Landscaping pricing
How to Price Landscaping Jobs Without Guessing
A landscaping quote can look worthwhile until travel, material pickup, loading and unloading, actual work time, cleanup, helpers, and job-specific costs are included. Before you send a price, see what the job really pays per hour—and whether it meets your target.
Check my jobWhat actually goes into a landscaping quote?
What customers in a particular market may pay and whether a proposed quote works financially are separate questions. Once you have a proposed price, estimate the time and job-specific costs it needs to cover.
- Actual on-site work time
- Round-trip customer travel
- Material or supply pickup time, when applicable
- Loading, unloading, and setup
- Cleanup
- Materials and supplies purchased for the job
- Helper or subcontractor cost
- Other job-specific expenses
- Payment or platform fees
- Your desired hourly earnings target
Not every landscaping job contains every item. Use estimates appropriate to the actual work rather than a generic list, and use QuoteTake to evaluate the economics of the price and assumptions you choose.
Materials cost money. Picking them up costs time.
Materials can affect a landscaping job in two different ways: the actual cost of the materials or supplies, and the time spent obtaining, loading, transporting, and unloading them.
Depending on the job, this may include mulch, soil, plants, stone, edging, seed, fertilizer, or other supplies. Enter the cost in the appropriate QuoteTake job-cost input. Include the time spent handling materials in your total time estimate using the existing time input that best fits the work.
QuoteTake does not currently have a dedicated material pickup time field. That is why it is important to include material-related time in the most appropriate existing time input for your own job.
The hours you don't see on the quote
Three hours of visible landscaping work can take substantially more than three hours of your working day. The work customers see is only part of the commitment.
- Customer travel
- Supply or material pickup
- Loading equipment or materials
- Unloading and setup
- Actual landscaping work
- Cleanup and packing equipment
- Customer communication, payment, and admin
- Return travel
Not every job requires every step. QuoteTake works best when your estimate reflects the full time commitment for this particular job, not only the visible work time.
Illustrative example
Example: Is a $600 landscaping job worth it?
Consider a $600 customer quote with 5 hours of landscaping work, 45 minutes of round-trip customer travel, and 1 hour for material pickup, setup, and admin.
The total committed time is 6 hr 45 min. In QuoteTake, place the 1 hour of material pickup, setup, and admin under Prep / Admin, and enter the remaining job-specific costs in their matching cost inputs.
$600 minus the 3% payment fee leaves $582. Subtract the $210 in entered job-specific costs: $372 remains. Divide that by 6 hr 45 min of total committed time.
$55.11/hr Effective hourly earnings, before taxes and general business overhead. JUST BELOW TARGETFor a $60/hr target, the exact minimum quote is $634.02. Rounded upward to the next $5, the practical QuoteTake quote is $635.
The quote isn't the same as your hourly earnings
QuoteTake compares this effective rate with the hourly target you select. It does not claim that the resulting target or quote represents the correct landscaping market price.
The $372 in this example is not accounting profit, net income, take-home pay, or after-tax income. Taxes and general business overhead are not automatically included.
Keep your pricing method. Check the economics.
You may estimate a landscaping job using square footage, materials, labor, a day rate, an established price book, or another pricing method. QuoteTake does not replace that method. Once you arrive at a proposed customer price, it answers the second question: “At this price, with the time and job-specific costs I expect, what does this job actually pay me per hour?”
Put a quote to the test
Already have a price in mind?
Before you send the quote, check what the job really pays. Enter your price, total time commitment, job-specific costs, and hourly target. QuoteTake will show your effective hourly rate and the minimum quote needed to hit your target.
Check my jobQuestions
Landscaping pricing FAQ
How do I know what to charge for landscaping work?
Use your judgment about the job and your market to establish a proposed price. Then include the full time commitment and job-specific costs to evaluate what that quote would pay per hour.
Should travel time be included when pricing a landscaping job?
Yes. Include the round-trip travel that applies so the result reflects your actual time commitment.
Should material pickup time count?
Yes, when it applies. Material cost and the time spent obtaining or handling materials are separate considerations, and both can affect the job.
How should I account for landscaping materials?
Enter materials and supplies purchased for the job in the appropriate cost input. Include the time spent obtaining and handling them in the most appropriate existing time input.
Should helper costs be included?
Yes. Enter what you will pay anyone helping with the job under Helper / Subcontractor Cost.
What if I price landscaping by the square foot or by the job?
Continue using your existing method to establish the proposed customer price, then use QuoteTake to evaluate the economics of that total quote using your estimated time and costs.
What if I already charge a flat rate?
Enter that flat rate as the job price, then use your actual time and job-specific costs to see what it works out to per hour.
Does QuoteTake tell me the going rate for landscaping?
No. QuoteTake does not determine local landscaping rates. It evaluates the proposed price and assumptions you enter.