DumpsterBossPro Blog — Running a Dumpster Business

Starting a Dumpster Rental Business: The First Ninety Days

The first ninety days of a dumpster rental business are strange. You have a truck payment, a row of clean cans and more free time than you want. Then a few jobs come in, then a few more, and suddenly you are trying to remember which customer has which can while you drive. The habits you build in those first three months tend to stay with the company for years.

This guide follows Switching Dumpster Rental Business Software Without Dropping a Swap. It is for owners at the very start, before there is anything to switch from.

Get the Basics Squared Away First

Before the first can hits a driveway, there is a list of things every new company has to sort out: business registration, insurance, a place to keep the truck and cans, where you can dump each kind of debris, and whether your area requires anything for placing a can on a public road. Every one of those varies by city, county and state, so check your local requirements with the people who actually know them — your insurance agent, your accountant, the local transfer stations and the city.

Do not guess on any of these, and do not copy what an operator two states away does. The rules where you work are the only ones that matter.

Start With a Small, Sensible Fleet

New owners often want one of every size. Resist that. A small fleet of the sizes your market actually rents will keep cans out working instead of sitting in the yard. Many residential markets lean on smaller cans for cleanouts and small remodels, while construction work leans larger. Talk to a few contractors and a few local transfer stations about what moves in your area before you buy.

You can always add sizes later. A can sitting unrented for months is money parked in your yard. The later guide in this series on which sizes to stock covers that decision in more depth.

Find the First Customers

The first customers usually come from people you already know, local contractors, and anyone searching online for a dumpster in your area. A simple website with a web request form lets people ask for a can without calling, which matters because you will often be in the truck when they search. Get listed where local customers look, and ask every early customer for a review once the job is done.

Contractors are worth chasing early. A remodeler or roofer who rents regularly is worth more than a dozen one-time cleanouts, because he calls again without you spending anything to find him. Make it easy for him: fast swaps, clear invoices and, once he is steady, a monthly bill instead of a card swipe for every haul.

Price So the Business Survives

Your price has to cover a lot more than the drive. It has to cover disposal fees, fuel, the truck payment, insurance, can wear and repair, your own time, and the days a can sits in the yard. Build your pricing around a set number of days included with a daily rate after, and a weight included with an overage per ton above it. That structure protects you from the two classic losses: the can that never leaves and the can that comes back overloaded.

Check what your local disposal sites charge and build that into every price. Then write your prices down and use them consistently. Discounting every job on the phone is the fastest way to stay busy and broke.

Set Up Your System Before You Need It

The best time to set up software is before you are busy, because that is the only time you have to do it calmly. In DumpsterBossPro, set up your job types — Delivery, Pickup, Swap, Dump & Return and Relocate — your can sizes, your days included and daily rate, and your overage per ton. Turn on automated texts so customers get a heads-up when you are on the way.

Every job then carries the site address, the haul-to address, the can size, the unit number and the debris type. When a can goes out, the rental days start counting. When it comes back, you enter the scale-ticket weight and the overage lands on the invoice. Start is $59 a month with a 14-day free trial and no credit card, which is an easy cost to carry from day one.

What to Watch in the First Ninety Days

In the first three months, watch three numbers: how many days your cans are out versus sitting in the yard, how many jobs you are running per week, and how much is owed to you right now. Reports make all three easy to check without building a spreadsheet. If cans sit idle, work harder on finding customers. If invoices are piling up unpaid, collect a card on file at booking and turn on payment follow-ups.

The next guide covers the question most successful new owners hit sooner than they expect: when to add a second truck. For an overview of how one system runs the whole company, see the dumpster rental business software page.