Fellas… gals… lawn warriors of America…Tony Bass here.
Let’s have a straight conversation from one small-town business owner to another.
Many landscapers measure success by gross sales.
“Hey Tony, we did $1.5 million last year!”
“Tony, we crossed $3 million!”
Well good for you… but let me ask the question that actually matters:
How productive are your people?
Because gross revenue can lie to you faster than a cheap string trimmer on a Monday morning.
The number that tells the real story is Sales Per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE). And when you learn this number, it’s like turning on the lights in a dark shop. Suddenly you see what’s really going on inside your company AND with this report…how YOU compare to the guys and gals with REAL financial training.
The Productivity Number Most Landscapers Never Measure
After working with over 400 of lawn and landscape companies, we’ve learned something surprising:
Most owners don’t know their Sales Per FTE. FTE stands for Full Time Equivalent.
They know their mower inventory.
They know how many pallets of mulch they installed.
But they don’t know the financial productivity of their crews.
Sometimes the reason is simple. In smaller owner operator companies, owners forget to count their own labor.
You might think you’re running a two-man operation, but if the owner spends 1,500 to 2,000 hours in the field. The company actually has three full-time workers producing revenue.
Ignore the hours if you want…
But the hours still count…that is…if you want to be paid for YOUR hours.
Just like ignoring the check-engine light doesn’t make the engine healthier.
And sometimes, business owners just don’t know how to do the math. So let us help.
How to Calculate Your Sales Per FTE
This is simple math. You can probably calculate it in less time than it takes to change mower blades.
Step 1 – Add up all annual field labor hours
Include:
- Crew members – regular and overtime hours
• Foremen – prorate their total hours if they work in the field and work in administration
• Temp labor or those seasonal 1099 guys you hire
• Owner or owner’s kids labor in the field
Do NOT include office staff hours.
Do NOT include holiday or vacation pay hours if you provide those benefits.
Step 2 – Convert hours into FTE
Divide total hours by 2,000 hours. 2,000 is the number of hours a full time person works in the USA. It’s based on 40 hours a week for 50 weeks of the year.
Example:
- Total labor hours: 6,400
6,400 ÷ 2,000 = 3.20 FTE We recommend taking this number to two decimal places.
Step 3 – Divide your annual gross sales by FTE
Example:
Annual Sales: $720,000
$720,000 ÷ 3.20 FTE =
$225,000 Sales Per FTE
Now you’re looking at your business the same way a sharp investor would. When you look at this number, you’re going to need a number for comparison. Keep reading.
What We Discovered at Profit Builder Training
At the recent Profit Builder training we analyzed every company in the room.
Here’s what we discovered.
- First-time attendees average:
$115,147 Sales per FTE - Returning attendees average:
$189,917 Sales per FTE
That’s a difference of: $74,770 MORE revenue per worker
Which equals a productivity improvement of: 64.9%
Think about that.
Financially trained landscapers produce almost 65% more revenue per employee.
That’s not a theory.
That’s real data from real companies.
Sales Per Full-Time Equivalent
January 2026 Profit Builder Data
|
Company Revenue |
State |
Actual 2025 Sales/FTE |
Projected 2026 Budget Sales/FTE |
Growth $ |
Growth % |
|
$2,727,466 |
FL |
$141,739 |
$139,078 |
-$2,661 |
-1.9% |
|
$1,598,637 |
NY |
$189,325 |
$198,000 |
$8,675 |
4.6% |
|
$745,946 |
IL |
$131,000 |
$167,000 |
$36,000 |
27.5% |
|
$6,470,000 |
CA |
$225,000 |
$275,000 |
$50,000 |
22.2% |
|
$3,120,772 |
WI – (3 dents) |
||||
|
Maintenance Dept |
WI |
$159,000 |
$194,000 |
$35,000 |
22.0% |
|
Install Dept |
WI |
$377,000 |
$410,000 |
$33,000 |
8.8% |
|
Retail |
WI |
$139,751 |
$180,583 |
$40,832 |
29.2% |
|
$2,765,068 |
LA |
$189,189 |
$195,802 |
$6,613 |
3.5% |
|
$1,269,199 |
GA |
$241,188 |
$272,740 |
$31,552 |
13.1% |
|
$2,592,332 |
VA |
$180,399 |
$200,202 |
$19,803 |
11.0% |
|
$856,220 |
AL |
$183,344 |
$193,113 |
$9,769 |
5.3% |
|
$5,165,190 |
GA |
$122,067 |
$148,862 |
$26,795 |
22.0% |
|
$812,305 |
LA* |
$109,180 |
$135,681 |
$26,501 |
24.3% |
|
$95,000 |
OH* |
$108,571 |
$123,658 |
$15,087 |
13.9% |
|
$492,654 |
VA* |
$141,000 |
$145,900 |
$4,900 |
3.5% |
|
$176,800 |
FL* |
$88,000 |
$102,000 |
$14,000 |
15.9% |
|
$459,983 |
GA* |
$128,985 |
$152,000 |
$23,015 |
17.8% |
Average Results
|
Group |
Average Sales/FTE |
|
* First-Time Attendees |
$115,147 |
|
Returning Companies |
$189,917 |
|
Difference |
$74,770 |
|
Productivity Increase |
64.9% |
So Here’s the Wealthy Landscaper Productivity Challenge (WLPC)
Go run the numbers on your company.
Right now. Not tomorrow. Not after the mowing season.
Do it today while you have this in front of you.
Ask yourself honestly:
- Are we producing $115K per worker?
• Are we producing $189K per worker?
• Or are we running around town acting like the lowballer landscaper who stays busy but never builds wealth?
Hard work alone won’t build a great company.
The winners in this industry learn how to get more out of everything they already have:
- People
• Trucks
• Equipment
• Facilities
• Customers
• Vendors
And let me give credit where it’s due.
The contractors who attend Profit Builder training?
They’re kicking serious tail.
They understand their numbers.
They price work correctly.
They run organized crews.
And they build healthy bank accounts that actually reward the effort.
Final Thought
You can stay busy…
Or you can build a productive business.
But those two things are not always the same.
So grab your numbers, run the math, and answer the question every landscaper should know:
How do YOU compare with the guys who have received financial education? Gross sales might be fun to brag about. But true financial productivity is the true measure of running a successful lawn, landscape or contracting business.
Let me know what you find out.
And you discover you have room for improvement. Join us at the next Profit Builder Training event. Details are found here: www.superlawntoolkit.com/profit-builder
Tony Bass
Founder, Super Lawn Toolkit & Super Lawn Trucks
866-923-0027
PS – If you are the kind of lawn and landscape business owner who likes to SEE how this is done, watch the Wealthy Landscaper Productivity Challenge video here: www.superlawntoolkit.com/wlpc You’ll get detailed instructions, a helpful handout to guide your calculations and access to lawn and landscape industry data we have compiled over the past 2 decades.
