How Much to Charge for Snow Removal?

Decide whether this customer is per push, per inch, or on a seasonal contract, and write the trigger depth - usually 2 inches - on the quote. The model and the trigger are the two things that decide whether a winter is profitable.

Per push: two-car driveway $45 to $95, long or steep driveway $75 to $150, commercial lot $150 to $600. Six to twelve inches runs about 40 percent more; a storm over 12 inches doubles the push or moves to per-inch pricing. For a season, multiply by 8 to 12 events and add an overage rate.

Line-item salt or ice melt and every sidewalk on each push, then the after-hours, storm, or hauling premiums that apply. On a seasonal contract take 50 percent at signing. Quote one clean number with the trigger, the events assumed, and the overage written out.

Salt is product, a second pass, and the thing that keeps the customer from slipping, so it is always a line item: $20 to $50 per push on a driveway, $50 to $200 per application on a lot. Mark the material up 30 to 50 percent.

Salting for free is the top snow-bid mistake. See Pricing mistakes.

Charge $15 to $40 per push for sidewalks, front walks, and steps - it is shovel or blower work the plow cannot do, and it is where a residential route earns its margin. Price it on every visit, not folded into the push.

• 6 to 12 inches: about 40 percent more per push, or per-inch pricing
• Storm over 12 inches: 50 to 100 percent more, or an hourly hauling clause
• Emergency or after-hours push: add 25 to 50 percent

Lots are quoted per push at $150 to $600 or per season at $2,000 to $10,000 for around 50 spaces, always with a trigger depth, de-icer per application, and an hourly clause for hauling. Stake the curbs and islands before the first snow - $50 to $150 - so the blade survives the season.

• Price at the market per-push rate, not below it. Cheap plowing signals a truck that shows up late.
• Always line-item salt and sidewalks. They are where small operators leak margin.
• Put a trigger depth on every quote. Without it, every dusting is a free push.
• Move your best customers to a seasonal contract before the first snow. Priced at 8 to 12 events, it is the margin model.

• Equipment, fuel, and a real overhead load in every per-push price - a plow truck earns four months a year.
• Standard contract so every lot carries a trigger depth, an events assumption, and an hourly hauling clause.
• Driveways-per-storm targets so a tight route becomes margin, not just speed.
• Pre-season staking on every lot so curbs and islands do not cost blades in January.

A contract priced at 6 pushes in a 12-push winter is the classic way a plow business loses a season. Price at 8 to 12 and write the overage rate on the contract.

Ten pushes of free salt is $200 to $500 you gave away on one driveway. Salt is a line item on every push.

Without a stated trigger, every dusting is a free push and every customer expects one. Usually 2 inches, written on the quote and the contract.

The 14-inch storm is not a push, it is a day with a skid steer. Put an hourly hauling clause on every commercial contract.

A handshake seasonal deal disappears the first time it snows twice in a week. Send the contract in writing, with the trigger depth, the events assumed, and the overage rate, before the first flake.