How to Write a Snow Removal Contract: Download Free Templates & Samples

The businesses that offer snow removal services also offer contractual service agreements for both residential and commercial properties. It is called a snow removal contract. 

The purpose of a snow removal contract is to protect the business from experiencing damage due to winter calamities such as ice damage or snowstorms. 

When offering a snow removal contract to a client, the business should mention what the company has to offer for this contractual service. 

It is good to be able to offer the best-in-class winter cleaning or snow plowing services. But at the same time, you must be able to offer the convenience of writing a snow removal contract for the client. 

If you are starting fresh with this winter cleaning service business, you must get an insight into snow removal contracts and how you can write them for your clients. 

What is a Snow Removal Contract?

In simple words, snow removal contracts are considered agreements. They are signed by both clients and the contractor/company that offers snow removal services. 

The contract states that the company is signed to remove snow and ice from the residential or commercial property for a decided payment. 

Based on the contract, the contractor can be specified to perform the removal services right after the snowstorm or only when the client raises a request for it. 

The payout process of a contractor concerning the snow removal contract is mostly on a ‘per job basis. The fixed fee per job must be paid to the contractor for every clean-up, irrespective of the amount or intensity of snowfall. 

The snow removal contracts will set an expectation for customers of what services they can expect at a time when winter creates a mess. The contract will consist of service details, payment terms, and the response duration (which is how fast they will respond to a snowstorm or any winter calamity).

As a service provider, getting the client’s signature on the snow removal contract issued by your snow removal company will help you in many ways, such as

• There will be no chance of any dispute or disagreement from the client’s end on any of the provided services that have been mentioned in the snow plowing contract. 
• The financial risks such as late payments or refused payments will not be an issue anymore. 
• The company’s liability for property damage will be reduced with the snow removal contract.

Types of Snow Removal Contracts

Snow removal contracts are also available in different types, which you will be specified to the clients to give them considerate options to choose from. 

The different types of snow removal contracts are

1. Seasonal contract

A seasonal contract is often set for a longer period. The usual period for issuing a seasonal snow plowing contract is three to five years. On taking up this contract, the client has to pay a fixed pay, regardless of the severity of winter calamities or snowfall.

2. Per-inch contract

The per-inch snow removal contract will specify cleaning services based on the snow depth after the fall, which will be updated by the local weather stations. The snow removal pricing will vary depending upon the varying depths of snow. 

3. Time-based contract

Time-based snow removal contract is a beneficial agreement for the contractor or company. It is because they are free to charge the client on a per-hour and per snowstorm event basis.

4. Pay-per-push contract

It is the perfect contract type for locations where the snowfalls are constant. It means that there is a need for the removal of snow more than once on the same day. The client agrees to pay the contractor or snow removal business for every visit throughout the day.

5. Per-event contract

The per-event contract is adequate for the areas that experience few snowstorms. As a contractor or a company, you will be billing the client a flat contract price for each snowstorm. 

When preparing a snow removal contract, it is best to make the clients aware of all the available types. But at the same time, educate them that they are not bound to choose just any type. Let them know that you can help them decide on the best contract that fits their location and property in the best manner.

Things to Consider While Writing Snow Removal Contract

Now that you have a basic understanding of a snow removal contract, you need to learn how to write it. But, before heading out to the steps on how to write a residential or commercial snow removal contract, here are a few things that you should keep in mind as a snow removal business or contractor:

1. The ‘Terms and Conditions’ should be detailed without missing out on any important points. The start and the end dates of the contract should be mentioned in the section on priority, as that would decide the validity of this agreement. 

2. There should be a detailed ‘Scope of Service’, which will outline the service levels and timing. Any additional work that might be undertaken should also be mentioned in the detailed snow removal contract. 

3. A ‘sitemap’ should exist in the contract, outlining the work execution, snow piling locations, and working hours of the workers. 

4. Pricing and work payment terms should be mentioned for the general services. The pricing should also be specified for additional services already authorized to be executed on an agreement if needed at the site. 

5. Explain the ‘snow event’ in a contract for customers to understand its purpose. A snow event is the amount of snow that will qualify the contractor or company to commence the removal work at your property. It is a negotiable entity in the contract between both parties. 

6. The residential and commercial snow removal contracts should mention the items or areas that are supposed to be excluded from the ‘Scope of Service’ section. You can run an identification of the site and consult the same with the client. 

7. There should be an open window for making changes to the contract. But specify the condition that both parties must agree with the proposed changes to include them in the contract. 

8. There should be a termination clause in the contract as well on violation of any of the terms and conditions. In such cases, a written notice with a specified period of termination time will be sent to both parties. 

9. Decide any blackout dates when the services can’t be offered and mention them in the agreement. For instance, if your company doesn’t offer services on Christmas or New Year, then mention it in the agreement. 

10. Determine the type of insurance coverage for the snow removal service business. You must have insurance coverage concerning workers’ compensation, snow removal equipment, and liabilities. 

11. Consider adding the penalties or fines that you will charge on late payments.

Steps to Write Snow Removal Contract

The residential snow removal has now been handed over to the professionals on priority. Earlier, people were keen to save a few bucks and were urged to remove the snow themselves. Not just in residential properties, the commercial property owners also preferred to hire local cleaners or workers to remove snow at low pay. 

But as per a 2019 statistic by The Washington Post, yearly, around 11,500 people are injured due to snow shoveling in winters. Not just that, but every year there are at least 100 fatalities due to unprofessional snow removal techniques and approaches. 

With the injury instances increasing daily, people soon understood the need for snow removal contractors and their professionally trained teams. Soon, people wanted to hire a snow removal business and hire them for their winter clean-ups after heavy snowfall or a snowstorm. 

Hence, the idea of introducing a commercial and residential snow removal contract for both clients and customers came into existence. 

A snow plowing business is mostly entitled to prepare and offer these contracts to their customers. They take the initiative to discuss the requirements, inspect the property and do the needful to get all the data for determining the price and service necessities for the client. 

For a better understanding of how to write a snow plowing contract, here are the steps that you can follow to find an easy way out:

Step 1: Include all essentials in your snow plowing contract

The first step is to get all the essential information in the contract in a synchronized order. The essentials within the snow plowing contracts are

• Property address
• Customer name, email, and phone number
• Company details, contact name, email, and phone number
• Signing date
• Term of agreement (With start and end dates)
• Defining qualifying service details
• Property Description
• Scope of services
• Additional services
• Cost of services
• Payment terms
• Payment methods
• Legal compliance
• Insurance
• Subcontractors
• Unexpected costs
• Terms and conditions
• Final disclosure

Framing out the essentials will help in giving you the entire structural outline of what data or information you need to feed into the respective sections. 

Fill out all the basic and available details in hand to get halfway along the path of preparing your legally binding agreement or contract.

Step 2: Make an outline of all snow removal service requests

The client might have requested some services such as snow blowing, snow plowing, or ice removal. Everything included with the snow plowing or other service requests should be mentioned in the contract. 

For instance, suppose the client has asked to clean their property garage after a heavy snowfall. In that case, you will need the key and access to the garage. So, you must mention this need for access in the contract right next to the service section. 

Add disclaimers to specify any unexpected cost that might come up due to additional challenges during the snow plowing process at the site.

Step 3: Specify the payment process

Keep multiple methods of payment for the customers to ensure utmost customer satisfaction. Add credit card, debit card, cheque, cash, and Apple Pay options for your services and mention the same in the contract under the dedicated payment section. 

You can either prepare fixed-fee or variable pay contracts, depending on the type that fits your customer the most. The annual and seasonal contracts mostly come up with fixed pay, whereas the time-based and per-event contracts have variable pay.

Step 4: Finalize the contract with a legal consultant or a lawyer

Even though you have mastered the art of writing a contract for your snow plowing business, you still need to finalize it on legal terms before getting it signed by the client. 

It is the only way to ensure that your contract is free from legal conflicts and loopholes. Any possibility of errors will be pointed out by the consultant beforehand, and you can fix them.

Download Free Templates

Word Doc of Snow Removal Agreement Template

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