Here’s some candid feedback on why making revenue projections for a lawn mowing business is so crucial:

First off, mowing season isn’t year-round in most parts of the U.S. and Canada. You need to be ready for that off-season by budgeting properly. Having solid revenue projections helps you plan for those months when work slows down or stops, ensuring you’re covered financially during the winter and hopefully have money to reinvest in the business.

Another key reason is to create an estimate based on the lawns in your local market. I own a small lawn care company called Nerdy Lawn in Meridian, Idaho, and the default calculations I use here are the exact prices I charge my clients. 

Knowing my prices makes quotes easy and fast, which helps a lot in closing new business. By focusing on nearby neighborhoods, you keep travel costs—like gas—low, which directly boosts your bottom line. Staying close also means less time wasted on the road, which lets you be more efficient and fit in more jobs each day.

One of my lawns after a mow.

This calculator also factors in customer churn. For me, monthly customer churn is around 5%. No matter how good your service is, people move or decide to cancel for all sorts of reasons (job loss, relocation): not necessarily because you did a bad job. By accounting for a natural loss of clients, you can keep projections more realistic and prepare to replace those customers when the need arises.

It’s also important to re-evaluate your prices each season. Costs change, and you need to make sure your rates still make sense for the market and your expenses. Plus, not all jobs are as simple as they seem at first glance. Maybe that yard has way more edge or trim work than you originally thought. In cases like this, I adjust the price for year two to reflect the true effort involved. It’s fair to both you and the customer to make sure your pricing matches the work required. And at the end of the day, customers are used to inflated prices over time. Many won’t mind paying you a little bit more if you do a good job. 

Finally, take the time to figure out your overhead. Gas, equipment maintenance, taxes, and supplies all eat into your profits. Revenue isn’t the same as profit. You don’t get to keep everything you earn. Accurate projections help you understand what’s left after covering your expenses.

Revenue projections aren’t just about numbers—they’re about setting yourself up to succeed through every season, keeping things efficient, and ensuring you’re ready for the challenges of running a lawn mowing business. Now get out there and start mowing!