Clevinger Forest Services, LLC

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Clevinger Forest Services, LLC Clevinger Forest Services, LLC specializes in tree and brush clearing for land-owners. Field & pasture tree and brush clearing. Trail & road overgrowth clearing.

Forest under brushing. Fence line clearing. Viewscape clearing. Tree thinning. Vegetation management. Food plot clearing. Shooting lane clearing. Timber slash clean up.

This is how I price my forestry mulching equipment.These screenshots show my actual owning, operating, and overhead cost...
10/21/2026

This is how I price my forestry mulching equipment.
These screenshots show my actual owning, operating, and overhead costs for my Bobcat T770 with a Fecon BH74SS mulcher included in the pricing.

My equipment's break-even point (BEP) is $155.68 per productive hour. (includes operator wage in operating cost) This BEP is the point where every ownership, operating, overhead, and labor wage expense is covered.

For my business, my truck's break-even cost is $1.93/mile and my trailer's is $0.52/mile. I use this to figure out my mobilization fee.

I never, ever charge less than this break-even-point cost. I normally shoot for a 30-40% profit margin on top of my job estimate total cost. The profit margin is the part I can adjust, either up or down, depending if my job backlog is short (I lower the profit %), or long (I raise the profit %).

These are my numbers. Everyone's equipment, utilization, financing, repairs, insurance, overhead, and business goals are different, which is why I've never believed someone else's hourly rate is the right answer for my business.

Before I think about what the local market is charging, I want to know exactly what it costs me to put my equipment to work. Once I know that number, I can make pricing decisions with 100% confidence. I stay out of the “race to the bottom” pricing, and don’t wonder if I am over-bidding and losing jobs. I know what I need to charge, and I read the market based on my back-log numbers.

I've been running my forestry mulching & bush-hogging business since 2014, and this is how I manage my business.

I just wanted to put this out there because I think understanding your own numbers is the foundation of any equipment based business. It is not a variable you guess on. There are a lot of variables in developing a good estimate, but your pricing needs to be solid.

10/20/2026

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This is how I use my equipment costs to actually run my business—not just calculate an hourly rate.I’ve talked a lot in ...
09/30/2026

This is how I use my equipment costs to actually run my business—not just calculate an hourly rate.

I’ve talked a lot in these groups about knowing your true equipment cost and building your pricing from your own numbers instead of simply looking at what everybody else charges.

But calculating your cost per hour is really only Step 1.
The bigger question is:
What do you do with that information once you know it?

For me, the process looks like this:
Step 1: Know my true cost.
I calculate the owning cost, operating cost, business overhead and operator labor associated with running the equipment.
That gives me a cost foundation—a number I can actually make decisions from.

Step 2: Build my pricing and estimates from that cost foundation.
Instead of starting with “What does everybody around here charge?” I can start with what the job is actually going to cost my business, then determine the profit I need to earn above that cost.
Market pricing still matters. But now I know where I stand financially when I compare my rate to the market.

Step 3: Compare the estimate to what actually happened.
This is the After Action Review. The tool all professional fields use to improve themselves.
-If I estimated 24 equipment hours and the job actually took 33, I want to know that.
-If my actual costs came in substantially higher than estimated, I want to know why.
-And I want to know what profit was actually left after the job—not just how much money the customer paid me.
-Because a job can put money in your bank account and still perform a lot worse than you thought it did.

Step 4: Use what happened on that job to make the next one better.
-Maybe I underestimated equipment hours.
-Maybe mobilization took longer than expected.
-Maybe I missed materials or subcontractor costs.
-Maybe my rate simply wasn't high enough for that type of work.
That information should change how I estimate the next similar job.

That’s the system I wanted for my own business:
Know the cost → Price the work → Estimate the job → Track the actual results → Learn from it → Make a better decision next time.

I use to manage my business using five different spreadsheets and Quickbooks, which maintaining spreadsheets was a pain and Quickbooks was overkill and expensive..

This is why I built TRUEHOUR.
I wanted one simple place for the basic things I actually needed as an owner-operator—equipment costs, overhead, pricing, job estimating, customer/job tracking, estimated vs. actual performance, expenses, and now AI analysis that helps identify what I should change on the next job.

You run the equipment. TRUEHOUR helps you run the business.
That’s really the entire idea behind it.

How are you all managing your business? All in my head. Spreadsheets. Apps. My better half keeps me straight.

This is how I use my equipment costs to actually run my business—not just calculate an hourly rate.It's important, criti...
09/29/2026

This is how I use my equipment costs to actually run my business—not just calculate an hourly rate.
It's important, critical in fact, to know your true equipment cost and building your pricing from your own numbers instead of simply looking at what everybody else charges.
But calculating your cost per hour is really only Step 1.
The bigger question is:
What do you do with that information once you know it?

For me, the process looks like this:
Step 1: Know my true cost.
I calculate the owning cost, operating cost, business overhead and operator labor associated with running the equipment.
That gives me a cost foundation—a number I can actually make decisions from.

Step 2: Build my pricing and estimates from that cost foundation.
Instead of starting with “What does everybody around here charge?” I can start with what the job is actually going to cost my business, then determine the profit I need to earn above that cost.
Market pricing still matters. But now I know where I stand financially when I compare my rate to the market.

Step 3: Compare the estimate to what actually happened.
This is the After Action Review. The tool all professional fields use to improve themselves.
If I estimated 24 equipment hours and the job actually took 33, I want to know that.
If my actual costs came in substantially higher than estimated, I want to know why.
And I want to know what profit was actually left after the job—not just how much money the customer paid me.
Because a job can put money in your bank account and still perform a lot worse than you thought it did.

Step 4: Use what happened on that job to make the next one better.
Maybe I underestimated equipment hours.
Maybe mobilization took longer than expected.
Maybe I missed materials or subcontractor costs.
Maybe my rate simply wasn't high enough for that type of work.
That information should change how I estimate the next similar job.

That’s the system I wanted for my own business:
Know the cost → Price the work → Estimate the job → Track the actual results → Learn from it → Make a better decision next time.

I use to manage my business using five different spreadsheets and Quickbooks, which maintaining spreadsheets was a pain and Quickbooks was overkill and expensive..

This is why I built TRUEHOUR.
I wanted one simple place for the basic things I actually needed as an owner-operator—equipment costs, overhead, pricing, job estimating, customer/job tracking, estimated vs. actual performance, expenses, and now AI analysis that helps identify what I should change on the next job.

You run the equipment. TRUEHOUR helps you run the business.
That’s really the entire idea behind it.

How are you all managing your business? All in my head. Spreadsheets. Apps. My better half keeps me straight.

You run the equipment. TRUEHOUR helps you run the business.Most small equipment businesses don’t need another complicate...
09/29/2026

You run the equipment. TRUEHOUR helps you run the business.

Most small equipment businesses don’t need another complicated business management system. They need the right information to make better decisions.
That’s why I built TRUEHOUR around the economics of running an equipment-based business.
-Know what your equipment actually costs to operate.
-Build your pricing from your own costs—not somebody else’s rate.
-Create job estimates based on those numbers.
-Track estimated vs. actual job performance.
-See where you made money—and where you didn’t.
-Track expenses and keep the information you need for Schedule C.
-Use AI Job Analysis to understand what happened and improve the next job.

The goal isn’t more software.

The goal is better cost visibility and better decision support—so an owner-operator can compete more intelligently and run a stronger business.

TRUEHOUR brings the essential financial and job-management tools I actually needed running my own equipment business into one place.

Know your true cost. Price with confidence. Learn from every job.
Download TRUEHOUR and put your own numbers to work.

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/truehour/id6759004025
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.walnutflat.truehour

Stop underpricing your work — and your business.If your rate starts with what everyone else charges instead of what your...
09/02/2026

Stop underpricing your work — and your business.

If your rate starts with what everyone else charges instead of what your equipment and business actually cost, you may be pricing below your own break-even point without realizing it.

If you’re getting ready to start an equipment-based business—or you’re already running one and still aren’t 100% sure how to figure out your hourly equipment rate—this is one of those lessons you want to understand before you put hundreds of hours on a machine at the wrong rate.

I’ve been in the forestry mulching business since 2014, and while it’s a competitive industry, this applies to just about any equipment-based business.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that your price needs to start with your own specific equipment and business costs—not somebody else’s hourly rate.

Here’s the basic framework:

Step 1: Build your Cost Foundation

There’s an established methodology for figuring out what equipment actually costs to own and operate.
O&O Cost + Overhead Cost = Your Break-Even-Point Cost (BEP)

Then:
BEP + Desired Profit = Your Target Equipment Rate
That gives you a starting point based on your equipment, your utilization, your expenses, and your business.

Step 2: Let the market test it

From there, the market gives you feedback.

-If you’re consistently covered up in work with a huge backlog, that’s usually a sign you may have room to raise your price.
-If you’re consistently losing comparable jobs specifically because of price, you may be above your market.
-If you have a healthy backlog and a good closing rate, you’re probably getting closer to the right price for your market.

Your costs establish the floor. The market helps determine the ceiling.

You should adjust your prices as you go. But if you consistently charge below your BEP, you’re losing money on the equipment.

Bottom line: If you understand both of these steps, you’ll build a much stronger foundation for pricing profitably and running a sustainable equipment business.

If you’re thinking about starting an equipment business—or you’re already in one and you’re not positive how to work through the pricing side—just ask. I’m happy to explain the methodology in more detail.

Stop underpricing your work — and your business.If your rate starts with what everyone else charges instead of what your...
09/01/2026

Stop underpricing your work — and your business.

If your rate starts with what everyone else charges instead of what your equipment and business actually cost, you may be pricing below your own break-even point without realizing it.

If you’re getting ready to start an equipment-based business—or you’re already running one and still aren’t 100% sure how to figure out your hourly equipment rate—this is one of those lessons you want to understand before you put hundreds of hours on a machine at the wrong rate.

I’ve been in the forestry mulching business since 2014, and while it’s a competitive industry, this applies to just about any equipment-based business.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that your price needs to start with your own specific equipment and business costs—not somebody else’s hourly rate.

Here’s the basic framework:

Step 1: Build your Cost Foundation

There’s an established methodology for figuring out what equipment actually costs to own and operate.
O&O Cost + Overhead Cost = Your Break-Even-Point Cost (BEP)

Then:
BEP + Desired Profit = Your Target Equipment Rate
That gives you a starting point based on your equipment, your utilization, your expenses, and your business.

Step 2: Let the market test it

From there, the market gives you feedback.
-If you’re consistently covered up in work with a huge backlog, that’s usually a sign you may have room to raise your price.
-If you’re consistently losing comparable jobs specifically because of price, you may be above your market.
-If you have a healthy backlog and a good closing rate, you’re probably getting closer to the right price for your market.

Your costs establish the floor. The market helps determine the ceiling.

You should adjust your prices as you go. But if you consistently charge below your BEP, you’re losing money on the equipment.

Bottom line: If you understand both of these steps, you’ll build a much stronger foundation for pricing profitably and running a sustainable equipment business.

If you’re thinking about starting an equipment business—or you’re already in one and you’re not positive how to work through the pricing side—just ask. I’m happy to explain the methodology in more detail.

Address

3524 Cooper Creek Road
Woodlawn, TN
37191

Telephone

+19318025910

Website

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