Snow removal contract template
A snow contract is a promise about a night nobody can predict, so the contract has to say exactly what triggers a plow, how fast you come, and what it costs for the whole winter. This template prices the driveway as a flat season, puts the trigger depth and the response time on the page, and leaves the walkway, the salt, and the sidewalk as lines the homeowner switches on.
What a snow removal contract should include
The trigger, in inches. Two inches is the common residential trigger, and the contract should say where it is measured, because the argument in January is always about a storm that dropped an inch and a half. Then the response time: within so many hours of the end of the storm, with routes starting at a set hour so a commuter knows the driveway will be clear. Say what happens on a big storm, usually a repeat pass over eight inches, and what happens with cars left in the driveway.
Put the season dates on the page, the staking in November, and the damage policy in plain words: staked and marked surfaces are repaired in spring, unmarked objects and lawn edges are not. Say what you do not do, such as roof raking and ice dams, so the call in February is short. A line about the text you send after each visit is worth more than it seems; it is the thing clients mention when they renew.
How to price snow removal
Residential plowing is priced one of two ways: a flat season price with unlimited pushes, or a price per push with a storm count the homeowner estimates. In 2026 a season contract on a two-car driveway runs about $400 to $700 in most snow markets, and $700 to $1,200 in lake-effect and mountain towns where twenty-plus plowable storms are normal. The sample charges $550 for the season plus $45 for stakes and route setup. Per-push pricing runs $40 to $90 a visit for the same driveway, and the sample lists $65 as an optional line for the client who would rather pay as it snows. Long or steep driveways, turnarounds, and gravel that needs a raised blade all push toward the top of the range.
The add-ons are where the season is made. Hand shoveling of the front walkway and steps runs $125 to $250 for the season and the sample uses $175, on by default because nearly everyone keeps it. Salting after each plow runs $150 to $300 a season for a driveway, with the sample at $220, and it is off by default because it is a decision about ice, not snow. Public sidewalk frontage runs $100 to $200 for a typical lot; the sample lists $125 for up to 60 feet. Commercial lots are a different contract, priced per acre per push or per season with salt by the ton, and should not share a template with driveways.
Check these ranges against the plow operators on your own routes; snow pricing swings more by region than almost any other trade, and a $550 driveway in one county is $900 forty miles north.
How to price the optional items
The walkway is on by default because it is the add-on most clients keep and the one that turns a plowed driveway into a house you can get into. Salting is off at its real price, since it roughly doubles the material cost of a season and belongs in the client's hands. The sidewalk is off, since only some lots have one. The per-push line is off with the quantity editable, so a client who does not want to commit to a season can switch the model themselves without a second proposal. Together they lift a $600 contract toward $900 without a sales conversation.
Mistakes that lose snow contracts
No trigger depth on the page. Every dispute in this trade starts with a storm that fell just under the number the client had in their head. Write the inches down and where they are measured. No response time. A driveway cleared by noon is a missed morning for a nurse or a teacher, and the contract should have said when.
Signing contracts in December. The route is full by then and the best driveways are gone. Send in September and October with an expiry that makes a decision happen. Leaving damage undefined. A plow will scuff a lawn edge and catch an unmarked lamp post at some point; the contract that already said who pays keeps the client. Quoting commercial lots off the residential template; the units are different and the salt line alone can exceed the driveway price.
Deposit and payment
Half at signing and half on January 1 is the common split for a season contract, and the sample takes the half at signing by card the moment they sign. The January half can be requested from the proposal so the client pays from the same page. Per-push clients are billed after each storm; the signed contract fixes the per-visit price so no invoice is a surprise.
Sending it and following up
Send renewals to last year's clients in September before anyone else calls them, and send new contracts the day you look at the driveway. Fourteen days is the right expiry in the fall: enough to decide, short enough to fill the route by mid November. A reminder goes out on day three and day seven, and you can see who opened it and whether the salting line held their attention. When a client adds the sidewalk after the first storm, a change order adds it with its own signature.
Questions
- Should I charge per push or per season?
- Offer the season as the base and per push as an optional line, as the sample does. The season price steadies your cash flow and fills routes early; the per-push option catches the client who will not commit and would otherwise call someone else. Most people who see both pick the season.
- What trigger depth should the contract use?
- Two inches is the residential standard in most markets, measured at your yard or a named weather station so nobody argues about the ruler. Some operators use one inch with salting included for clients on hills; if you do, price it higher and say why on the page.
- How fast should I promise to clear a driveway?
- Within eight hours of the storm ending is common and achievable on a well-built route, with routes starting at a set early hour so commuters are clear. Promise a repeat pass on storms over eight inches. Do not promise a time of day; promise a window and keep it.
- Who pays for plow damage?
- Say it in the terms before the first storm. Staked and marked surfaces you damage are repaired in spring at your cost; unmarked objects, lawn edges, and unstaked curbing are the homeowner's. Placing reflective stakes in November, as a line on the contract, is what makes that split fair.
- When should I send snow removal contracts?
- September for renewals and October for new clients, with a fourteen-day expiry and reminders on day three and seven. Routes fill in the order contracts are signed, and the contract should say so. A client who signs in September gets the early slot on the route; a December caller gets what is left.
- Is an online signature enough for a snow contract?
- Yes. A signed proposal with the deposit paid records the trigger, the response window, the damage policy, and the season dates before the first flake, and both of you get the PDF. That record is what settles the February phone call in one message instead of an argument.
