Last updated October 28, 2026

How to bid tree service jobs

What a tree bid has to say, a worked removal price built from size and access, the equipment and yard-damage line customers call about, and when tree services take a deposit.

Two trees of the same size can be a $900 job and a $2,900 job, and the difference is access: what is under it, how close the house is, whether the bucket truck can get there, and where the pieces land. A tree bid that names those things is a bid the customer believes. One that gives a price per tree gets undercut by someone who did not look.

What a tree bid has to answer

The tree, by species, height, and trunk size, and what is being done: removed, trimmed, deadwooded, reduced.
Access and rigging: where the bucket truck or crane sits, whether pieces are roped down over the roof or dropped in the open, and that ruts in the yard from equipment are possible.
Debris: hauled, chipped on site, or left as firewood, and whether the stump is ground, flush cut, or left.
What happens around it: the fence section that comes down and goes back, the plants under the drip line, the power line and who calls the utility.
The crane or lift on its own line when the job needs one.

How to price it

Example numbers for removing a 60-foot oak in a backyard, over a fence, pieces roped down, chipped and hauled, stump left for separate grinding, in a typical market. Yours will differ.

Crew: a climber and two ground workers for a full day, $1,400 at your day rates.
Equipment: chipper and truck for the day, $300.
Rigging over the fence and the shed: a half day of extra care, built into the day.
Haul and disposal: $200.
Fence section removed and reinstalled: $150.
Stump grinding: priced by the inch of diameter, about $3 to $5 an inch, as a separate line, $250.
Total: about $2,050 without the stump, $2,300 with it. A crane job adds the crane rental as its own line and often doubles the price.

Trimming prices by the tree and the hour, with the goal written: clearance from the roof, deadwood, or a reduction by a stated percent. Stump grinding alone prices by the inch with a minimum and a line about what happens to the grindings.

Where tree bids go wrong

Ruts in the lawn were not mentioned, and the customer called about them the day after.
The stump was assumed included, and it was a separate crew with a separate price.
The fence section was not on the bid, and the crew took it down to get the truck in.
A branch over the neighbor's roof was not discussed, and the neighbor was part of the job by lunch.

A finished tree service bid, line by line

Three sample tree service estimates: tree removal, tree trimming, and stump grinding. The tree service proposal template is the blank version with the equipment and yard line already on it.

Deposit and payment terms

Trimming and stump work are paid on completion. A removal with a crane or a full crew day often takes a quarter down at signing to hold the date, because the crane is booked against it. Balance on completion, the same day, before the chipper leaves. If the job depends on the utility dropping a line, say the date follows the utility.

Getting more tree jobs

Storm season brings the calls, and the first written price wins. Walk the yard, note the access, and text the bid before you leave. Put the stump as an option so the customer adds it instead of calling someone else for it. Follow up at three days. Ask for the review when the yard is raked and the wood is stacked, and ask them to mention the street, since tree work sells by the neighborhood.

BidWriter Pro writes the bid from your notes with access, rigging, debris, and the stump option on it, signed and paid from the customer's phone. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Questions contractors ask

How much should I charge to remove a tree?

Build it from crew hours, equipment, rigging difficulty, haul, and anything that has to move to get in. Many markets land between $800 and $3,500 for a large residential removal without a crane, with access moving it more than height does.

Should stump grinding be on the removal bid?

As its own line, priced by the inch of diameter, so the customer can take it or leave it without renegotiating the removal.

How do I handle yard damage on a tree bid?

Say where the equipment sits and that ruts are possible. Customers accept it when it is written and call about it when it is not.

Write a tree service bid from your notes

Type the job the way you would text it. It comes back as a finished estimate in about five seconds, in your words. No account.

Type a job the way you would text it

Only what you type goes on the estimate. Nothing gets added.

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