Tree service bookkeeping: equipment, crews and storm work

Tree work is priced by the job and paid for by the hour of heavy equipment and skilled crew. A bucket truck, a chipper, a stump grinder and sometimes a crane, plus a crew whose insurance costs more than almost any other trade’s. Whether a removal made money depends on how long all of that was on site, and what each hour of it really costs.

That is what tree service books need to show — and most do not, because the biggest costs sit in overhead where no job ever sees them.

Equipment by the hour

Give each major piece of equipment an hourly cost: ownership — financing, insurance, the value it loses each year — plus operating — fuel, maintenance, chains, teeth, hydraulic repairs. Charge those hours to each job.

That turns “the job felt profitable” into a number, and answers the questions owners usually settle by instinct: whether to buy the next truck or rent, whether crane jobs are priced right, which pieces of equipment are costing far more to keep running than the rest. The equipment buy, lease or finance guide covers the ownership decision.

Crew cost at the real rate

Tree work carries some of the most expensive workers’ compensation classes of any trade, along with high liability premiums. A crew hour costed at the wage alone understates labor on every job.

Cost crew hours at the burdened rate — wage plus payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and benefits. The true hourly cost calculator works it out. Getting classification codes right for your workers’ comp policy matters here more than in most trades; see surviving your workers comp audit.

Disposal, and what the wood is worth

Brush, logs and stumps have to go somewhere. Dump and disposal fees are a direct cost of the job. On the other side, some tree companies sell firewood, logs or mulch, or receive credit from a processor.

Record by-product sales as their own income, not netted against disposal costs. Netted, they hide both what disposal really costs and what the by-product line is actually worth — and whether it is worth the yard space and handling time.

Storm work

After major storms, tree companies see sudden surges of emergency work — for homeowners, municipalities, utilities, sometimes through insurance claims or contracted storm response. It pays well and arrives all at once, with overtime, subcontracted crews and equipment rentals.

Track storm work as its own line, with receivables by payer. Municipal and utility work often pays slowly and requires specific documentation; insurance-paid work involves the homeowner’s deductible and a carrier. See when a customer will not pay.

Crane and subcontracted work

Crane jobs are often subcontracted, charged by the hour with minimums. Code crane charges to the job they served — they are frequently the difference between profit and loss on a large removal, and the only way to see that is per-job actuals.

Plant health care

Spraying, fertilization and pruning programs are recurring revenue with a completely different cost structure: materials, a technician, scheduled visits. Separate them from removals. Recurring programs are worth tracking like any subscription — customers retained, customers lost — see what a recurring contract is actually worth.

Related

• Landscaping bookkeeping
• Excavation bookkeeping: equipment cost by the hour
• How to bid a job so it makes what you intended

General information, not tax or legal advice.