Free tool
Crew day rate calculator
By Umair Nawaz, founder of Lirevon Updated How we test tools
What does one crew really cost you per hour and per day, once taxes, comp, insurance and trucks are in? Enter your own numbers. The defaults are only starting points, so change every one.
Related: day rate · crew hour · workers' compensation · Lirevon for owner-operators.
1. Who is on the crew
One row per role. Hourly wage is what you pay before taxes. Starting points only, change them.
2. Yearly costs
3. Time and margin
Your crew's numbers
Minimum day rate at your margin
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Loaded cost per crew-hour
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Loaded cost per day
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Minimum rate per billable hour
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Loaded cost per person-hour
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Estimate only, built from the numbers entered. The per person-hour figure is a good input for the tree job estimator.
How the math works
- Yearly wages = for each role, people × hourly wage × paid hours per day × working days.
- Taxes and comp = yearly wages × your percent.
- Yearly crew cost = wages + taxes and comp + insurance + truck and equipment + other.
- Cost per crew-hour = yearly crew cost ÷ (billable hours per day × working days).
- Cost per day = yearly crew cost ÷ working days.
- Minimum day rate = cost per day ÷ (1 − target margin).
Questions about crew costs
What is a day rate for a tree crew?
It is what you charge for one crew working one full day, with its truck and equipment. Some owners quote by the day for large jobs or storm work. Even if you quote by the job, knowing your day rate tells you the lowest price that still pays your costs.
What does "fully loaded cost" mean?
It means every cost of keeping the crew working, not only wages: payroll taxes, workers' comp, liability insurance, trucks, chippers, fuel you pay yearly, and anything else you spend to put that crew in the field.
What percent should I use for payroll taxes and workers' comp?
Use your own numbers. Your payroll provider can tell you the employer tax share, and your workers' comp rate is on your policy, usually as a cost per $100 of payroll. Add them together as a percent of wages. Tree work is a high-risk class, so comp can be a big part of the total.
What are billable hours per day?
The hours you can charge a customer for. If the crew is paid for 9 hours but spends 1 hour driving and 1 hour loading or fixing gear, you bill about 7. The tool spreads all yearly costs over billable hours, not paid hours.
How many working days a year should I enter?
Count the days the crew actually works in a typical year. Take out weekends you do not work, holidays, weather days and slow weeks. Your last year of job records is the best guide.
Should my own pay be in this?
If you work on the crew, add yourself as a role with a fair wage. If you run the office and sell, your pay belongs in overhead. Either way, it must be paid by the jobs, so it has to be somewhere in your prices.
Is the minimum day rate what I should charge?
It is a floor, not a target. Below it you lose money. Many jobs carry risk, special equipment or hard access that is worth more. Use the tree job estimator to price a single job.
Is anything I type sent to Lirevon?
No. The math runs in your browser. Your numbers are only kept in this browser on this device so the form is filled in next time.
How much should a tree service charge per day for a crew?
There is no one right number, because it depends on your costs. Work out your loaded cost per day with this tool, then divide it by one minus your target margin to get your floor. Compare that floor with real quotes you collect in your area, and never go under it for regular work.
What costs go into a tree crew's hourly rate?
Wages, employer payroll taxes, workers' comp, liability and vehicle insurance, truck and chipper costs, fuel and upkeep you pay over the year, and a share of overhead. Leaving any of these out makes the rate look lower than it really is.
Keep the crew busy
A paid crew with no job is the costliest day.
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