Walk the site before the snow does
Price snow work in the fall, on a dry site, with a tape measure. For driveways, measure length and width and note the surface — gravel and pavers plow differently than asphalt. For lots and sidewalks, measure the plowable square footage and the walking routes. Note every obstacle: curbs, islands, fire hydrants, mailbox posts, speed bumps. Anything you hit in February was visible in October.
Decide where the snow goes. Stacking room changes the job completely: a lot with nowhere to stack needs hauling, and hauling is a different price with trucks and a dump site. Photograph the site and mark the stake-out plan; the estimate should reference it.
Pick the pricing model on purpose
Snow pricing comes in three shapes. Per push: the customer pays each time you clear, which is simple and fair in average winters. Per event: one price per storm regardless of how many passes it takes, which rewards your efficiency. Seasonal: a fixed price for the whole winter, which smooths the customer's budget and your revenue but makes you the insurer of a heavy winter.
Each model moves risk around. Per push leaves volume risk with the customer; seasonal puts it on you. If you sell seasonal contracts, price them from several winters of your own snowfall history, not last year's memory, and consider a cap clause for extreme accumulation. Flat rate vs hourly pricing covers the thinking behind fixed versus variable pricing generally.
Set the trigger and price the extras
- Trigger depth: the snowfall amount that starts service — state it, because 'plow when needed' means something different to every customer
- Salt, sand, or ice melt: per application, included per visit, or a seasonal allowance — with the material named
- Sidewalks and entrances: handwork is slower than plowing and deserves its own line
- Hauling and stacking beyond stated limits
- Extra visits during a single long storm: covered by the event price or billable — decide before the first blizzard
Write the winter rules down
A snow estimate is really a service agreement, so its terms do the heavy lifting: the trigger, response-time expectations after a storm ends, what an 'event' means, the pricing model and what it includes, salt policy, and how mid-storm accumulation is handled. Add a line for damage boundaries too — plows and curbs occasionally meet, and your terms should say how that is handled.
Fall is selling season, and property managers collect several quotes at once. EstimateBook lets you draft the whole agreement by voice while you walk the site — areas, triggers, tiers — review the line items, and send a PDF the same afternoon. The draft is a starting point; your measurements and your winter rules are the product.
Mistakes that cost snow contractors money
- Seasonal pricing built on one mild winter instead of multi-year history
- No trigger depth, so every dusting becomes an argument about whether service was owed
- Salt given away inside a per-push price that assumed plowing only
- No stacking or hauling limits on a site with nowhere to put snow
- Quoting a lot in a photo without measuring — obstacles and square footage guessed wrong