A landscape estimate template is the legal pad made permanent: the same lines every time, in the same order, so a bid is never missing the disposal fee or the second trip. How to bid landscaping jobs is not a secret, it is a sequence, and the template holds the sequence. Measure the areas, turn them into quantities, price the materials at cost and mark them up, put a crew on the job for a number of hours at a loaded rate, add equipment, disposal, overhead and profit, take a deposit, and write down exactly what is and is not included. This page walks that sequence as the free landscaping estimate template on this site does it, and sets out the scope of work template the estimate has to carry so the job that was bid is the job that gets done.
The takeoff: areas into yards and tons
Every landscape bid starts with a measurement. A bed of 240 square feet at a 3 inch depth of mulch is 2.2 cubic yards; a 500 square foot area of rock at 2 inches is about 3.1 cubic yards, quoted by the ton at the supplier's ticket weight. Measure each bed and turf area once and write the areas on the estimate, because the quantities, the materials price and half the labor hours all come from them. The free rock calculator on this site does the conversion for one bed.
Crew hours at a loaded rate, materials at cost plus markup
Labor is crew size times hours times a loaded rate that carries the payroll burden, the truck and the tools, not the wage on the paycheck. Materials are the supplier's price plus a markup for handling and waste. Keep the two apart on the template: a job that loses money lost it on one or the other, and an estimate that blends them cannot say which. Overhead and profit go on top of both, and the deposit is a share of the total the template states.
The landscaping scope of work template: what the price includes
The scope of work is the part of the estimate that stops a dispute. It lists what is included, bed by bed and task by task, what is excluded, who supplies the plants, what happens to spoil, and what a change costs. Write it on the estimate rather than in an email, and print it with the number. The estimate template on this site carries a scope block for this reason, and the paid record keeps every scope against the property so the crew sees what was promised.
Bidding maintenance is a different template
A maintenance bid prices a season rather than a job: visits by kind, crew hours and materials per visit, a per-visit price and a monthly price the customer pays evenly. The commercial landscape maintenance contract tool on this site is that template. Use the install estimate for installs and the contract for maintenance, and never bid a season on a job template.
Questions people ask about landscape estimate template
How do I bid a landscaping job?
Measure the areas, convert them to quantities, price materials at cost plus markup, price labor as crew hours at a loaded rate, add equipment, disposal, overhead and profit, state the deposit, and attach a scope of work. The free estimate template on this site does this in order.
What should a landscape estimate template include?
Property and measured areas, quantities by material, materials cost and markup, crew hours and loaded rate, equipment and disposal, overhead and profit, total and deposit, and the scope of work with exclusions.
What goes in a landscaping scope of work?
What is included by bed and task, what is excluded, who supplies plants and materials, disposal of spoil, site access, and what a change order costs. It prints with the estimate and travels with the crew.
Is there a free landscape estimate template?
Yes. The landscaping estimate template on this site prices crew hours, materials and markup with no account. Saving, branding and filing it against the property is the paid plan.