Glossary term
What is Day rate?
Short answer
Day rate is the amount a crew or piece of equipment costs for one full working day, used to price jobs and to decide whether to rent or hire.
Day rate, explained for tree service owners
A day rate is the price for one full day of a crew, a truck, a chipper or other equipment. In tree service, you may use a day rate to quote a large job, to pay a subcontractor, or to compare hiring with owning equipment. Calculate your own day rate by adding wages, insurance, fuel, maintenance and a share of overhead, then add a profit amount for the day. Compare that figure with what you actually bill per day in the field. If the gap is small, a few delays can wipe out your profit. A clear day rate helps you quote fairly and avoid working for free.
Related terms
- Chipper
A chipper is a machine that feeds branches through spinning blades and turns them into wood chips.
- Overhead
Overhead is the ongoing cost of running a business that is not tied to one job, such as insurance, office costs, phone plans, software…
- Crew-hour
Crew-hour is one hour of work by one person on a crew, used to measure labor. A three-person crew working two hours uses six crew-hours.
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