In today’s world, business owners are looking to technology to solve their everyday problems and help streamline operations.

Nate Moses, CEO of Precision Landscape Management, in Greenville, S.C., says good labor management software can be one of the most essential tools for a landscaping company.

“Like the CRM that you use for your business, it’s very involved and the more involved you are in it, the more you get out of it,” he says. “You have to utilize it almost on a daily basis to get the most out of it.”

Taking the plunge.

Moses admits he didn’t go looking for a labor management software, and it took him awhile to commit to the investment.

“The product came to us. The salesperson who taught us about it is someone we knew from their previous job,” he says. “He knew the business we were in and knew that labor management was a key part of what we do. We did a lot of our own research, too. It was probably three to four months since he first told us about it before we decided to pull the trigger.”

Daniel Henks, owner of the Missouri-based Earth Effects Outdoor Living, was turned on to his software by a local colleague. After getting the referral, Henks says he made sure to test it with a few members of his team before committing to it.

“We started using (the software) three years ago and had used a few basic types of software before but decided through another local company to give it a try,” he says. “I came to love it pretty quick just because of the efficiency and how things tie together from being out in the field and then coming back to the office and it’s all tied in.”

One of the things Moses says he likes most about his software choice is how tech-forward it is.

“It’s a technology company that handles HR and payroll rather than a HR company trying to use technology,” he says. “We feel like it gives us a lot of advantages on the reporting and predicting side that traditional payroll and HR software has not.”

Getting it together.

Moses and Henks both say the process of implementing the new software was time-consuming but well worth it.

“Obviously, there’s a huge learning curve,” Henks says. “I still say I’m not using it to its full potential because there’s so much you can integrate and automate, and I just haven’t had the time to fully use it. But, even at using it to 35 to 50% of its capacity, I still find it to be a huge value.”

Onboarding the new software took Moses’ company about two months to complete.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” he says. “The process for us started with our office manager really spearheading the project. When you’re implementing something new, I think it’s really important that one person owns the project.”

After getting it set up, the next step is introducing it to the masses.

“When we rolled it out to the company, it was a tiered rollout,” Moses says. “There were three or four weeks where we rolled out specific things. And that went very, very well since it was planned intentionally.”

Henks says his software came with a convenient way for his crews to learn it on their own time.

“There were training videos galore, so you could have your staff watch videos on their phones even to see how it works,” he says. “That saved a lot of time.”

And after training the staff, the next step was encouraging employees to utilize it. Henks says he let employees practice using the new technology for a few weeks before they officially went “live” with it. This way they felt more confident using it when the time came.

“The biggest challenges were getting it set up the right way…and then training both the office and guys in the field. There’s different levels in people’s ability when it comes to technology,” Henks says. “Young people gravitate to it really quick and wonder why you didn’t do it sooner, and the older generation says, ‘I don’t want this new thing. And how in the world am I supposed to learn this?’”

When it came to those older employees, Henks says he allowed more time for training and knew some hiccups might occur during the early stages. But, he says they continued working with those employees.

Moses says the software was well received at Precision.

“I’d give the reception an eight out of 10,” he says. “People are typically resistant to change, but there was enough frustration with our previous software that they were a little more open to the change.”

Reaping the benefits.

Moses says the advantages of labor management software are endless.

“We’ve been using it now for about six months,” he says. “It’s made our payroll process shorter. It has made reporting for our team members better, and it’s made our team members more involved in the process.”

Communication is always key, and Moses says the software has made it a breeze.

“It allows us to do things like make company announcements and schedule company events,” he says. “Some other features it has is that you can survey your staff on different things…and you can also link it with Indeed and other job-tracking software.”

But Moses says there’s one special feature that really sold him.

“The technology, once you’ve used it for a while, can help predict what employees may not be satisfied in their position based on your turnover trends and other common things,” he says. “It has GPS and looks at where people are driving from, how long they’ve been in the company, how long they’ve been in this role and who their supervisor is. It looks at all these different factors and tries to predict that employee’s long-term success at the company and prompts you to proactively have a chat with that person.”

For Henks, the labor management software is all about saving time.

“It’s a lot more efficient. It takes care of a lot of the things that you’d have to bring paper into the office for and enter,” he says. “I also use it for marketing some and could use that heavier.”

Henks says other perks include a customer portal for online payments and he’s able to keep an eye on crews out in the field.

Embracing the times.

The pair believe that the software, and technology in general, is necessary to keep their companies moving forward.

“Like anything in life, you have to keep up with changes or you get left behind,” Henks says. “One of the reasons I like technology is because I like things to be seamless. I’m not a huge company, there’s 15 of us on average, we don’t have the time to do lots of extra things. Anything I can do to push the processes through faster is important.”

Moses says he recognizes that some may be hesitant of the expense but staying stagnant in business could be even more costly.

“When you’re analyzing software you really have to not think about what the expense is but what additional efficiencies you can get out of your business when you do implement it,” he says.

Time is your inventory. You charge for time, improve efficiency to save time, and pay technicians for how productively they use time.

Are you protecting your time by managing expenses, pricing properly and paying a fair wage?

“Time is our inventory just like electronics are inventory for Best Buy,” says Adam Linnemann, president, Linnemann Lawn Care in Columbia, Ill. “How does Best Buy protect its inventory? They have a point-of-sale system, a security person at the door and cameras. They watch over their inventory. We need to watch over our inventory so we must make sure we are charging as much as we can, reducing non-billable time, and ensuring (your) team is recording time properly and not taking advantage of time.”

You know the old saying, time is money. Unfortunately, many lawn care operators find this out the hard way when they treat a service as a loss-leader to win work (bye-bye, profit) or fail to budget accurately and wind up spending more than they make.

“When you don’t plan or budget, then emergencies can pop up and you are not prepared or don’t have the funds to deal with it,” says David Jennett, president, Green Valley Pest Control & Lawn Care, Creston, Iowa.

Lawn care pricing can be different than landscaping services like design and installation. You’re dealing with different materials and a different division of labor – usually a technician and a truck rather than a three-man crew. The billing cycle is also different and based on a lawn care program vs. more frequent visits for mowing or week-long projects for construction. While all landscape services are selling time, the nature of lawn care does call for some specific planning.

As you study the benchmarking charts on page B4 of this guide, also take into account this boots-on-the-ground insight from lawn care professionals who explain how they buy materials, price services, pay their people and increase fees.

Investing in inputs

In early winter, Dayna Macbeth, operations manager at Fit Turf in Denver, Colo., sends a letter to area vendors and suppliers. “I reach out to those I’m interested in doing business with and let them know about the products we’d like to use,” she says.

Macbeth collects estimates and compares them. “I have them compete, in a way,” she says. “I might say, ‘I’d like to order this weed control from you, but it’s $5 more per gallon, so we might end up spending a couple thousand more dollars if we buy it from you.’ Often, I am able to get them or a territory boss to decrease the price.”

This year, Fit Turf saved $3,000 on seed because of Macbeth’s due diligence.

“You have to ask, ‘Are you willing?’” she says. “Even if a price is $0.10 less per pound, we will save money as a company.”

Early ordering helps Linnemann save up to 20% on lawn care materials costs. He attends supplier shows, where he has opportunities to pre-order product for the year. “We look at what we used in the past and what we will need for the upcoming season, and we get those prices locked in,” he says.

Linnemann estimates spending about $80,000 per year on herbicides, pesticides and grass seed. In spite of the early order commitment, he is not required to pay for the products until shipments are delivered. He receives materials as needed throughout the growing season.

Also, because Linnemann worked out 60-day terms with his supplier and doesn’t pay for pre-ordered materials until they ship, he can collect on service invoices and apply those dollars toward his bill rather than using a line of credit. “By allowing us to invoice customers and collect payment from them in a timely manner, we can cover the expenses easier vs. swallowing that (materials) invoice in upfront charges,” he says.

Again, the message is: Just ask.

“Sometimes, all it takes is asking if a vendor is open to giving you extended terms, and this can make it easier on your cash flow,” Linnemann says.

As for Jennett, he purchases fertilizer pre-emergent in winter and pays a lump sum. “Our spray herbicides, we buy as needed,” he says. The same goes for grub control.

Equipment is “ride it until it dies,” Jennett says, relating that the company focuses on the oldest pieces of equipment each year.

Linnemann adds, “Make sure you are recovering your equipment cost so you can replace it one day.” By building equipment costs into pricing, you’ll be prepared to replace trucks, spreaders, sprayers, hoses and reels and ride-on machines.

Price it right

How much do you earn per 1,000 square feet of property serviced? That’s how Macbeth and Fit Turf Founder/President Paul Wagner look at pricing.

“The biggest mistake most lawn care companies make is underpricing, and some companies will use lawn care fertilization as a loss-leader – once they get the customer, they sell other services,” Wagner says.

“Lawn care needs to be profitable,” he continues. “So, in our market, we like to make $14 to $15 per 1,000 square feet with a 20% profit margin.”

To determine how much he charges customers for lawn care, Linnemann gathered the production rates for 100 properties of different sizes. “We measure those online and get the square footage, then we track how long it takes us to treat each property,” he says. “So, if a yard is 10,000 square feet and it takes us 30 minutes, we’ll back that out and say, ‘How many thousand square feet can we do in this amount of time.’”

Basically, Linnemann takes an average of these production times and assigns a price per square foot. Then, he adds in materials cost, equipment costs and drive time, also figuring in the company’s overhead. By using landscaping software, as long as the “input” numbers are accurate, the output provides pricing that meets the company’s profitability goal.

Jennett relies on an Excel spreadsheet to compute expenses and figure out a fair price for lawn care services. The formula includes: materials, average labor cost and material costs.

“As lawn size increases, the price per square footage goes down because we recognize efficiencies and the cost of doing business,” he says.

“When you don’t plan or budget, then emergencies can pop up and you are not prepared or don’t have the funds to deal with it.” David Jennett, president, Green Valley Pest Control & Lawn Care

Pay to win good people

Good help is hard to find. And depending on the market, great help can be challenging to afford. But just as important as understanding that lawn care is about selling time, it’s also about delivering quality – and that takes talent.

“This is an expensive market,” Macbeth says about Denver, adding that Fit Turf pays slightly higher than competitors. Lawn care technicians are paid about $20 per hour, and tree care specialists earn between $19 to $30, depending on their qualifications.

“We have an incentive-based pay structure for technicians,” Macbeth says, noting that they are paid hourly but can get unlimited overtime as long as they are efficient. That pay comes as a bonus. The company also offers a “welcome back” bonus. “If you complete a full season with us, at the end you will receive $1,000,” she says. “After winter, if you come back, you’ll get $500.”

A referral program pays technicians $300 for every quality recruit that is hired. Fit Turf pays out $150 after the new hire and $150 more if the team member is still on board after three months.

Another opportunity to earn and deliver high-quality service is to receive online reviews from customers. Technicians are equipped with review cards that say “thank you” on the front, and request feedback on the back. “Any time a technician gets a verified five-star review with their name in it, they get $50,” Macbeth says.

Last year, one team member earned $200 within several weeks. Also, technicians can earn a 10% commission on field sales in their name. “We have a unique pay structure for our area,” Macbeth says, noting that anyone who works for the company for five years or longer gets 100% of their health insurance premiums covered, with a value of $400 for individuals and $800 for families.

“This is really great for retention,” Macbeth says. “It helps us hang on to the great guys we have on our team.”

To gauge an ideal pay rate for his region, Jennett calls other company owners in his area to find out what their average hourly wage is. Because many of these owners are lawn care customers, they have a relationship that is open and don’t mind sharing this type of information, he says. “There are a couple of manufacturers in town we get a hold of, and employers like fast-food restaurants and service industry like plumbing and electrical,” he says.

Linnemann determines pay rate based on certifications, work ethic, employment history, flexibility and availability. For each additional license, technicians can earn about $1 more per hour. The company covers training materials and testing. “They simply need to ask and get signed up,” Linnemann says. “We pay for everything, so it’s a matter of them wanting to excel in the industry.”

Overall, from purchasing materials to pricing and paying people, Linnemann says accuracy is key. He says, “The biggest thing for us is the software we use has a budgeting tool.”

When Milosi worked on pool projects with subcontractors, the jobs never seemed to get completed in the time span Taylor Milliken would have liked.

So, in the spring of 2018, Milliken, owner and president of Milosi, a full-service landscape company based in the Nashville area, decided it was time to bring the work in house.

Previously, Milosi would complete the pool design and then subcontract out the construction part. It would complete other aspects of the outdoor living space, but not the pool itself. Milliken, however, disliked this method.

“It seems to be somewhat traditional for pool (subcontractors) to get projects started and then go get another project started and then go get another project started,” Milliken says. “But there just wasn’t a big focus on getting the project started and finished.”

Sometimes projects would take three months longer than expected, which made it difficult for Milosi to schedule jobs. He wanted more control not only over the scheduling, but the customer service.

“In cases where a client was asking us for a referral, we were providing a name to a pool builder or two but not having anything to do with the actual contract between the client and the pool builder,” he says. “Then, there were times that they weren’t returning phone calls, or they weren’t getting things done. And then they were asking us to get involved to help push the project along. So, if we’re going to be this involved, we might as well do it ourselves.”

Customers also wanted to trust one company to carry out their vision, Milliken says, instead of having the company just contract out the work. This, along with an increased demand in pool requests, led to Milliken starting Milosi’s pool division. He also felt that his company could offer something different to customers.

“If you’re looking for just someone to come in and build your pool, we’re not going to be the company,” he says. “A lot of pool contractors in our marketplace… focus mostly on the pool. Where we’re going to be focusing on the pool, the outdoor living areas around it, the landscaping, the lighting, making sure everything drains properly and a holistic approach to building backyards.”

“The key is just making sure that you stand behind your service.” Taylor Milliken, owner/president of Milosi

Building the division.

To build the division, Milliken had two employees work full-time on pools, a lead pool technician, who was hired, and a pool project manager who was transitioned from another department.

Milliken says he promoted from within for the project manager position because the candidate had a deep understanding of the company’s culture paired with an understanding of customer service and the quality that’s expected. The manager also had several years of experience with building high-end, custom homes.

“I felt like there was a lower risk associated with taking this on from within versus hiring someone new,” he says. “Experience from the home building process has similar aspects to the pool building process.” Designers, managers and salespeople added the service to their responsibilities and worked multiple divisions for the company.

The pool division had its workers and they knew how to design pools and the work involved excavation, grading and masonry, all things the company already did. But building pools also required learning new skills, including plumbing layout and a deeper knowledge of job sequencing when it comes to underground utilities.

“On pool projects, there are jobsite constraints that force multiple utilities to be installed in small, tight areas,” Milliken says.

Milliken connected with subcontractors he is friendly with and a mentor who knew more about pools.

Even today, Milosi still hires subcontractors to complete more highly specialized work, but it does most of the work of building the pool itself.

“We’re able to link arms with our subcontractors and do the whole project, so when we leave, it’s ready,” says Jon Zwart, the in-ground pool project manager at Milosi.

With everything together, Milosi was ready to begin building pools.

“Our focus is making every pool that we build now better than the one that we did before.” Taylor Milliken, owner/president of Milosi

Gaining clientele.

There were, of course, some hiccups in the beginning. On job number three, the pool division learned about the importance of having the lot line, set back and easements done by a licensed surveyor during the design process.

“We had to shift gears once we found out that the plat we received was not accurate,” Milliken says. “Fortunately, we had a very reasonable client that allowed us to redesign the pool and patio layout. Also, it is important to identify and include extending foundation and positive drains. These aren’t always easily identifiable but need to be accurate for the bidding and estimating process.”

Like with any mistake, Milliken says they learned from them.

“The key is just making sure that you stand behind your service,” he says. “If you make a mistake, you own it; you fix it.”

This willingness to be open and fix its mistakes led the division to its first customers who already bought into previous projects.

They wanted to be the first ones to have a Milosi-built pool. “The clients that hired us knew that this was new for us, but they trusted us,” Milliken says. “‘I trust you. You guys have figured out how to do other things. And I trust that you’ll figure this out as well.’”

Milosi’s reputation, Instagram page and 3-D design software have also contributed to the pool division gaining clientele, Zwart says. An intern that was later hired on full-time would create a 3-D visual of the finished product in detail before the project even began.

“The detail in the 3-D visuals go can be as specific as ‘do you want steak or salmon on the grill?’ I mean, it’s pretty neat,” Zwart says. “It shows them just the whole project and that’s what the salesperson brings to the client meeting. Then our job – my job – is to make it come to life.”

The division has also pushed good communication to create great customer experiences. The division sends out updates on the projects to customers, sometimes daily, via text or phone call, Zwart says.

“From what I've learned by being in the pool industry is it doesn't have the greatest reputation,” Zwart says. “So, when a company comes along like ours that we do what we say, we communicate, over communicate at times, I think it's refreshing to the client because they're a part of the process.”

Breaking ground.

Milosi built its first pool in under two months after launching the new division, and the company won an award from the National Association of Landscape Professionals for the second pool built.

“Our focus is making every pool that we build now better than the one that we did before,” Milliken says. “With that commitment to our clients and ourselves, there's been an accelerated growth in our pool divisions and we're building a better pool than some other ones, some other contractors that have been in for a long time, because it's like anything else you have to be really careful not to let complacency set in.”

The division started by doing basic vinyl liner pools, then quickly moved into doing full outdoor projects, which include shotcrete pools and spas, landscaping, lighting, cabanas and full automation, Zwart says.

Now, the division completes about 12 pools each year. This has not slowed because of COVID-19. If anything, Milliken says, it has given the division more pool requests. Customers are staying at home and are bored, so they want a pool built. Even with this growth, Milliken wants to grow this division methodically.

“We want to make sure that we're doing things very tasteful,” he says. “We like to do high-end, luxury pools. And so that limits you within each market of how many of those that you can sell, but it brings about a level of complication that you've got to make sure that you don't get spread too thin, so you can execute it well for the client.”

The author is an intern with Lawn & Landscape.

Thanks to its shorter profile and enhanced agility, the stand-on mower is becoming the preferred mowing machine for more landscape companies.

Nate Hrobsky, owner of Nate’s Landscaping & Snow Removal in Milton, Wis., first began using stand-ons several years ago. Now he won’t use anything else. It’s all about productivity.

“We mow some very large commercial properties,” Hrobsky says. “We typically need three 60-inch mowers going at once. The biggest advantage we’ve found with stand-ons is that we’re able to get as many as four on our big trailer. When we were using riders, we could only fit two.”

Some landscape companies have found that a stand-on is a good match for smaller properties, too.

“If we are mowing anything less than a half-acre, we use either a 48-inch rider or 36-inch stand-on,” says Alex Kirby, owner of Trifecta Lawn Care in Lexington, S.C. “I personally wouldn’t want to be standing all day to mow. But in our market where there are a lot of smaller subdivision yards, a 36-inch stand-on is great. It fits through any gate, is excellent around beds and eliminates the need for push mowing. A stand-on is also lighter which is good for delicate turf. Plus, we can flip the platform up and turn it into a walk-behind if we have to, like if the grass is pretty wet. Overall, the flexibility of the stand-on has been awesome for us. We don’t even own any walk-behinds.”

Brad Behr, owner of Copper Creek Cuts in Macclenny, Fla., also uses a 36-inch stand-on for his smaller residential accounts. For increased productivity, he switches to his 48-inch stand-on to cut the larger front lawn, like common areas of an HOA or spots where gates aren’t an issue. Added productivity is just one of the reasons why.

“There is some slope to the terrain surrounding two ponds in those common areas,” Behr says. “The larger the wheelbase, the better the mower is going to do on slopes. From a safety standpoint, I wouldn’t even want to attempt mowing those ponds with a rider.”

Saving time.

Kirby says that by completely removing walk-behind mowers from his operation, maintenance crew productivity has skyrocketed.

“Using stand-ons instead of walk mowers has allowed us to add another two or three properties to each route,” Kirby says. Having a stand-on on the trailer also helps when a rider unexpectedly becomes inoperable. “Before, the crew would have been done for the day because it wouldn’t have been possible to finish the route by push mowing. But with a 36-inch stand-on, the crew can still get through the mowing without too much lost time,” Kirby says.

DJ Aldrich, co-owner of Aldrich Landscape in Sylvania, Ohio, says stand-on mowers have been a boon to his crews’ productivity as well. The company began experimenting with its first stand-on a few years ago, replacing one of its intermediate walk-behinds. Now all of the company’s intermediate walk-behind mowers have been replaced by stand-ons. In fact, at Aldrich Landscape, the zero-turn rider has even been replaced.

“We have found that a stand-on is quicker than a sit-down,” Aldrich says. “You have a much better point of view. Everything is out in front of you so you don’t have to worry about anything that might be a couple feet behind you. Your turns can be faster. We’ve also found that the balance is a lot better. For the most part, your center of gravity is over the back wheels. You can turn a bit faster with less risk of tearing up the turf.”

Hrobsky says his crews have come to appreciate the fact that visibility is better on a stand-on. Since an operator is standing upright, it’s easier to see over hills, shrubs and other obstacles.

Stand-ons can also be advantageous when debris is in the mower’s pathway. “The operator can easily step off of the mower because the blades shut right off,” Hrobsky says. “Then the operator can grab the piece of trash, stuff it in a garbage bag or pail, jump back on and get back to mowing. It’s so much faster than if you’re on a riding mower.”

Employee adoption.

For veteran employees who are used to sit-down mowers, switching to a stand-on may be met with some initial skepticism. It pays to be patient and to remain enthusiastic. “Experienced employees will eventually come around,” Aldrich says.

Aldrich says it was interesting to watch his employees come to accept the concept of stand-up mowing. For those who had experience operating riders, it took a few days to get the feel. “The quality of their mowing was the same, but it took a little while until they became comfortable and started getting really efficient,” Aldrich says.

To help expedite the learning curve, Aldrich set up cones in his parking lot so employees could get some extra practice at the end of the day. “The hand controls are a little different,” Aldrich says. “Our new employees who had never operated a zero-turn rider picked it up pretty quickly. They’re all 19 to 25 years old and play video games, so the hand controls came pretty naturally.” Another slight difference employees might run into relates to preventive maintenance.

“Since a stand-on is more compact, it might be a little harder to work on than a zero-turn,” Behr says. “A lot of it depends on the manufacturer and how it designs things. With one brand I’ve tried in the past, you have to bolt from both the bottom and top of the spindles. With the kind of lift I have in my shop, changing the middle blade was almost impossible for me.”

On the other hand, Aldrich says that with the right design, a stand-on mower can actually make preventive maintenance a little easier.

“The nice thing with a stand-on is that there are no safety bars going around the mower to block off parts of the engine,” Aldrich says. “With the stand-ons we use, the engine is right there and easy to get to. Oil changes are easy.”

When asked if there are any downsides to a stand-on mower, Hrobsky could only point out how someone feels at the end of a long day of work.

“Honestly, the only thing I can say is that for a guy like me who is 44, comfort can be an issue,” Hrobsky says. “Stand-up mowing for eight hours can leave me pretty exhausted. But that’s not really an issue because my crews are doing the mowing for me now. They are mostly in their 20s and have no issues whatsoever. In fact, they all tell me that they would never go back to a riding mower now.”

The author is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin.