Business and pricing0 answersAI answer
We're losing money on some jobs and losing bids on others.
Asked October 25, 2026
AI answer · not yet verified by a surveyor
Price from your costs and risk, not from the lowest competitor [1]:
- Know your real hourly cost: wages, benefits, equipment, vehicles, software, insurance and overhead.
- Track actual hours by job type (research, field, drafting, review) and compare them with estimates [3].
- Use factors: lot size, terrain, vegetation, records quality, missing monuments, travel and rush requests.
- Write a clear scope: what's included and what isn't, such as staking, recording or extra visits.
- Offer options: basic boundary, boundary plus staking, rush.
- Explain value: licensed work, liability coverage and accurate results [2].
Review prices yearly. Raise them when your costs rise or your backlog stays long, and drop work types that consistently lose money.
General information only. Answers here are not a survey or legal advice, and no one here can tell you where your boundary is. For your property, hire a licensed land surveyor in your state; for legal questions, a real-estate attorney.