How to bid snow removal contracts

Snow is the work that keeps a landscaping crew employed from November to March. It is also the work most likely to lose money, because you are pricing something whose volume you cannot predict. Here is how to bid it without carrying risk you have not been paid for.

First decide who carries the weather risk

Every snow pricing model is really a decision about who loses if the winter is unusual. Pick deliberately.

Model	How it works	Risk sits with
Per push	A fixed price each time you clear the site, usually above a trigger depth.	Client carries the weather risk
Per inch / tiered	Price bands by snowfall depth — one rate for 2–4", another for 4–8", and so on.	Shared
Seasonal / flat	One price for the whole season, however much it snows.	You carry the weather risk
Time and materials	Hourly for equipment and labour, plus salt used.	Client carries the risk

Per push

Works when: Simple to quote and easy for a client to understand. In a heavy winter you are paid for the work you do.

Watch out: Your revenue is unpredictable. A mild season can leave you with a plough truck and nothing to pay for it.

Per inch / tiered

Works when: Pay matches effort. Big storms cost the client more because they genuinely cost you more.

Watch out: You need an agreed measurement source, or you will be arguing about whether it was 3.8 or 4.1 inches.

Seasonal / flat

Works when: Predictable cash flow, billable before the season starts. Clients love the budget certainty.

Watch out: A record winter can wipe out the margin. Price this off several years of local snowfall, not last year.

Time and materials

Works when: You cannot lose money on the work itself.

Watch out: Hard to sell, invites scrutiny of every hour, and clients cannot budget for it.

Walk the site before you quote it

Almost every snow contract that loses money was quoted from a satellite image. An hour on site in October tells you things no map will.

Measure the areas that actually need clearing — not the whole property
Note where the snow will be stacked, and whether there is room for it in February
Photograph existing damage to kerbs, bollards and islands before you touch the site
Identify obstacles: islands, speed bumps, drains, low branches, parked cars
Establish who is responsible for walkways, entrances and salting
Ask about operating hours — a 24-hour site and a 9-to-5 office need very different response times

Where the snow goes matters most

A car park that clears easily in December can be unworkable by February, because the first four storms have taken the space you were stacking into. If there is nowhere left to put it, someone has to haul it away — and if your contract does not say who pays for that, it will be you.

Decide the stacking areas during the site walk, put them in the contract, and price relocation separately.

What has to be in the contract

Trigger depth: The snowfall that starts the service. Without one, every dusting is a dispute.
Response time: How long after the trigger you will be there, and whether that is from the trigger or from the end of the storm.
Measurement source: Name the weather station or service. Agree it before the season, not during a storm.
Salt and de-icing: Included or billed separately. Salt is a real cost and it is where seasonal contracts go wrong.
Snow relocation: What happens when the piles have nowhere left to go. Hauling it away is a separate job at a separate price.
Liability and insurance: Slip-and-fall exposure is the reason snow work carries the insurance it does. Get this reviewed properly.
Service log: Record every visit with time and conditions. It is your evidence if a claim arrives in March.

This is a checklist of what to cover, not legal advice. Snow work carries slip-and-fall exposure, and the liability wording in particular is worth a lawyer’s eye before you sign a season of it.

Five ways snow contracts lose money

Pricing a seasonal contract off last winter

One mild year is not a trend. Look at several seasons of local snowfall and price for the average, with a ceiling clause for an exceptional one.

Forgetting salt in a flat price

A long icy stretch with little actual snowfall can mean many salting runs and almost no ploughing — full cost, no billable pushes.

Quoting without a site walk

Satellite images do not show you the kerb that will destroy a plough blade, or that there is nowhere to stack snow after the third storm.

No trigger depth

Without an agreed trigger you will be called out for every flurry, or accused of not showing up. Both cost you.

Treating standby as free

Keeping crews and trucks available through a storm window is a cost whether or not it snows. Seasonal pricing has to carry it.

Common questions

How do I bid a snow removal contract?: Walk the site, work out how long a single clearing takes with the equipment you would send, then cost that time including standby. Choose a pricing model based on who should carry the weather risk, and check it against several years of local snowfall rather than last winter.
Should I offer seasonal or per-push pricing?: Per push if you are new to snow or the site is unfamiliar — the client carries the weather risk while you learn what the site costs you. Seasonal once you have a few years of data, because it is better cash flow and easier for a client to approve.
What should a snow removal contract include?: At minimum: trigger depth, response time, an agreed measurement source, whether salt is included, what happens when there is nowhere left to stack snow, liability terms, and a service log. Most disputes trace back to one of those being unstated.
How much should I charge for snow removal?: Not a number anyone should give you online. Rates vary hugely with region, site type, equipment and competition. Work up from your own costs — equipment, labour, salt, standby, insurance — then apply your target margin. A calculator is more use than a national average.

Working out your own numbers first? Use the pricing calculator to build up from crew time, equipment and the margin you want to keep.