Route radius can hide unproductive payroll
A service area can look compact on a map while traffic, gates, parking, loading and uneven route days consume the paid hours needed for completions.
Home & garden services / West Virginia / State profileLandscaping Company
Landscaping Company
in West Virginia.
At the assumed 308 completed visits across 22 route days (14 per day), this West Virginia wage reference calculates approximately $6,155 mature monthly EBIT and $7,138 cash after maintenance before receivable changes. The minimum EBIT activity at the stated resolution is 242 completed property-service visits per month. 20% less activity changes mature monthly EBIT to $463 in the largest of these one-input effects. Price, paid activity, nonwage costs and the delivery calendar remain planning assumptions. Results include the paid roster, before financing, income taxes and owner distributions.
Planning answer updated . Source periods appear below.
Two two-person crews providing recurring residential landscape maintenance on compact local routes
State benchmarks: May / July 2025 · Page prepared September 10, 2026
State wages and operating decision
Test the assumptionsCan two compact routes deliver enough completed visits at the retained contribution?
The May 2025 state occupation medians price the same paid roster $2,895 per month below the national medians. Loaded payroll is $15,921 per month, including the assumed 18% employer-cost addition. This comparison changes occupation wages, not rent, achieved prices or paid demand. A wage median is a statistical anchor, not a hiring offer, legal wage floor or credential.
Paid roster and exact wage-source rows
| Paid role | SOC | Person-hours | USD/hour | Source observation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four field workers across two two-person crews | 37-3011 | 704 | $15.50 | State H_MEDIAN · workbook row 34804 |
| Route supervision, estimating and client coordination | 37-1012 | 96 | $26.88 | State H_MEDIAN · workbook row 34799 |
Paid hours and the employer allowance are authored assumptions. The preserved source record identifies workbook, sheet, geography and period.
What activity clears the modeled EBIT boundary?
At the stated contribution and paid roster, 242 completed property-service visits per month produces $56.34 mature monthly EBIT. At the previous activity of 241 completed property-service visits per month, EBIT is -$36.06. This is the minimum at the stated 1-unit resolution; delivery still depends on the workload and collection checks below.
Count completed visits across the two crews, not properties under contract or the number of workers. A two-person crew uses both workers during the same stop. The 54-minute assumed cycle includes 45 minutes on the property and nine between properties; loading, breaks, equipment care and uneven routes must fit the remaining paid time. Test the dated route and seasonal calendar before relying on the ceiling. Seven-day collection is a separate cash assumption.
Which assumption has the largest effect in these tests?
20% less activity changes mature monthly EBIT to $463 in the largest of these one-input effects. The comparison below changes one input at a time; it is not a local forecast or a probability range. A daily average translates the monthly visit requirement; it does not require fractional completed visits.
| Test | EBIT | Cash after maintenance | Held-constant basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference | $6,155 | $7,138 | Exact published input snapshot |
| 20% less activity | $463 | $1,446 | 11.2 completed property-service visits per route day; same roster and other inputs |
| 10% lower net price | $3,309 | $4,292 | Direct-cost share held fixed; same activity and paid roster |
| 25% higher occupancy | $5,905 | $6,888 | $1,250 monthly occupancy; same other inputs |
| 10% higher wage rates | $4,563 | $5,546 | Same paid hours and 18% employer allowance |
Keep earnings and cash separate. EBIT deducts $1,983 monthly depreciation. Cash after maintenance deducts $1,000 maintenance capital expenditure instead, before changes in receivables. The funding scenario is approximately $194,341: $131,411 opening payments, $22,288 peak operating cash deficit and $40,642 retained buffer, with each displayed amount rounded separately. The buffer is cash held, not another expense or owner income.
Opening allowances, occupancy, price, cost mix, sales ramp and collection timing are reference inputs. For a selected address or service territory, validate the complete scope, paid calendar, supplier terms, applicable authority and dated customer receipts. Use the format-specific checks and source limits.
Financial information disclaimer
Published calculations support planning and education. They are not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice and do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing. Confirm the requirements and commitments that apply to the selected operating plan.
How to use this West Virginia profile.
This completed planning profile combines checked state wage and population sources with a transparent financial scenario. Use its opening-cost, operating-cost and revenue figures as planning inputs, then replace location-sensitive assumptions when evaluating a specific address or service area.
| Evidence family | Published basis | What to confirm locally |
|---|---|---|
| Opening costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | premises scope, fitout, equipment, installation freight tax, deposits, preopening training, opening inventory, contingency |
| Operating costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | occupancy, utilities, insurance, materials, payment fees, marketing, software administration, maintenance |
| Paid labor and employer costs | State wage benchmark used — confirm employer costs | paid roster, wages, wage floor overtime, employer taxes, benefits leave, workers compensation, owner role |
| Revenue and collections | Published planning inputs — validate price and demand locally | realized price mix, demand volume, capacity, industry cross check, launch ramp, seasonality, collections |
| Permissions and fees | Confirm for the selected address | activity address jurisdiction, initial fees, recurring fees |
National equipment prices can support the plan where configuration, delivery and taxes match the intended purchase. Confirm rent, selling prices, demand and permissions for the actual location instead of applying a generic state adjustment.
What changes in West Virginia?
1,766,147State population · July 1, 2025
−0.07%Population change · 2024 to 2025
$15.50Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers · state median / hour
The Census estimate for West Virginia is 1,766,147 people. It declined by 1,255 between July 2024 and July 2025 (−0.07%). This statewide movement cannot identify a viable route, completed-visit mix or realized service price.
Using the same paid roster, West Virginia occupational wages produce $15,921 of monthly loaded payroll. That is −15.39% relative to the identical roster priced with national occupation medians ($18,816). Only wage benchmarks change in this comparison; it does not measure a state’s overall business attractiveness.
Labor deserves an early local quote. The benchmark differs materially from the national roster. Time complete route days, verify the service scope and track weather-adjusted completions before using statewide population to plan visits.
BLS wage source · Census population source · Exact fields and workbook rows
Which business is being modeled?
Two two-person crews providing recurring residential landscape maintenance on compact local routes. A route-based residential landscape maintenance company with two paid two-person crews, separately paid route supervision and a defined recurring visit scope.
Each crew has eight paid hours. At 90% route availability, 432 minutes remain for a 54-minute stop cycle, supporting eight whole visits per crew or 16 visits across two crews per route day. The authored stop cycle uses 45 on-property minutes plus nine minutes between properties. Four field workers therefore provide 32 paid person-hours per day, while one completed visit uses 1.5 on-property person-hours. Loading, breaks, estimates, equipment care, route imbalance, property variation, traffic, weather, cancellations and rework can reduce the ceiling. These values are planning assumptions, not observed route performance or demand.
| Input | Reference assumption |
|---|---|
| completed property-service visits per route day | 14 |
| Net selling price per completed property-service visit | $105.00 |
| Trading days / month | 22 operating days per month |
| Variable cost share | 12% |
| Occupancy / month | $1,000 |
| Other fixed costs / month | $3,400 |
| Employer cost allowance | 18% above base wages |
5% fuel and visit-driven equipment use, 3% trimmer line, blades, bags, green-waste and other consumables, and 4% payment fees, callbacks and other costs that move with completed visits; all employee compensation remains in payroll. Commercial auto and general insurance $1,000; yard utilities, waste and security $500; route, scheduling and communication systems $400; marketing $650; accounting, administration and professional costs $450; non-visit vehicle and equipment standing costs $400 per month. Maintenance investment is modeled separately at $1,000 per month.
Landscape installation, design, hardscape or construction, irrigation installation or repair, pesticide or fertilizer application, arborist and tree-removal work, snow services, commercial properties, one-off cleanups, franchising, subcontracted field crews and unpaid owner labor are outside this recurring residential maintenance format. Selling prices exclude collected sales tax. No price or volume above is presented as a market observation for West Virginia.
What does the West Virginia staffing benchmark imply?
| Role / SOC | Paid hours / month | Wage benchmark / hour | P25–P75 / hour | Base wages / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four field workers across two two-person crews37-3011 · Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers · State observation | 704 | $15.50 | $14.36–$17.59 | $10,912 |
| Route supervision, estimating and client coordination37-1012 · First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers · State observation | 96 | $26.88 | $21.40–$30.52 | $2,580 |
Base wages total $13,492 per month. An authored 18% allowance for employer costs adds $2,429, giving $15,921 of loaded payroll. The allowance is a planning shortcut; it is not a state-specific payroll tax calculation or benefits quote for West Virginia.
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is the primary field-work benchmark; First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers is the route-supervision benchmark. These broad occupations do not establish local hiring quotes, crew skill, overtime, employer obligations or a lawful compensation arrangement. The four field positions and all supervision, estimating and client coordination are paid; the supervisor hours do not add field-crew capacity unless the actual schedule assigns that person to a crew and removes the simultaneous office duty. Every operating role is paid, including management or supervision. If the owner performs a modeled role, their compensation occupies that role once; no additional owner draw is included in operating profit.
The middle 50% wage interval describes the occupation’s observed wage distribution. It is not a confidence interval for this business’s total payroll. Allocate the aggregate hours across an actual roster and check wage rules, overtime, leave and employer obligations for the chosen location.
At this roster, a 10% increase in wage rates adds $1,592 per month to loaded payroll. At the reference price and variable margin, it needs about 0.8 additional completed property-service visits per route day to offset it. This sensitivity holds staffing hours and other inputs fixed.
How is the opening funding scenario built?
| Use of funds | Cash paid |
|---|---|
| Two used truck-and-trailer combinations | $65,000 |
| Commercial mowers, handheld equipment and field tools | $48,000 |
| Secure yard, storage and small-office setup | $6,000 |
| Scheduling, communications, branding and setup | $3,500 |
| Professional and registration allowance | $3,000 |
| Opening fuel, parts, PPE and consumables | $2,000 |
| Refundable deposit (two months of occupancy) | $2,000 |
| Paid pre-opening training | $1,911 |
| Total payments before opening | $131,411 |
The equipment and premises allowances are the same in all 50 states for this operating format. They are a comparison baseline and must be replaced with local scopes and quotes. Training uses 96 aggregate paid hours at the modeled team’s weighted loaded rate. The refundable deposit is cash tied up, not an operating expense.
$22,288Peak cumulative operating cash deficit · month 3
$40,6422 months of fixed cash costs · assumed buffer
$194,341Opening payments + deficit + buffer
The cash schedule tests 60 months, with sales ramping through 40%, 55%, 70%, 82%, 90%, 96%, 100% of the volume assumption. Full payroll and fixed costs begin in month one. The reserve covers the deepest cumulative operating deficit plus the stated buffer. A buffer is retained cash, not spending and not part of project payback twice.
The reference assumes residential invoices are collected within seven days of each completed visit. Monthly billing, failed cards, disputes, customer deposits, prepaid seasonal plans and longer collection terms need their own receivables and deferred-revenue treatment. Opening fuel, parts and consumables are funded upfront; replenishment is represented in variable expenses. Asset purchases are depreciated over 60 months for this scenario. No sale or deposit recovery is assumed at the end.
Can the reference operating month support the format?
The assumed 308 completed visits across 22 route days (14 per day) produces approximately $6,155 mature monthly EBIT after the paid roster and depreciation. At the stated contribution and paid roster, 242 completed property-service visits per month produces $56.34 mature monthly EBIT. At the previous activity of 241 completed property-service visits per month, EBIT is -$36.06. This is the minimum at the stated 1-unit resolution; delivery still depends on the workload and collection checks below. Additional starting cash changes the funding position; it does not improve contribution per unit or reduce the recurring operating boundary.
| Measure | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $32,340 |
| Variable operating costs | $3,881 |
| Loaded payroll, including management | $15,921 |
| Occupancy assumption | $1,000 |
| Other fixed operating costs | $3,400 |
| EBITDA | $8,138 |
| Depreciation | $1,983 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | $6,155 |
| Maintenance capital expenditure | $1,000 |
| Mature project cash flow | $7,138 |
EBIT deducts paid operating costs and depreciation. Monthly fixed costs plus depreciation ($22,304.46) divided by contribution per completed property-service visit ($92.40) gives approximately 241.390257 completed property-service visits per month. Amounts are displayed rounded; the calculation uses the full input precision. At the stated contribution and paid roster, 242 completed property-service visits per month produces $56.34 mature monthly EBIT. At the previous activity of 241 completed property-service visits per month, EBIT is -$36.06. This is the minimum at the stated 1-unit resolution; delivery still depends on the workload and collection checks below. EBITDA operating-cost break-even is approximately 219.92561 completed property-service visits per month. Cash-after-maintenance break-even is approximately 230.748121 completed property-service visits per month, before receivable movement; it is not launch payback or owner take-home pay.
| Measure | Months 1–12 | Mature month |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $334,072 | $32,340 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | $26,330 | $6,155 |
| Project cash flow | $30,584 | $7,138 |
Project payback occurs in month 27 in this reference schedule. It measures recovery of actual pre-opening payments from cumulative project cash, with no financing or owner distributions. It does not measure cash paid back to an owner.
Weather and cancellations do not always move cleanly
A deferred visit can collide with the next route day, require overtime or be lost under the service agreement. Count the actual recovery rather than shifting every visit on paper.
Test your own West Virginia scenario.
Change the assumptions to see how this format responds. The sections above remain the published reference, so you can compare your scenario with the original. Use the browser-local export buttons below to save only the scenario you are working on.
Reference scenario. JavaScript enables editing and exports.
$194,341Opening payments + 60-month cash reserve
$6,155Mature monthly operating profit (EBIT)
11Approximate continuous EBIT break-even · completed property-service visits per route day
308 completed property-service visits per month × $105.00 = $32,340 revenue. Loaded payroll: $15,921 per month. Break-even uses 68.6% of capacity.
The download preserves the published scenario and its source references.
The practical opening route in West Virginia.
Describe the residential maintenance menu, excluded application, tree and construction work, crew employment, yard and storage, vehicles and trailers, operating hours, noise, fuel or other stored materials, green waste and disposal. Ask the responsible state and local agencies which business, employer, land-use, parking, vehicle, waste, environmental, occupational or activity-specific requirements apply to the actual locations and services.
| Workstream | Official starting points | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Business and activity | Which entity, name or activity registrations apply, and which local or specialist office also has responsibility? | |
| Tax | Which registrations and treatment apply to the actual goods or services, location and staffing arrangements? | |
| Employers | Which employer accounts, reporting steps and labor obligations apply to the planned paid roster? |
Take the activity, address, proposed equipment and staffing plan to the relevant office. Record applicability, supporting documents, fees, dependencies and renewal terms from the actual official response.
Agency routes were listed on the IRS West Virginia directory when retrieved September 5, 2026. Links identify starting offices; they do not verify a permit, tax treatment, fee or opening time for this business. Open the full West Virginia opening checklist →
What must be verified before opening in West Virginia?
Can compact recurring routes deliver enough completed property-service visits at the realized price after travel, weather, cancellations and seasonal volume changes?
- Define one recurring visit by property and scope: mowing, edging, blowing and the explicitly included light bed or pruning work. Record crew count, on-property minutes, travel, materials, callback time and earned price; do not count a quote, skipped service, add-on or return visit as another completion.
- Map each customer to a named route day and sequence. Time yard loading, driving, parking, access, service, cleanup, breaks, disposal and equipment care across a full paid day. Compare sold on-property person-hours with all paid person-hours.
- Track scheduled, weather-deferred, customer-canceled, completed, reworked and collected visits separately through active and shoulder-season weeks. A signed recurring agreement or address inside a service radius is not completed demand.
Service scope and route
Fix the residential maintenance scope, property boundaries, visit frequency, quality standard, exclusions, weather and cancellation policy, and price-change trigger. Test complete route days before filling both crews.
Vehicles, equipment and operating permissions
Match two truck-and-trailer combinations, mowers, handheld tools, storage, loading, fuel, waste and maintenance access to the service. Verify registration, land use, parking, vehicle, employer, noise, waste and any activity-specific requirements with the responsible agencies.
Roster, seasonality and opening cash
Build both crew schedules with supervision, estimates, breaks, training, absence coverage and maintenance. Fund payroll, standing vehicle costs and the weaker seasonal period without assuming every deferred visit can be recovered.
Start with West Virginia government and agency contacts and the SBA launch guide. The relevant city, county or state office must confirm the actual activity and address. This page does not publish verified permit fees, legal determinations or approval timelines.
A higher ticket can include more work
Larger properties, extra edging, bed work, debris or difficult access can raise price while reducing daily capacity. Re-time the scope before treating the higher ticket as better contribution.
For a selected address or service area, collect an evidence pack covering premises and equipment quotes, paid demand, staffing, collection terms and the responsible authorities. The state wage and population evidence on this page does not supply those location-specific inputs.
What supports this page?
- BLS: May 2025 state occupational wages (XLSX in ZIP)
State: West Virginia, FIPS 54. Cross-industry, ownership 1235. H_MEDIAN supplies an available hourly benchmark; H_PCT25 and H_PCT75 describe the occupational distribution. 37-3011 (Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers), state workbook row 34804; 37-1012 (First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers), state workbook row 34799. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- BLS: May 2025 national occupational wages (XLSX in ZIP)
The national comparison uses the same paid roster and these national H_MEDIAN observations: 37-3011, national workbook row 727; 37-1012, national workbook row 717. Any national value substituted for a suppressed state value is identified separately. National observations do not become state observations.
- Census: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (CSV)
SUMLEV 040; STATE 54; POPESTIMATE2025 and POPESTIMATE2024. July 1 estimates; change and percentage change are calculated within the same vintage. Population is context, not a customer forecast.
- BLS: wage definitions and technical notes
OEWS covers employee jobs across industries. It is a statistical benchmark, not a hiring quote or legal wage floor. Employer benefits and overtime premiums are outside the wage measure; tips can be included.
- USAGov: West Virginia government and agencies
An official route to the state government and major agencies. This directory does not confirm the fees, permits or approval times for a particular address or business.
- Reference assumptions and calculation method
All selling prices, demand, paid hours, employer allowance, premises, startup allowances, cost shares, ramp and cash buffer are authored planning inputs. No commercial quote or researched state total is implied.
State wage and population benchmarks are sourced. Confirm premises, demand, selling prices, permits and commercial quotes for the selected location. State Fit and Business Idea Scores are not assigned.
How to read the reference inputs
The stated business format and paid roster define the operating unit. Wage and population observations retain their geography and period. Replace commercial assumptions only with evidence that matches the scope, then reconcile the same inputs across earnings, cash and the dated delivery schedule.
Plan your next evidence check →Continue through the site.
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