Landscaping estimating software is a calculator with a memory. The calculation is the same one an estimator does on a legal pad: measure the beds and the turf, turn area and depth into cubic yards and tons, price the materials at cost and mark them up, put a crew on it for a number of hours at a loaded rate, add equipment, disposal, overhead and profit, and print the proposal. The memory is what the software adds: the areas measured once, the supplier prices kept current, the last estimate for this property one click away, and the proposal branded and filed. This page sets out what landscape construction estimating software and landscape maintenance estimating software each have to do, where quoting and proposal tools stop, and what the free landscaping estimate template on this site does today.
The takeoff: landscape takeoff software starts from the measurement
Every install estimate begins with areas. A bed of 320 square feet at a 3 inch depth of mulch is 2.96 cubic yards, and at the supplier's ticket weight rock is quoted by the ton. Takeoff software holds the measured areas per property and turns them into quantities with the right unit for each material, so the estimator never re-measures and never orders in the wrong unit. The free rock calculator on this site does exactly this arithmetic for one bed; estimating software does it for the whole property and keeps it.
Construction estimates: crew hours and materials, marked up separately
A landscape construction estimate carries two kinds of cost with two kinds of markup. Materials come in at the supplier's price plus a markup that covers handling and waste; labor comes in as crew size times hours times a loaded rate that includes the payroll burden, the truck and the tools. Overhead and profit sit on top of both. Software that hides these in one line item cannot tell you why a job lost money, and the estimate template on this site keeps them apart for that reason.
Maintenance estimates: price the visit, then the month
Landscape maintenance estimating software prices a contract rather than a job: how many mowing visits, cleanups and mulch applications in the season, the crew hours and materials for each kind of visit, and the per-visit price that rolls up into a monthly figure the customer pays evenly. The commercial landscape maintenance contract tool on this site does that arithmetic free; estimating software adds the renewal date and next year's price to the record.
Where landscape quoting software and proposal software stop
A quoting tool prints a number; a proposal tool prints a number with a scope of work and terms; neither holds the takeoff or the cost breakdown behind the number. Buy the estimate first and the proposal follows from it. On this site the free estimate template is the calculation and the proposal it prints, and the paid product is the record: every estimate saved against the property, branded, exported and ready to be the starting point for the next one.
Questions people ask about landscaping estimating software
What does landscaping estimating software calculate?
Quantities from measured areas and depths, materials at cost with markup, crew hours at a loaded labor rate, equipment, disposal, overhead and profit, and the deposit. The free estimate template on this site does this calculation with no account.
What is the difference between construction and maintenance estimating?
A construction estimate prices one install job from its takeoff. A maintenance estimate prices a season of visits and rolls them into a monthly contract price. This site has a free tool for each.
Do I need takeoff software separately?
Not for landscaping. The takeoff is areas and depths into yards and tons, which the rock calculator and the estimate template on this site do. Separate takeoff software is built for blueprints, which most landscape jobs do not have.
Is there free landscaping estimating software?
The estimate template, the rock calculator and the maintenance contract tool on this site are free and need no account. Saving, branding and filing every estimate against the property is the paid plan.