Will a cleanup turn into a regular?
Sometimes. Not often.
Most jungle lawns got that way because the owner doesn’t want to pay for upkeep. Once it’s tidy they’re happy for another six months. So price the cleanup to stand on its own. Don’t cut it cheap hoping for a regular.
There’s one exception. If they book regular mows on the spot, I’m happy to take a bit off the first cut. The regular price stays the same. The discount is only on the restoration.
And watch for the switch. Some people say “oh, regular” the moment they hear your one-off price, just to get the cheaper number. Book them in for the regular cycle and see if they turn up to it.
For everyone else, text them two weeks after the cleanup: “Want another mow? I’ve got a spot this week.” It costs nothing and a few will say yes.
Mistakes I see all the time
- Quoting off someone else’s number. $120 in Houston and $300 in another town can both be fair. Your number comes from your costs.
- Pricing by yard size. A small yard full of junk takes longer than a big clean one.
- Forgetting the dump run. The drive, the queue and the unload are often an hour on their own.
- Eating the dump fee. It goes on top. Every time.
- Not rounding up. You’ll never finish a cleanup early. Price for the job going a bit wrong.
- Adding extras for free on the day. “While you’re here” jobs get a price before you start them.
Do today: ring your local dump and get their prices for a bag, a car load and a trailer load. Put them in your phone next to your hourly rate. Next time someone asks you to cut, clean up and haul off, you’ll have a price in five minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for a yard cleanup?
Work out the hours on site plus the hours hauling, multiply by your hourly rate, add the dump fee, and round up. If you’re new, use at least $60 an hour. A small overgrown yard with branches and a dump run can easily be three hours of work.
Should I charge by the hour or give a fixed price for a cleanup?
Work it out by the hour, then give the customer a fixed price. Customers like knowing the number up front. You protect yourself by estimating the time honestly and rounding up.
How much should I add for hauling away green waste?
The dump fee at cost or a bit over, plus your time to load, drive, wait and unload at your normal hourly rate. Ring your local dump to get their prices so you can quote it on the spot.
Should I discount the first cut on an overgrown lawn?
Only if the customer books regular mows on the spot, and only on that first cut. Never drop your regular price to win a cleanup.
Do I need a trailer for cleanup jobs?
No. You can bag the green waste and carry it in your vehicle. You’ll make more trips, so charge for the extra time.
34 years mowing lawns. Built it up to five vans and 450 contracts, then cut back to a 20-hour week on the best lawns. My story.
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