How to price custom processing
Hanging weight, live weight, flat rate or itemized. Most custom processors charge by the pound on hanging weight, either as one flat rate or as a slaughter fee plus a cut and wrap rate, with add-on products priced on top. This guide covers each choice, the fees around them, and how to lay it out so your customers don't have to call and ask.
Hanging, live and take-home weight
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after slaughter, with the head, hide, feet and organs removed. It is the number most custom processors bill on, because you weigh it yourself on the rail and it tracks the work in the cutting room.
- For beef, hanging weight is typically 60 to 64 percent of live weight.
- For hogs it runs higher, usually somewhere around 70 to 75 percent.
- Take-home weight is what goes in the customer's freezer. It is typically 60 to 70 percent of hanging weight, depending on bone-in or boneless cuts, how much fat is trimmed and how long the carcass hung.
Live weight is the animal on the scale before slaughter. It is the natural basis when you are selling the animal, since that's how livestock is bought and sold. For processing alone it's a poor fit: you don't do more work on a steer that came in full of feed and water.
Whichever weight you bill on, say so on the sheet in plain words. "All per-pound charges are on hanging weight" heads off the most common question you'll get at pickup: why the bill doesn't match the weight in the freezer.
Flat rate or itemized
A flat rate is one price per pound of hanging weight that covers slaughter, cutting, wrapping and freezing. It is simple to quote over the phone and easy for a first-time customer to follow.
Itemized pricing breaks the job into lines. A typical itemized sheet has:
- A slaughter or kill fee per animal.
- A waste, offal or disposal fee per animal.
- A cut and wrap rate per pound of hanging weight.
- Add-on products per pound, like patties, sausage, brats, snack sticks or jerky, often with a minimum batch and a flavor choice.
- Packaging upgrades, such as vacuum packing instead of paper, priced per pound or per package.
The per-animal fees are what make itemized pricing worth the extra lines. A small animal costs you nearly the same to kill and clean up after as a big one, and a flat per-pound rate undercharges for it. Flat-rate shops often handle this with a minimum charge per animal.
Add-ons belong on top of either model. Grinding into bulk ground beef is usually part of cut and wrap. Forming patties or stuffing sausage is extra labor and supplies, and customers accept a separate charge for it when they see it next to the choice.
A worked example
Here is one beef priced both ways, with example rates. The steer weighs 1,200 lb live and hangs at 744 lb, which is 62 percent. The customer orders 20 lb of patties and 10 lb of brats.
- Processing, 744 lb × $1.30/lb $967.20
- Patties, 20 lb × $1.00/lb $20.00
- Brats, 10 lb × $4.00/lb $40.00
- Slaughter fee $125.00
- Waste and disposal fee $40.00
- Cut and wrap, 744 lb × $1.10/lb $818.40
- Patties, 20 lb × $1.00/lb $20.00
- Brats, 10 lb × $4.00/lb $40.00
The customer takes home somewhere around 446 to 521 lb of packaged meat. If two customers split this beef into halves, each half is priced on 372 lb of hanging weight. On the flat rate, that's $483.60 in processing per half before add-ons. Decide ahead of time how per-animal fees split between the two, and print it on the sheet.
Package deals
A package deal is one price for a set order: a whole pig cut your standard way with sausage included, for example. Package deals sell well to first-time customers who don't want to make twenty decisions, and they're quick for you because the cutting is the same every time.
Set the price with a typical animal in mind, and state what's included and what isn't. If the deal assumes a weight range, say what happens outside it. A short list of the cuts and the sausage pounds included keeps the customer from asking.
Deposits
A deposit protects you against no-shows and abandoned orders. You have two common ways to set one.
- A flat deposit per animal is simple to explain and works well for custom orders, where the customer owns the animal and your exposure is mostly your time and a hook in the cooler.
- A percentage of the order scales with the job. It suits large orders and package deals.
When you supply the animal, ask for a much larger deposit. You've paid for or raised that animal, and if the buyer walks away you're holding a carcass you have to sell again. Size the deposit to what it would cost you to find another buyer, not to what feels polite to ask.
Whatever you choose, put the amount, when it's due and whether it's refundable on the sheet itself.
Card fees and storage fees
Card fees. If you take cards, decide whether the processing fee is built into your rates or added at the counter. Rules on surcharging differ by state and by card network, so check both before adding one. Whichever you pick, tell customers before they order rather than at pickup.
Storage fees. A freezer full of orders nobody has collected costs you space in the busy season. Set a pickup window, a daily or weekly charge after it, and print both on the sheet and in the pickup notice. Customers rarely argue with a fee they were told about twice.
How to present prices so customers don't call
Customers call when they can't tell what something costs or why the bill changed. You can head off most of those calls on the sheet itself.
- Put each price next to the choice it belongs to.
- Say which charges are per pound and which weight they use.
- Explain that per-pound charges are finalized once the animal is weighed, so the total on the sheet is an estimate until then.
- Show minimums next to the product, like "10 lb minimum per flavor".
- Say what's included in cut and wrap, so add-ons don't feel like surprises.
- State the deposit, card policy and storage policy in one place.
How Cut Sheet Helper applies your pricing
Cut Sheet Helper prices your cut sheet with whichever model you use. It handles a flat rate per pound of hanging weight, itemized slaughter, waste and cut and wrap charges, per-pound products with minimums and flavors, packaging upgrades, package deals, and shop-raised animals priced on live weight. Deposits can be a flat amount or a percentage.
Your customers see each price as they choose on their phone. After slaughter you enter the hanging weight (or the live weight, for animals you sell) once, and every per-pound charge on the order re-prices. Two customers splitting a beef each get their own sheet, deposit and bill, priced on their half. You record payments, print the sheet and send the bill from your shop's name.
If you're also moving your sheet off paper, read putting your cut sheet online.
Common questions
Should I charge custom processing by hanging weight or live weight?
Charge custom processing by hanging weight in most cases. It is weighed in your shop after slaughter and tracks the work you do. Live weight makes more sense when you are selling the animal itself.
What hanging weight should I expect from a beef?
Hanging weight is typically 60 to 64 percent of live weight for beef. A 1,200 lb steer usually hangs somewhere around 720 to 770 lb, depending on breed, fat and fill.
Is a flat rate or itemized pricing better for a small processor?
A flat rate per pound is easier for customers to understand and easier to quote. Itemized pricing shows what each part of the job costs and protects you on small or unusual animals. Either works if the sheet shows it clearly.
How much deposit should a processor take?
Take enough deposit to cover what you lose if the customer never picks up. A flat amount per animal works for custom orders. When you supply the animal, ask for a larger deposit or a percentage of the order.