Stop Working
for Free
The exact crew-day pricing formula that took Bear Claw from "busy and broke" to $100k+ months.
Most land clearing operators guess on every bid. They throw out a number, hope it covers costs, and find out too late that they worked a 12-hour day for less than their guys make per hour. The crew-day pricing formula fixes that. Plug in your real numbers, get your exact rate, and never underbid again.
break-even number
on every job
that lose money
"First month using crew-day pricing, I raised my average ticket by $2,400 and stopped taking jobs that were killing me."
— Mike R., Texas • Forestry Mulching
Why Crew-Day Pricing Works
Most operators price by the acre. That is a mistake. An acre of light saplings takes half a day. An acre of mature hardwood with stumps and slash takes three days. Same "acre," completely different job. Price by acre and you will win the hard jobs (because you are too cheap) and lose the easy ones (because you are too expensive). Crew-day pricing eliminates the guesswork.
The Formula
Crew-Day Rate = (Fixed Costs + Variable Costs + Profit Margin) / Billable Days
Fixed Costs
Equipment payments, insurance, licenses, yard rent — costs you pay whether you work or not.
Variable Costs
Fuel, labor, maintenance, teeth and wear parts — costs that scale with jobs worked.
Profit Margin
Your take-home. Target 30-50%. This is non-negotiable — you are building a business, not buying a job.
Per-Acre Pricing
- Ignores terrain and vegetation differences
- Rewards you for easy jobs, punishes you on hard ones
- No connection to your actual costs
- Impossible to guarantee profit
Crew-Day Pricing
- Based on your real numbers
- Accounts for actual job difficulty
- Profit is built into every bid
- Works for any equipment or service type
Inside the Calculator
Plug in your numbers. The spreadsheet does the math. Here is exactly what it covers:
| You Enter | Calculator Returns |
|---|---|
| Monthly equipment payments | Daily equipment cost |
| Insurance premiums (annual) | Daily insurance cost |
| Labor costs (crew size + rates) | Total daily labor expense |
| Fuel consumption per day | Daily fuel cost |
| Maintenance & wear parts budget | Daily maintenance reserve |
| Overhead (yard, office, software) | Daily overhead allocation |
| Target profit margin % | Your minimum crew-day rate |
| Estimated billable days/month | Projected monthly revenue & profit |
This Calculator Is For You If...
- You own or are buying a skid steer, excavator, or forestry mulcher
- You have been guessing on bids and want a real number
- You are profitable some months and underwater others
- You want to raise your rates but need the data to back it up
- You are just starting out and want to price right from day one
- You run multiple machines and need to know each one's break-even
This Probably Isn't For You If...
- You are looking for a magic number someone else calculated
- You are not willing to look at your real costs
- You want to compete on being the cheapest in your market
- You do not do land clearing, forestry mulching, or skid steer work
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a crew-day rate in land clearing?
A crew-day rate is the total amount you charge for one full day of work with your crew and equipment on a land clearing job. It includes all your costs (equipment, labor, fuel, insurance, overhead) plus your profit margin. Most land clearing operators charge between $2,500 and $4,500 per crew-day depending on equipment and market.
How do I calculate my break-even crew-day rate?
Add up all your daily costs: equipment payments divided by working days, daily fuel costs, labor (including yourself), insurance per day, maintenance reserves, and overhead. That total is your break-even number. You need to charge more than this on every job or you are losing money. The calculator helps you find this number in minutes.
Why is crew-day pricing better than per-acre pricing?
Per-acre pricing is unreliable because acre difficulty varies wildly. One acre of light brush might take 3 hours while one acre of heavy hardwood takes 3 days. Crew-day pricing ties your bid to the actual time the job takes, so you get paid for the work you do. You estimate crew-days based on site conditions, then multiply by your rate.
What profit margin should I target for land clearing?
Target a minimum 30% gross profit margin, with 40-50% being ideal. At 40% margin, if your daily costs are $1,700, your crew-day rate should be at least $2,835. Many operators in strong markets charge $3,500-$4,500/day and achieve 50%+ margins. The calculator shows you exactly where you land.
Is the Crew-Day Pricing Calculator really free?
Yes, 100% free. Enter your name and email and we will send you the spreadsheet immediately. There is no credit card required, no trial period, and no catch. We built it because pricing is the number one problem land clearing operators face, and we want to help you solve it.
Stop Guessing. Start Profiting.
Every bid you send without knowing your numbers is a coin flip. The calculator takes 10 minutes to set up and pays for itself on the next job you quote.
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