How To Price Snow Plowing Jobs

The winter season is always a drag. There are snowstorms, freezing cold weather, and of course messy driveways. Quoting a driveway snow removal job requires many details in order for you to get paid what the job is worth and remain competitive and reasonable for the customers. ultimately it comes down to how long it’s going to take you to get there and get the job done to move on to the next customer on your snowplow route. Before considering any of the factors below, you need to know how much your equipment, gas, and time are worth per hour.

Here are a few tips on how to accurately quote a new snow plowing job:

1. Size: What is the Total Plowable Area?

The Size of the drive is a huge factor in how to determine the price of a snowplow. Why? Because the bigger the driveway, the more time it will take, and time is money during a snow storm! There are all shapes and sizes so first, you need to create a chart. Within the chart, you can ask how many cars wide, how many cars long, the widest part of the driveway and the narrowest part of the driveway. Once you ask the customer these questions you can then start forming a price range. Let’s say a driveway is 2 cars wide and 2 cars long you now have the beginning steps on how to price a snowplow.

Plowing a straight, 2-car wide driveway

2. Driveway Shape

The next step is figuring out the shape of the driveway. Every driveway may have different shapes and patterns which can make it tricky when it comes to pricing a snowplowing service. Examples of these shapes are straight, curved, P-shape, L-shape, and horseshoe curved. Asking the shape of the customer’s driveway is very crucial because some shapes can be more tricky or time-consuming than others. Of course, snowplowing a straight shaped driveway is going to be a little less than a more complex one. Also, when your driveway has more of a shape to it, it will take more time to complete. To make sure the driveway does not get all torn up always remember to stake your driveway around the edges so you and/or a snow plower knows where the driveway is located.

3. Type of Driveway

The type you ask? Yes, there are all different kinds of driveways. The most common is asphalt and gravel but there are also brick/pavers, concrete, and multiple surfaces driveways. Most of the time the type of the driveway should not fluctuate the price but it does depend on the person/company completing the job. For example, newer/nicer driveways will require you to use a snowblower to avoid scraping and damaging the drive. Other driveways like gravel require the experience to blade it just above the grade to avoid moving too much of the gravel while still clearing enough snow for the cars to drive in and out with ease.

4. Do you offer any Add-ons?

If someone wants to hire someone to get their driveway plowed they might as well add-on pathways clearings as well. No one wants to shovel… not only is it exhausting but also very dangerous. A good starting price for a pathway clearing should be around $20.00. Each pathway that is cleared will cost the same amount. For example let’s say there is a pathway to the front door, side door, and back door, which will be $60.00 to clear all pathways. Maybe the car needs to be cleared off, that can also be another additional add-on for around $15.00 give or take a few. Salting the driveway is also another service customers want, so find a certain amount of pounds for the base price and then the price can adjust from there. For example, let’s say for 20lbs of salt it will be $28.00. You can also lay salt on pathways