Knowing what a day of crew time costs per tree tells you whether a bid holds up. Divide the day rate by the number of trees the crew handled and you have the number.
A $2,400 crew day across 6 removals is $400 per tree — bid below that and the day loses money.
The example
Three crew days, each with a day rate and the number of trees handled.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crew day | Day rate | Trees | Cost / tree |
| 2 | Full crew | $2,400 | 6 | $400 |
| 3 | Two-man crew | $1,200 | 4 | $300 |
| 4 | Big removal day | $3,200 | 2 | $1,600 |
The formula
One division turns a day rate into a per-tree cost:
How it works
Spread the fixed day cost across the work done:
B2is the fully loaded crew day rate — wages, truck, chipper, fuel.C2is how many trees the crew actually finished that day.QUOTIENTdivides them into a whole-dollar cost per tree.
Use plain =B2/C2 if you want the cents; QUOTIENT drops the remainder for a clean round number.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the crew day rate and the number of trees handled.
Variations
Keep the cents
Use ordinary division when the exact figure matters for costing.
Add a target margin
Mark the cost up to a suggested per-tree price.
Pitfalls & errors
A zero in the trees cell throws #DIV/0! — wrap it as =IF(C2=0,0,QUOTIENT(B2,C2)) on a blank day.
Load the day rate fully — a chipper, dump fees, and fuel change the per-tree number more than most owners expect.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Why QUOTIENT instead of a slash?
What if the crew did no trees?
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