Two trees the same size are not the same job. One drops in an open yard. The other leans over a roof with a service line through the crown. Here is how tree pros put that difference on paper, a worked estimate you can copy, a calculator you can run with your own rates, and the app that writes the whole thing from a walk around the yard.
Most lost money in tree work comes from three habits: pricing a removal by trunk size alone, lumping the stump and the haul-off into one number, and starting the job without a deposit on a big removal. The size of the tree tells you the volume of wood. It does not tell you whether you can drop it or have to rig it down in pieces, whether you need the bucket truck or a crane, or how many hours the ground crew spends dragging brush to the chipper because the truck cannot reach the back yard.
A good tree service estimate answers all of that in writing before the ropes go up. It protects the price, it protects you when conditions change, and it gets you paid on time because the customer saw every line before they signed.
Ten lines, in the order the customer will read them. Skip one and you either eat it or argue about it later.
A real-shaped job, priced line by line. The numbers are example rates in the ranges tree crews commonly quote around the country. Your market, your crew, and your equipment set the real ones.
| Line item | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remove 65 ft red oak, back yard, leaning over houseLarge removal. Base price for the tree itself. | 1 | $1,400 | $1,400 |
| Hazard and rigging: over structure, service line in crown, piece down by climberThe reason this tree costs what it costs. | 1 | $900 | $900 |
| Crane, half day, with operatorNo truck access to the back yard; crane sets over the garage. | 1 | $950 | $950 |
| Remove 30 ft pine, front yard, open dropMedium removal, straight fell, no rigging. | 1 | $550 | $550 |
| Stump grinding, 3 stumps, 12 to 30 inch diameter (66 inches total)Priced per inch at ground level. | 66 in | $4 | $264 |
| Haul-off: all wood and brush, chips hauled, drive blown cleanTwo loads. | 2 loads | $175 | $350 |
| Utility line drop and reconnect coordinationPass-through, scheduled with the power company. | 1 | $150 | $150 |
| Estimate total | $4,564 | ||
| Deposit at signing (30%) | $1,369.20 | ||
That is $4,564 with a $1,369 deposit at signing, and every dollar of it has a reason next to it. When the customer asks why the oak is three times the pine, the estimate already answered.
Put in your own rates. The hazard multiplier applies to the removal lines only, the way most crews price it.
Example rates only. Change every number to what you charge. Put these rates in SayEstimate and the app prices the next one from a spoken walkthrough.
Everything below is included. No modules, no add-on pricing, no sales calls.
Walk the yard and talk: "65-foot oak over the house, needs rigging, crane half day, three stumps, haul everything." The AI drafts the lines in your rates. About 60 seconds, start to send.
The lean, the lines, the drop zone. Attach the photos to the estimate so the scope and the risk are documented before anyone climbs.
The customer opens a clean link, signs on their phone, and pays the deposit by card or bank. You are emailed the moment it happens.
Per-inch stump pricing, per-load hauling, firewood-left discounts. The customer sees the choices instead of one lump.
Your after-hours rate rides on the document, so the emergency call is priced before it comes.
One tap from approved estimate to invoice. Cash and check get marked paid with how they paid. Card and bank payments settle to your own account with 0% markup.
Written by Terry "Hoss" Tenison runs an insulation business in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and built SayEstimate because the estimating software out there was made for companies with an office staff. The pricing structure on this page is how tree crews put a job on paper; the example rates are illustrations, and your market sets the real ones. More about Hoss →
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