Tree service
Tree Crew Productivity Calculator
Measures crew productivity, where the setup and the cleanup are most of the day.
Result
Not all unbilled time is waste. Travel, restocking, training and warranty calls are necessary and will never be zero. The useful question is whether the share is drifting, not whether it reaches 100%.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Output per crew hour, however the work is measured, against the hours paid. The useful observation in tree care is that the cutting is a minority of the day: arriving, setting up drop zone protection, rigging, cutting, then chipping, raking and hauling. On many jobs the cleanup is longer than the removal, so a productivity figure based on cutting time misrepresents what the crew actually does.
What moves the number
- Setup and cleanup time, which is most of the day on a typical job.
- Jobs per day, since each one carries its own mobilisation.
- Drive time between jobs.
- Crew size and whether it matches the work.
Where this one goes wrong
More jobs per day is usually better than longer jobs, because the mobilisation overhead is paid per job regardless. But the opposite trap exists too: scheduling three small jobs across a city consumes the day in driving, while two in the same neighbourhood plus a larger one would have been better. Productivity in this trade is largely a scheduling and routing outcome rather than a crew effort one, and crews are often blamed for a day that the schedule made impossible.
Before you quote
- Measure whole-day output rather than cutting time.
- Look at routing before concluding a crew is slow.
- Match crew size to the job rather than sending the same crew everywhere.
Questions
About this calculator
Why does a tree removal take all day when the cutting took two hours?
Because the cutting is a minority of the work. Arriving, protecting the drop zone, rigging, then chipping, raking and hauling the debris is most of the day, and on a large canopy the cleanup can exceed the removal itself.
Is more jobs per day always better?
Usually, since mobilisation is paid per job, but not when the jobs are scattered. Three small jobs across a city can consume a day in driving where two nearby plus a larger one would have produced more. Productivity here is largely a routing outcome.
How should crew productivity be measured?
On whole-day output against hours paid, not on cutting time. Measuring the part of the day that looks like work ignores setup, rigging and cleanup, which is where most of the hours go, and it leads to blaming crews for schedules that were never achievable.
The formula
utilisation = billed hours / paid hours
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How to use this calculator
- Paid hours per day. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.
- Hours that reach an invoice. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 5.2.
- Number of technicians. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 3.
- Rate charged per hour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $145.
- Cost per paid hour ($). Wage plus burden.
- Working days per month. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 22.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to billable share of the day, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Paid hours per day | 8 |
| Hours that reach an invoice | 5.2 |
| Number of technicians | 3 |
| Rate charged per hour | $145 |
| Cost per paid hour | $34 |
| Working days per month | 22 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Billable share of the day main result | 65.0% |
| Unbilled hours per month | 185 |
| Revenue those hours would have carried | $26,796 |
| What the unbilled hours cost in wages | $6,283 |
65.0% of the paid day reaches an invoice. The rest is 185 hours a month, costing $6,283 in wages and carrying $26,796 of revenue that never happened.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only rate charged per hour, this is what happens to billable share of the day. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Rate charged per hour ($) | Billable share of the day |
|---|---|
| $73 | 65.0% |
| $109 | 65.0% |
| $145 example above | 65.0% |
| $218 | 65.0% |
| $290 | 65.0% |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Paid hours per day
- A number, between 0 and 24, starting at 8.
- Hours that reach an invoice
- A number, between 0 and 24, starting at 5.2.
- Number of technicians
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 3.
- Rate charged per hour ($)
- A money amount, starting at $145.
- Cost per paid hour ($)
- Wage plus burden.
- Working days per month
- A number, between 0 and 31, starting at 22.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Billable share of the day | The headline result. A percentage. |
| Unbilled hours per month | A number. |
| Revenue those hours would have carried | A money figure. |
| What the unbilled hours cost in wages | A money figure. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.