The same work, less profit, and a thin March
Two-crew landscaping and lawn-care company, Connecticut, September 2026.
Worth $77,309 a year.
What it was worth
$77,309 a year, found in a two-crew landscaping company doing $976k.
$43,289
a year at current visit volume
Reprice mowing to $64.40 a visit before the 2027 renewals go out.
A $55.96 residential visit keeps $7.66 after fuel and labor. At $64.40 it keeps a 25% margin, $8.44 more, across 5,129 visits.
$21,020
a year, or the same hours freed for paid work
Ride with Crew B for a week and close the hours gap.
Crew B averages 1.37 hours a visit against Crew A’s 1.14, in the same towns: 618 hours at $34.
$13,000
a year at this year’s volume
Rebuild the hardscape materials sheet at this year’s prices, and quote from it.
Materials ran $1,083 over quote per project on all 12, against $622 last year. Hardscape is 37.8% of gross profit.
“We did the same work as last year and I have less to show for it. And every March I wonder whether I’ll make payroll.”
What I worked from
Four exports the owner already had: Jobber visits (14,936 rows over 24 months) and requests (2,347), the QuickBooks Online profit and loss by month, and the bank balance on 30 September, reconciled to each other first. Each month is compared with the same month last year, and the season to date with last season: month on month means nothing when April follows March.
Findings
$681,712
April to September revenue, against $688,514 last year
Same work, less profit. Gross profit fell from $213,181 to $179,236. Materials went from 23.4% to 25.5% of revenue; the price list has not moved since April 2023.
$7.66
kept from a $55.96 residential mowing visit
Mowing is the volume and barely pays: 37.3% of revenue at a 14.9% margin. At the 2023 labor rate the same visit kept $13.98.
20%
longer per visit for Crew B, in the same towns
Crew B averages 1.37 hours a visit, Crew A 1.14: 618 hours, $21,020 a year.
37.8%
of gross profit from 12 hardscape projects
Hardscape makes the profit and is under-quoted. 18.6% of revenue; materials ran $13,000 over quote on all 12.
−$55,762
net result of last winter, against −$13,474 the winter before
Keeping 8 field staff on all winter cost $127,690 against $118,361 of snow revenue from 17 plowable events. $58,000 in the bank is 3.2 weeks of expenses; a winter like last year’s bottoms at $3,967 in early April, a snowless one at −$114,394.
Also recommended
Decide the winter by November: seasonal snow contracts for the 12 commercial sites, a shorter guarantee, or both. Commercial accounts on deposit plus net-15.
Expected effect: Commercial accounts pay in 45 days, up from 33; $6,414 of their $16,932 open is over 30 days.
Put a 48-hour follow-up on every Google quote and measure for a quarter.
Expected effect: Google sends 24.8% of requests and closes 20.9% at $148 a won job; yard signs close 53.0% at $20.
Caveats
Gross profit uses the owner’s $34 loaded labor rate: management information, not the accountant’s figures. The winter cash view replays last year week by week, a planning aid, not a forecast. Decisions remain the owner’s.
The six charts
Read the one-page Owner's Report
Owner’s Report — September 2026
Two-crew landscaping and lawn-care company, Connecticut · Worked example · Prepared by Abraham Dunn · Data as of 2026-09-30 Sources: Jobber visits and requests exports, QuickBooks Online P&L by month and bank balance.
Verdict: ACT — the season paid the bills, the winter will not; reprice mowing and fix the hardscape quote sheet before March.
The comparison that matters in this trade is the same month last year (second column). The month before is a different season, so “down on August” means nothing here; lumpy patio work means even September-to-September needs the season-to-date check in the narrative.
| Sep 2026 | Sep 2025 | Aug 2026 | Trailing 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $65,105 | $114,227 | $132,456 | $975,930 |
| Gross profit | $10,311 | $35,692 | $50,480 | $246,886 |
| Gross margin | 15.8% | 31.2% | 38.1% | 25.3% |
| Net profit | −$5,349 | $23,182 | $35,611 | $47,034 |
| Visits completed | 764 | 766 | 716 | 7,072 |
| Close rate | 42.9% | 48.7% | 32.0% | 55.7% |
| Money owed to you | $32,026 | $47,165 | $51,459 | $42,819 (12-month average) |
| Owed more than 30 days | $6,414 | $1,466 | $5,662 | $7,435 (12-month average) |
What happened
September’s $65,105 against $114,227 last September is mostly timing: two patios finished in September 2025 ($39,752) and none this September, after six in August ($85,235). The fair comparison is the season to date. April to September brought in $681,712 against $688,514 last year, flat, but gross profit fell from $213,181 to $179,236: materials rose from 23.4% to 25.5% of revenue and the price list did not move. Weekly mowing is 37.3% of revenue and earns 14.9%. A residential visit bills $55.96, the same as in April 2023, and keeps $7.66 after fuel and labor; at the 2023 labor rate it kept $13.98. Crew B takes 20.2% longer per visit than Crew A in the same towns (21.5% to 23.7% in every town): 618 hours, $21,020 a year. Hardscape is 12 projects, 18.6% of revenue and 37.8% of gross profit, but materials ran $13,000 over the quoted amounts, 25.5%, on all 12. Commercial accounts now pay in 45 days, up from 33; residential pays in 8. With $58,000 in the bank, 3.2 weeks of expenses, a winter like last year’s bottoms at $3,967 in the week ending 2027-04-07; with no plowable snow it reaches −$114,394.
Actions
- Reprice mowing before the 2027 renewals go out. The average residential visit bills $55.96 and keeps $7.66. At $64.40 it keeps a 25% margin, $8.44 more per visit; across this year’s 5,129 residential visits that is $43,289. Expected effect: $43,289 a year at current visit volume, before any customers lost to the increase.
- Ride with Crew B for a week and fix what takes the extra 14 minutes. Crew B’s 2,688 visits averaged 1.37 hours against Crew A’s 1.14, with no difference in the lots (average price $55.13 against $56.87). Closing the gap is 618 hours, $21,020 a year at your $34 loaded rate, or the same hours freed for paid work. Expected effect: up to $21,020 a year.
- Rebuild the hardscape materials sheet at this year’s paver and base prices, and quote from it. Materials came in $1,083 over quote per project this year, $13,000 across 12 projects, against $622 and $8,092 last year. Expected effect: $13,000 a year at this year’s volume, and the margin on the work that already makes 37.8% of your profit.
Watch list
- Winter cash. The winter guarantee (8 field staff kept on through December to March) cost $127,690 in payroll last winter against $118,361 of snow revenue from 17 plowable events; the winter before had 25 events and $170,856. Last winter’s net was −$55,762, the winter before −$13,474. Decide by November: seasonal snow contracts for the 12 commercial sites, a shorter guarantee, or both. The 30-week view peaks at $75,960 in the week ending 2026-11-11, is down to $22,026 by the week ending 2027-02-17 and ends April at $23,109, never back above the 4-week line of $71,453.
- Commercial accounts. 19.5% of revenue, 45 days to pay (33 last year), $16,932 open today of which $6,414 is over 30 days; residential has nothing over 30. Deposit plus net-15 on next season’s contracts.
- Google. 297 of 1,198 requests this year (24.8%), the most of any paid source, but a 20.9% close rate, a 10-day median wait from quote to decision and $148 of ad spend per won job. Yard signs close 53.0% for $20 a job; referrals 49.5% for $27 and the biggest jobs ($1,876 average). Put a 48-hour follow-up on every Google quote and measure a quarter before touching the $850 a month budget.
- Clean-ups and mulch. 21.8% and 20.4% margins: the same price-list problem as mowing, second in line.
- Customer concentration. Top 10 customers are 20.9% of revenue across 329 customers, and the 12 commercial accounts are 19.5%: moderate, and they are the slow payers above.
Worked example. Management information, not audited financial statements. Decisions remain the owner’s.
See services or email Abe at abe@abrahamdunn.com