Landscaping Performance Pay
Pay crews an hourly wage plus a share of what they save and what they sell. Set a revenue threshold for each division, and TeamBuyIn calculates every payout from your Housecall Pro or Jobber jobs.
How do you pay landscaping crews with performance pay?
The most popular landscaping plan is labor difference: expected hours minus actual hours, with the crew sharing the savings. TeamBuyIn recommends going further by setting a weekly revenue threshold for each division, such as irrigation, lawn mowing and larger projects, then pooling overperformance and upsells among the whole crew on top of an hourly wage of $16 to $30.
Labor difference: expected minus actual
Each job has a labor budget in hours. When the crew beats it, they share the labor saved.
If the job runs over the expected hours there is no bonus, and the crew is paid their hourly wage for every hour worked.
Example job: 24 expected crew hours, 20 actual, a $20 wage, and 50% of the savings paid to the crew.
A revenue threshold for every division
Mowing, irrigation and larger projects earn money differently, so each division gets its own weekly revenue threshold. Hit it, and the crew starts earning on the revenue above it. Every crew member can also upsell, and the upsell pool is split equally.
Lawn mowing
$8,000weekly threshold · 3 crew × $20/hr × 40 hrs ÷ 30% labor target
Irrigation
$7,680weekly threshold · 2 crew × $24/hr × 40 hrs ÷ 25% labor target
Landscape projects
$12,571weekly threshold · 4 crew × $22/hr × 40 hrs ÷ 28% labor target
Total labor cost including the pools: 25.9% of revenue. Inside the division’s labor cost target.
Example crews, wages and labor targets. Use your own for each division.
The threshold moves with the hourly wage
Landscaping wages run from $16 to $30 an hour depending on where you are. Here is a three-person mowing crew at a 30% labor target.
| Hourly wage | Weekly crew labor | Weekly threshold |
|---|---|---|
| $16/hr | $1,920 | $6,400 |
| $22/hr | $2,640 | $8,800 |
| $26/hr | $3,120 | $10,400 |
| $30/hr | $3,600 | $12,000 |
Labor difference vs. division thresholds
| Labor difference | Division thresholds | |
|---|---|---|
| Rewards | Finishing a job in fewer hours than estimated | Division revenue above a threshold, plus upsells sold |
| Best for | Single jobs with a clear labor budget | Ongoing divisions: mowing routes, irrigation, projects |
| Watch out for | Padded estimates and rushed work | Needing a clear weekly target per division |
| Upsells | Not rewarded unless they change the budget | Pooled and split equally across the crew |
How to build a division threshold plan
- 1
Pay an hourly base
Start every crew member on an hourly wage that fits your market.
$16–$30/hr - 2
Set each division’s labor target
Mowing, irrigation and projects have different labor costs, so each gets its own target.
e.g. 30% · 25% · 28% - 3
Divide crew labor by the target
The result is the weekly revenue threshold the division must reach.
Crew labor ÷ target - 4
Pool overperformance and upsells
Pay a percentage of revenue above the threshold, and of every upsell sold, into a pool.
Pool ÷ crew, equal split
Frequently asked questions
How do you pay landscaping crews with performance pay?
The most popular structure is labor difference: the crew is paid a share of the difference between the expected hours for a job and the actual hours. TeamBuyIn recommends a revenue threshold for each division, plus an upsell pool, on top of an hourly wage.
What is labor difference pay in landscaping?
Each job has an expected number of labor hours. If the crew finishes in fewer hours, expected minus actual is the labor saved, and the crew earns a share of that savings as a bonus.
What is a revenue threshold for a landscaping division?
It is the weekly revenue a division must produce to cover its crew labor at a target labor cost. It equals weekly crew labor divided by the target percentage, and the crew earns extra pay above it.
Why set a different threshold for each division?
Irrigation, lawn mowing and larger landscaping projects have different margins and crew sizes, so each needs its own labor target and threshold to reward performance fairly.
How does the landscaping upsell pool work?
When a crew lead asks a customer about extra work and the customer agrees, a percentage of that upsell goes into a pool. The pool is split equally among everyone on the crew, including the lead, on top of their hourly pay.
What hourly wage should landscaping crews earn?
Hourly wages typically range from $16 to $30 depending on where you are located. The revenue threshold rises with the wage, so each market gets its own number.
How should callbacks affect landscaping performance pay?
TeamBuyIn tracks callbacks on the leaderboard and scorecards and has the ability to remove commission. We do not recommend it because laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
How does TeamBuyIn run landscaping performance pay?
TeamBuyIn pulls completed jobs from Housecall Pro or Jobber, tracks revenue for each division against its threshold, and calculates every crew member’s payout.