New York, NY
SNOW REMOVAL / PLOWING ESTIMATING.

## Snow Removal Estimating in New York, NY New York City is not a typical snow market. You're not plowing suburban cul-de-sacs. You're managing sidewalk compliance under Administrative Code §16-123, coordinating with building supers, and competing against large property-service companies that bundle snow into full-facility contracts. Your bid has to be tight, your scope has to be specific, and you have to get it out before the next contractor does. Estimate.Pro gets you from walkthrough to sendable bid in 8 minutes. That matters when a nor'easter is 36 hours out and five building managers are waiting on quotes. --- ### What Makes Snow Estimating Different in New York **Sidewalk liability is the first line of every scope.** NYC Admin Code §16-123 requires property owners to clear snow within four hours of a snowfall ending during daylight hours, or by 11 a.m. if it ends overnight. When you bid a commercial property, you're often taking on that liability exposure directly. Your estimate needs to separate sidewalk clearing from lot plowing, salt application, and stair/entrance service — each as a distinct line item. **Per-push vs. seasonal contract math is everything.** A midsize Queens commercial lot might run $175–$250 per push on a per-event contract. The same lot on a seasonal flat-rate might be priced at $2,800–$4,500 depending on your historical snowfall assumptions for the five boroughs. NYC averages roughly 25–30 inches of snow per season, but that varies sharply by borough — Staten Island and the Bronx routinely see more accumulation than Manhattan. Estimate.Pro lets you build both pricing models inside one estimate and present the client with a side-by-side. **Salt and material costs fluctuate.** Bulk rock salt pricing in the New York metro has ranged from $65–$110 per ton in recent seasons depending on pre-season contract timing and regional supply chain conditions. Your material cost workspace in Estimate.Pro saves your current per-ton rate, calculates application yield by square footage, and adjusts the total automatically when prices change. **You may need a licensed contractor registration.** NYC requires businesses performing snow removal commercially to hold a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license if the work touches residential property. Commercial-only operators are not subject to HIC but must still carry general liability and workers' comp documentation that most property managers will require before signing a seasonal agreement. --- ### How Estimate.Pro Works for Snow Contractors 1. **Walk the property.** Use AR measurement on supported devices — ONNX-assisted live measurement — to capture lot dimensions, linear feet of sidewalk, number of stair runs, and any loading dock or access areas. Camera and photo measurements are marked as estimates in the output so the client knows the basis. 2. **Build your scope.** The app generates a scope of work from your walkthrough inputs. For snow, that covers lot plowing, sidewalk clearing, de-icing application, haul-away if required, and any service triggers (e.g., 2-inch threshold, 4-inch threshold). Every item is editable. 3. **Price it.** Your saved material costs pull in automatically. Labor rates are yours to set — New York City snow removal crews typically run $55–$80 per labor-hour depending on equipment operation vs. hand shoveling. The estimate calculates per-push cost, seasonal cost, and margin in parallel. 4. **Send it.** Export a clean, branded PDF or send a live estimate link. Clients can approve and pay through Stripe Connect. Pro tier charges 3% on payments; Pro+ (Elite, $79/seat/mo) brings that to 0%. --- ### Pricing That Fits Your Operation - **Free tier** — no credit card, no time limit. Build and send estimates. - **Pro** — $39/seat/mo. Full estimating, material cost workspace, Stripe payments at 3%. - **Elite** — $79/seat/mo. 0% Stripe fee, invoice exports, advanced workflows. - **Crew** — $399/mo flat for multi-operator shops running multiple trucks across boroughs. If you're running two or three routes through Brooklyn and Queens, the Crew plan pays for itself quickly against per-seat pricing. --- ### NYC-Specific Details That Matter Building managers in Manhattan expect scope specificity that property owners in smaller markets don't demand. They want to see: sidewalk linear footage, trigger depth, response time window, salt type (rock salt vs. calcium chloride vs. sand-salt mix — CaCl is common in the boroughs where black ice is a recurring issue), and whether haul-away is included or extra. Estimate.Pro's scope generator surfaces each of these as line items so nothing gets assumed. Subcontractor coordination is common in this market. Large portfolio managers often require a certificate of insurance before signing. Your estimate document from Estimate.Pro can be paired with your COI and sent as a single package. New York's snow season runs roughly December through March, with the highest-demand bidding window in October and November when property managers are signing seasonal contracts. Build your seasonal templates in Estimate.Pro before that window opens and you can respond to RFPs the same day they arrive.