Running a business
Approved contractor and credential-check schemes for tree work
Some associations assess whole tree businesses, and some run a search that shows whether a person holds a credential.
Running a tree business
Starting, insuring and running a tree business: registration, insurance, contracts, tax offices and the calculators that use your own numbers.
77 pages in this topic. Each guide names its sources and the date they were read.
Starting a business
Open
Running a business
Checking a tree company: public registers and licence lookups by country
Free public lookups can show whether a tree business is registered, licensed, covered for injury or has a safety record.
Law & permits
Licence numbers on ads and vehicles: what the boards of California, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington say
Four state boards say in writing that a tree business must print its licence or registration number on advertising, and two of them also say how big the number must be on a vehicle.
Running a business
Starting a tree service: licences and registrations by country
What official pages say a new tree business has to register or hold in each country, from state tree licences in the US to tax numbers in Australia and New Zealand.
Law & permits
Tree waste and chip rules: burning, chipping and carrying brush, place by place
How official sources describe the rules for disposing of limbs, brush, stumps and chips from tree work: open burning limits, exemptions for land clearing, and the paperwork for carrying waste.
Tool
Break-even calculator
Type fixed costs, a price per unit and a variable cost per unit to see how many units cover all costs.
Directory
Business registries and tax offices, country by country
Company registries and tax offices a small tree business deals with, in each country's directory page.
Liability and business insurance
Insurance
Contract bonds for tree contractors: what the SBA and federal rules say
The US Small Business Administration describes a surety bond as a guarantee given to the customer.
Insurance
Income protection insurance for a tree worker or owner: what four US regulator and legislature pages say
Income protection, also called disability income insurance, pays part of a person's income when illness or injury stops work.
Insurance
Subcontracting as a climber: questions to ask about cover
Working as a subcontractor or contract climber changes who pays for injury cover.
Insurance
Umbrella and excess liability insurance: what state insurance departments say
California, Texas and New York publish plain descriptions of umbrella and excess liability policies.
Insurance
What tree-work insurance covers, and what it doesn't
The main kinds of cover a tree company carries, in each of the five countries, as official pages describe them.
Insurance
Workers compensation premium audits: what California, Washington and British Columbia say
A workers compensation premium starts as an estimate of payroll and is checked later.
Insurance
Workers' comp for tree work in the US: the class code and published rates by state
How US rating bureaus and state funds sort tree work into a class, and the figure each one publishes per US$100 of payroll.
Insurance
Workers' compensation and ACC levy rates for tree work: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK
The rates the official injury schemes publish for tree work, place by place, with the class each one uses and the year of the rate.
Contracts, customers and getting paid
Running a business
Consumer rules a tree business meets in Ireland: doorstep sales, reviews and small claims
Ireland's consumer regulator publishes guidance for traders and for households on cancelling a contract, misleading advertising and disputes with tradespeople.
Running a business
Customer reviews and advertising rules for a tree business, by country
Customer reviews and ad claims are covered by consumer rules in each country.
Running a business
Door-to-door sales and cooling-off rules a tree business meets, by country
Sales made at a customer's home can carry a right to cancel.
Running a business
Small claims in the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom has three court systems, and each one publishes its own page on claiming money that is owed.
Running a business
Small claims limits for an unpaid invoice: what four court pages say
A small claims process lets a business sue for money owed without a lawyer in some places.
Running a business
Storm contractor rules after a disaster, by US state
After a declared emergency, state offices publish what changes for contractors: price limits, licence suspensions and contract wording.
Money, tax and equipment finance
Running a business
Equipment tax rules for tree businesses by country
Five tax agencies publish rules for writing off the cost of tree equipment.
Tool
Break-even calculator
Type fixed costs, a price per unit and a variable cost per unit to see how many units cover all costs.
Tool
Hourly rate builder
Type the yearly costs of running a business, the pay wanted for the year and the billable hours in the year to see the hourly figure they add up to.
Pricing removals and day rates
Running a business
Public tree contract bids: whole bid tabulations from public agencies
Bid tabulations for tree removal, stump grinding and on-call tree crews from public agencies, with every bid shown as published and no averages.
Tool
Margin and markup calculator
Type a cost and one of a price, a margin or a markup to see the other figures.
Tool
Hourly rate builder
Type the yearly costs of running a business, the pay wanted for the year and the billable hours in the year to see the hourly figure they add up to.
Land clearing and big-job quoting
Tool
Job cost calculator
Type crew hours and an hourly cost, equipment hours and rates, and disposal and other costs to see a job total.
Bidding, estimates and sales
Running a business
Public tree contract bids: whole bid tabulations from public agencies
Bid tabulations for tree removal, stump grinding and on-call tree crews from public agencies, with every bid shown as published and no averages.
Tool
Margin and markup calculator
Type a cost and one of a price, a margin or a markup to see the other figures.
Tool
Job cost calculator
Type crew hours and an hourly cost, equipment hours and rates, and disposal and other costs to see a job total.
Marketing and websites
Running a business
Customer reviews and advertising rules for a tree business, by country
Customer reviews and ad claims are covered by consumer rules in each country.
Consulting and reports
Certifications & courses
Becoming a consulting arborist: the credentials by country
The credentials and memberships consulting arborists hold in each country, and what the bodies behind them say about them.