Tree service money and cash flow

Plan for it during the busy months. Look at your past sales by month, estimate your fixed costs for the slow months and set aside money each week while work is strong. Use slow months for pruning, plant health work, commercial contracts, equipment repairs and marketing. Our cash flow planner helps you map it out.

Break-even is the amount you must sell each month to cover all your costs, with zero profit. Anything above it is profit. Knowing it tells you how many jobs you need, whether you can afford a new hire or truck, and how low you can safely price. Our break-even calculator works it out.

It varies with your work, your area and your costs, so there is no single number to aim for. Track your own margin by job type and over the year. If margins are thin, look at pricing, drive time, disposal costs and unbilled hours. Our profit margin calculator helps. Not financial advice.

For large jobs, crane jobs or jobs with rented equipment, a deposit helps cover upfront costs and protects the date. Put the deposit amount and refund terms in writing on the estimate. For small jobs, many owners skip it. Our job deposit calculator helps you set an amount.

It can be, if you have space, a way to split and store wood, and buyers nearby. Count your time, fuel, storage and delivery, not just the sale price. For some owners it lowers disposal costs more than it adds profit. Our firewood revenue calculator runs the numbers with your inputs.

Payment options can help homeowners say yes to big or surprise jobs. You usually pay a fee, and you should understand who carries the risk if the customer stops paying. Read all terms before you offer it. Our customer financing guide explains the trade-offs. Not financial or legal advice.

Workers' comp is set by state rules and by your insurer, and tree work is usually rated as high-risk. The cost depends on your payroll, your state, your job class codes and your claims history. Get quotes from a licensed agent. Our workers' comp estimator lets you plug in your own rate to see the yearly cost.

Many owners find it helps to pay themselves a set amount, so the business price covers the owner's time like any other worker. How you do it depends on how your business is set up for taxes. Talk to an accountant about the best way for you. Short explanation, not tax advice.

Each missed call can be a missed job, especially for urgent work. About 27% of calls to home-service businesses go unanswered, and under 3% of those callers leave a voicemail (Invoca). Our missed-call calculator lets you put a dollar figure on it with your own call count and job value.

No. We do not offer accounting, tax or financial advice. Our work is the front office: answering and following up on leads, booking, reviews, your website and Google profile, so more of your calls turn into paid jobs. See our pricing page for our plans.