Entrepreneur launches app tailored to lawn care industry

An entrepreneur with over a decade of lawn care experience has launched an app he hopes will provide those in the lawn care industry with consistent, year-round income.

CertainFee is a web-based app that helps lawn care service businesses convert their current clientele as well as potential new customers to a subscription payment option, said founder and Springfield resident Will Crites. Crites, who owns the venture via Crites Business Solutions LLC, said CertainFee sends a bid with a subscription payment option to current as well as potential customers, offering a per service rate or a monthly subscription rate. 

“Lawn care providers are busy year-round. It is difficult to find the spare time to consider options for creating off-season income,” Crites said via email. “CertainFee takes the hassle out of trying to figure out how to offer current customers an alternative payment option. The new bids can be sent via text and email to an infinite number of clients in seconds. Responses are sent directly to the business owner.”

Crites said the idea for CertainFee originated while he owned his own lawn care business, Clean Cut Lawn Care, which he sold in 2020. He began development of the app in 2021, initially focusing on use for any service industry that wanted to build year-round monthly cash flow. However, he determined it was simply too broad, and after initially launching CertainFee in late 2024, he revamped the app in November 2025 to focus on marketing to the lawn care industry.

“The inconsistent income of my own lawn care business was the impetus to create a monthly subscription option for my customers,” said Crites, who is currently manager of the lawn care division at Elite Outdoor Innovations in Rogersville. “The consistent monthly income from my subscription payments eventually was key to selling my business. The buyer was guaranteed income on a certain date of the first month of operation.”

Startup costs for CertainFee were roughly $30,000, Crites said, adding that included working with a developer, web designers and a search engine optimization specialist. Crites said CertainFee is compatible with accounting and payment programs such as QuickBooks, PayPal and Stripe.

While still seeking his first users for the app, available at CertainFee.com, Crites said CertainFee has five price tiers for companies, starting at $25 per month for a starter membership, up to 100 clients, topping out at $92 per month for the enterprise tier, up to 1,000 clients.