A tree work estimate that prices itself

An estimate is two things: a number, and a written boundary around what the number covers. Most disputes are about the second. Set the hours, edit the scope lines, print — and the exclusions are on the page rather than in a conversation nobody remembers.

Pre-filled with a realistic job. Change any input and the figure updates as you type — nothing is sent anywhere, and Print gives you a clean sheet without the buttons.

Crew sizepplEstimated hours on sitehrEquipment rate$/hrDisposal / tipping$Overhead & margin multiplier×

$2,0536.0 hr × 3 crew · direct $1,141

Labour, loaded$751
Equipment$390
Disposal$0
Direct cost$1,141
Quoted total$2,053

Scope of work

Edit these lines to match the job, then print. Anything not written here is not in the price.

Not included

The five lines every estimate needs

Line	Why it is there
Crew size and hours	Makes the price checkable rather than a mystery
Equipment	Explains why a lift job costs more than a climb
Disposal	The line customers most often assume is included
Scope	What is being done, in enough detail to point at
Exclusions	What is not, so nobody discovers it on the day

Sound

The multiplier defaults to 1.8×, in the middle of the 1.6–2.1× band this site uses everywhere. It is not profit — it carries insurance, the truck, the phone and the days it rains.

Pricing from hours, not from the tree

The labour line uses the same derivation as every calculator here: the BLS hourly mean of $26.91 for tree trimmers and pruners (OEWS, May 2025), loaded roughly 1.55× to $41.71 per crew-member hour.

Walk the job, decide crew and hours, then sanity-check the total against the removal calculator or the trimming calculator. Two independent routes to the same number is how estimating stops being a guess.

The habit that makes the template pay

Write the estimated hours, then record the actual hours afterwards. Fifty jobs of that and you know your own numbers better than any calculator can tell you — including which access conditions you routinely under-price.

The rest of the business arithmetic, including the insurance line inside your multiplier, is in starting a tree service and insurance cost.

Sources

BLS OEWS May 2025 · 37-3013 · hourly mean $26.91, annual mean $55,970retrieved 2026-09-04