Landscaping Pricing Calculator

How Landscapers Price a Job

Separate maintenance from install pricing. Weekly mowing and bed weeding use recurring production rates.

One time installs use material takeoffs plus crew days. Pick the job type before you enter measurements.

Lot square footage is turf plus bed areas you maintain on a mowing visit. On installs it might be the disturbed area for grading and sod. Measure from a plat or pacing notes and round to the nearest fifty feet.

Bed linear feet capture edging, mulch top dress, and drip checks along shrub lines. Long curved beds take more hours per foot than straight foundation plantings. Use your tracked time from last season.

Material cost is what you pay the nursery or stoneyard, not what you wish competitors charged. Enter today's quote on soil, mulch, and hardscape. Plant allowance covers trees and shrubs from your vendor list.

Equipment fees cover skid steer rental, stump grinders, or a plate compactor on a patio base. Leave zero when your trailer already carries the tools. Add a line when you rent for one day on a big job.

Hours per thousand square feet should come from your crew cards. A three person team might run faster than a solo operator on the same lot. Adjust for slopes, gates, and dog waste pickup.

Hours per bed foot cover weeding, pre emergent, and hand watering on new installs. Track separately from mowing so you do not hide slow beds inside a fast turf rate.

Materials markup covers broken irrigation heads, extra mulch, and fuel to the yard. Bulk mulch jobs sometimes use a lower markup when volume is high.

Labor rate is billable per hour loaded with workers comp and truck payment. If you pay $22 and overhead adds $18, your field belongs near $40, not a rate you hope the client accepts.

Profit margin is the slice of the bid that pays your salary after job cost. The calculator divides subtotal by one minus margin percent. That keeps target profit on the final price, not buried in markup.

Price per thousand square feet is a quick compare against past wins. If you closed at $180 per thousand last fall and the tool shows $140, recheck hours or scope before you discount.

Irrigation repairs belong in materials or a separate service ticket. Do not bury backflow tests inside mowing minutes without telling the client.

Design build jobs need a second pass for hardscape tonnage. This form uses one material lump sum. Split pavers and walls on the proposal when the client wants detail.

Seasonal color rotations reset plant allowance each visit. Run the calculator per season if margins shift between spring and fall annuals.

Site visit still rules. Verify sun, soil, and access before you send numbers from the truck. The tool keeps you from promising a margin you cannot hit.

Irrigation audits belong on their own ticket unless the client bought them inside the maintenance bundle. Do not bury backflow tests in mowing minutes.

Paver patios need tonnage and base depth in your takeoff before you trust one lump sum material field. Split pavers and base rock on the proposal when the job is large.

Tree spade installs carry rental and trailer time. Add equipment fee when you move caliper trees instead of hand planting one gallons. Warranty replacements for shrubs should use a lower margin line so goodwill does not erase profit on the original install invoice.

Erosion control blankets on new slopes bill by the roll in materials. Convert roll count to dollars before you enter the material lump sum.

Phosphorus free fertilizer requirements in lake districts may change product cost. Update plant allowance when the city restricts standard blends.