How many landscaping visits does a two-crew route need to break even?
Startup Costs | Blank working worksheet | September 10, 2026
https://startup-costs.com/guides/landscaping-route-density-and-break-even/

Result to produce: A crew-by-crew route ceiling, expected completed visits, sold on-property person-hours, monthly result and the full-season schedule needed for break-even.

Business and format:
Address or service area:
Prepared by:
Date:

BEFORE YOU START
Bring the exact recurring residential maintenance scope, timed route-day records for both crews, customer addresses and service frequency, paid shifts, loading and equipment-care time, travel and access time, completed and deferred visits, weather and cancellation records, earned visit prices, visit-driven costs, the paid roster, standing operating costs and the selected depreciation or maintenance boundary.

CALCULATION INPUTS
Paid field crews (count):
Paid workers per crew (count):
Paid hours per worker per route day (hours):
Share of each paid day left after loading, breaks, equipment care and other nonroute work (%):
Average on-property elapsed minutes per scheduled visit (minutes):
Average travel, parking and access minutes between visits (minutes):
Full-season visits scheduled per route day across all crews (count):
Share of full-season visit volume available in the modeled month (%):
Customer-canceled or otherwise lost scheduled visits (%):
Weather-lost scheduled visits after customer cancellations (%):
Route days in the modeled month (count):
Realized revenue per completed visit (USD):
Visit-driven cost per completed visit (USD):
Monthly paid roster, occupancy, standing costs and depreciation (USD):

Use the guide calculator for formulas and results. Enter your own values and retain the evidence for each assumption.

DECISION RECORD
1. Completed-visit boundary
Included maintenance, property boundary, add-ons, callbacks, earned charge and collection event
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

2. Crew route-day evidence
Crew members, paid shift, loading, nonroute work, sequence, travel, access and whole completed stops
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

3. Sold person-hours
On-property elapsed time multiplied by people assigned, kept separate from travel and all paid hours
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

4. Seasonal and completion evidence
Full-season schedule, available seasonal volume, customer cancellations, weather loss, deferred, recovered and credited visits
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

5. Price and cost boundary
Realized visit revenue, visit-driven costs, paid roster, standing costs and depreciation or maintenance counted once
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

6. Decision
Binding crew route, completed and scheduled break-even, downside case and next commitment
Finding or value:
Evidence, scope and date:
Status (Unverified / Assumed / Supported / Needs review):
Next action, person and date:

DECISION RULES
If: Break-even scheduled visits exceed either crew route or rely on transferred leftover minutes
Action: Redesign geography, scope, cadence, price or paid cost structure and retest complete route days.

If: The result assumes deferred visits are recovered without an open whole stop
Action: Record a credit or lost completion, add evidenced recovery capacity, or change the service agreement and cash plan.

If: A higher-priced property uses materially more service time
Action: Compare contribution per sold person-hour and route-cycle load before expanding that property cohort.

YOUR DECISION
Next commitment:
Conditions still to resolve:
Decision and reason:
Next review date:

Sources and background:
U.S. Census Bureau: NAICS 561730 Landscaping Services: https://www.census.gov/naics/?details=561730&input=561730&year=2022
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Grounds Maintenance Workers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/grounds-maintenance-workers.htm
U.S. Census Bureau: 2023 County Business Patterns: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/cbp23st.zip
IRS: state government websites: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/state-government-websites

This is a blank personal planning worksheet. Its completion is not an approval, a market estimate or a completed state research record.
The examples and calculator defaults on the guide are authored illustrations. Keep your own evidence and limitations with any result.
Financial information supports planning and education and is not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Results do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing.