Chicago, IL
SNOW REMOVAL / PLOWING ESTIMATING.

## Snow Removal Estimating in Chicago Chicago averages 36 inches of snowfall per year, with the bulk falling between December and March. Lake-effect events off Lake Michigan can dump 6–12 inches overnight with little warning. You need bids ready before the season starts — and you need them to hold up when February hits hard. Estimate.Pro is built for snow removal contractors who run seasonal contracts, per-push agreements, or a mix of both. You walk a commercial lot or residential route, capture measurements with the AR tool on supported devices, and get a sendable bid in about 8 minutes. --- ## What Makes Chicago Plowing Bids Different **Salt and material costs move fast.** Rock salt and calcium chloride prices in the Chicago metro spike during high-demand winters. Your saved material cost workspace in Estimate.Pro lets you update bulk salt pricing once and have it reflect across every open estimate immediately — no manual rework on 30 open bids. **Seasonal vs. per-push vs. per-inch.** Chicago commercial property managers often want seasonal flat-rate contracts, but residential clients and smaller strip malls lean toward per-push or per-inch-triggered pricing. The app handles all three structures in the same estimate. You define the trigger thresholds, the app prices the scope. **City sidewalk ordinances create extra line items.** Chicago Municipal Code §10-8-180 requires property owners to clear adjacent sidewalks within three hours after snowfall ends. That's billable labor — salting, shoveling, hand-chipping ice — that a lot of contractors forget to itemize. Estimate.Pro prompts you to add sidewalk clearing as a separate scope line so it doesn't get swallowed into your lot price. **Route density matters.** The difference between a profitable Chicago winter route and a money-losing one is often drive time. When you're estimating a cluster of properties in Lincoln Park versus a spread-out suburban territory in the northwest suburbs, your per-stop cost changes. The app lets you note route stops and calculate drive-time overhead per property so your seasonal contract price reflects actual time on the truck. --- ## How the Estimate Workflow Works 1. **Walkthrough.** Walk the lot or route stop. On supported devices, the ONNX-assisted AR measurement tool captures square footage of paved surfaces, sidewalk linear footage, and stacking areas in real time. On older devices, photo measurements are captured and flagged as estimates. 2. **Scope generation.** The app drafts your scope of work — lot plowing, stacking zones, sidewalk clearing, salting, return visits — based on what you measured and the contract structure you select. 3. **Pricing.** Your saved material costs (bulk salt, calcium chloride, sand) and your labor rates pull in automatically. Adjust per-push rates, seasonal multipliers, or trigger thresholds inline. 4. **Send.** Export a professional bid the client can review and approve. If you're on Pro+ tier, Stripe Connect payment collection is built in at 0% platform fee. --- ## Pricing That Fits a Snow Operation Estimate.Pro has a free forever tier — no credit card required. For solo operators running residential routes, that may be enough. For crews running 40+ commercial accounts across the Chicago metro, the Crew plan at $399/month flat covers unlimited seats. Pro is $39/seat/month. Elite is $79/seat/month and adds Stripe Connect invoicing and export workflows. --- ## Chicago-Specific Details You Need to Know The City of Chicago issues snow hauling permits when accumulations require removal from downtown streets — typically the Loop and River North. If you're bidding downtown commercial accounts that include haul-away scope, factor the permit cost and disposal site fees into your estimate as separate line items. Estimate.Pro's custom line item fields handle that without workarounds. Illinois requires snow removal contractors operating commercial vehicles over 8,000 lbs GVWR to carry minimum $1,000,000 general liability. That insurance cost should be baked into your overhead rate before you build any bid. The app's labor rate fields are fully editable — set your fully-loaded rate to include insurance and equipment amortization. Cook County and collar counties (DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will) each have their own permitting norms for commercial applicators using liquid deicing agents near storm drains. Know which municipality your job sits in before you price the chemical scope. --- ## Get a Draft Bid Before the Season Starts Chicago's first significant snow event typically falls in November. Property managers start awarding seasonal contracts in September and October. Build your template, set your material costs, and have bids ready to send the moment a prospect calls. The free tier gets you started today — no card, no commitment.