We arn't a commercial company or anything but just hobbyists right now however...potentially to make progress in to a bit of a business.
First thing to get straight is that if you agree a deal in writing then you're no longer hobby beekeepers and must adopt and practice a professional approach.
Of course, this mysterious asset is likely to be gained piecemeal in a hazy future but if you set out to give the impression that all bases are covered, you probably will do so by the end.
The Agreement
1 What has been agreed so far? Put in writing that you will do x for y and if the disaster of z turns up you will respond and deal with it: move hives off-site within 24 hours. Both parties ought to have a termination clause.
You don't need a limited company but
beyond £1k (not difficult) you will need to account to HMRC for income; hang onto expenditure receipts!
Keep it plain: I'm in discussion with a distribution depot/landowner company that sent me an estate agent lease cobbled together with a few numpty bee restrictions that revealed they're clueless. Out of curiosity and a desire to learn I pursued it and passed my instincts to a friendly beekeeper solicitor, who advised against; we shall see whether they accept my red ink, but so far they take forever to do not much; luckily I'm not desperate.
2 Why does the company want bees? Usual reason is to tick the green box (aka
greenwashing) which means you're providing a professional service.
3 Will the company pay for bees and hives and management and keep the honey, or will you move in your own stock and keep the honey?
If the former, you'll need accurate costings for kit and an hourly rate for management. If the latter, offer a token number of 135g jars for PR and sell them bigger jars at a discount; what's your retail price for a 340g jar?
Commercial beekeeping costings are tricky but you've got to start somewhere: travel to site, unload/prep for checks, checks, load/exit site. Extraction, bottling and labelling must be timed. Logistics of shifting boxes to and from site, frame making, label design and printing must all be included.
4 Risk Assessment: you will need to provide one that will assess the work from parking to leaving the site; the company may have a management plan for building access and roof work. If you're working under contract then BBKA PLI will be inadequate, so speak to the BBKA Insurers (contacts on website) and ask around for advice.
5 Public interest: you may be asked to give staff a tour of hives; do you have access to extra bee suits or jackets? Will you charge for what is essentially a teaching role? Are you familiar with anaphylaxis and how to respond? Enter the apiary on BeeBase and give OS co-ordinates using
gridreferencefinder.com; put advisory warning signs at roof access points but do not cause alarm by using words such as
danger or
sting: try the cosy
caution and
bees at work.
The Practical
6 Access to the roof: is there a lift? If not, it'll be a regular slog which in time you
will curse. If the roof is higher than about two floors then the bees will curse. Lone roof working is not ideal: work in pairs.
7 Access in principle: summer beekeeping can start at 5am and end at midnight so aim for 24-hour access; it's not always possible but aim for it.
8 Parking: unless you live locally or transit boxes by cargo bike, parking space close to the roof access is essential.
9 Storage of kit: ask for a room or space near the roof to store boxes at the beginning of the season. If not, cater for plenty of journeys to and from home.
10 Hive security: high wind and sun are rooftop enemies; poly hives will mitigate both;
Abelo are (in my view) the best current National option.
Keep the centre of gravity low: a cut-down pallet is ideal; add a strap; I put 450 square concrete slabs on rooftop hives in winter; look to site hives in the lee of winter winds.
11 Forage: what does Google Earth reveal in growth for two miles around the site? If it's all concrete...
Colony management
12 If the company pays for kit and management you'll need to know what you're letting yourself in for; beekeeping time is fluid (no matter how hard we try) but when you charge, you must aim to reduce elasticity and focus on the essentials.
13 If 12 applies, charge proper money; £40/hour matched to a schedule is a ball park cost.
14 Clipped queens will buy time and save the loss of a swarm if you
miss a QC; make sure you don't miss QCs by shaking every frame when checking colonies during the period of peak risk; put out a bait hive.
15 Decide whether you really need to schedule 7-day checks; I use 14-day checks with clipped queens; obviously colony status will determine the need for checks but you'll charge a standard annual fee anyway, so your skill and observation may save you work and make you money.
Your failures and disasters (even success) will entertain and teach you to be better beekeepers, but the company will probably be unaware of what's involved and want only the comfort of fluffy good news. If you organise yourself better than many a hobby beekeeper you'll easily promote the ups and cope with the downs.
PS: send a PM if you want to look at an RA and management schedule.
