Mole and gopher operators: quote the job so the set, the trips, and the per-catch fees all get paid.
Defaults are editable starting points, not market rates. Enter your own numbers.
Flat mole and gopher quotes die when the trap checks, the drive, the per-animal math, and the callbacks stay invisible. Start with Your numbers: your bar, margin percent, minimum trip fee, and weekly take-home goal. In Job type, pick a preset: Mole yard, Gopher property, Acreage, or Commercial. Each fills expected animals, trap sets, set and scouting minutes, per-animal fee, equipment cost, return trips, drive, miles, bait, and callback reserve, all editable. In The leaks, set return trips and minutes per trip; the tool multiplies drive and miles across every visit. Tick the free consult box if your first visit is unpaid. The breakdown shows set plus scouting labor, return-trip labor, drive labor, vehicle, equipment and bait, callback reserve, true cost, and per-animal revenue. The big number is the recommended quote: true cost plus margin, rounded to twenty-five dollars, never below your minimum, with the per-animal fees counted as revenue. Verdicts are PRICED RIGHT, WORKING TOO CHEAP, or LOSING MONEY. The gut check prices your old quote, and the planner counts jobs to your goal. Free, no signup, runs on your phone.
Example only, not typical pricing. A mole yard preset at the defaults: $65 bar, 20 percent margin, $150 minimum, 4 expected animals at a $40 per-animal fee, 6 trap sets, 45 set minutes plus 30 scouting minutes, 2 return trips at 30 minutes each, 40 drive minutes and 24 miles times 3 visits, $12 equipment, and a 10 percent callback reserve. Set plus scouting labor is $146.25, return trips are $65.00, drive labor is $130.00, the vehicle is $48.24, equipment is $12.00, and the reserve is $27.63, giving a true cost of $364.12. The recommended quote is $450 flat plus $40 per animal for $610 in expected revenue, earning $143.53 per hour, so the verdict is PRICED RIGHT. A $300 gut quote earns $108.24 per hour and leaves $150 on the table. The return-trips leak fires: 2 trips cost $65.00 in labor plus $32.16 in vehicle. The week planner says 5 jobs and 21.3 hours to a $1,200 goal.
Why does the tool multiply drive across visits?
Each return trip is its own drive. Two trap checks plus the set visit is 3 trips at 40 minutes and 24 miles each, 120 minutes and 72 miles that a flat quote never sees.
What does the per-animal fee change?
The per-animal line shows as revenue against true cost. Four animals at $40 is $160 of expected revenue, which is why the flat fee only has to cover the set and the trips.
Why is one free reset a contract trap?
Many real operator contracts include one free reset and bill for the rest. The leak note prices the extra trips so you can see when the included reset has been used up.
How does the callback reserve work?
A percent of labor held against free re-treats. Ten percent here adds $27.63 to true cost, pricing the gophers that come back before you have to give away another visit.
Is this business or financial advice?
No. Planning-only arithmetic on your own numbers. Wildlife and pest rules vary by state; the tool only prices your inputs.