Guides
From enquiry to quote in a lawn care business: template and pricing
A lawn care quote template field by field, with the dispute each field prevents and a worked example you complete with your own measured figures.
What to take away
- A quote is a scope document with a number attached. The scope is the part that prevents arguments.
- Every field below exists because its absence caused a dispute somewhere.
- The template carries no figures. Yours come from your own measured cost of a stop.
- State the interval and the exclusions in the same place as the price.
- Keep the accepted quote. It is the only record of what was agreed.
Most quote problems are not pricing problems. They are scope problems that surface weeks later, when a customer expected something the crew was never told about. The template below is written to close those gaps. The arithmetic that produces the figure you write into it is in the article on pricing for a fair margin.
The template, field by field
Each field is followed by the thing it prevents.
Quote template fields
- Quote number and date
- Customer name and service address
- Property description in your own words
- Service list named as on crew sheet
- Done condition for each service
- Exclusions listed
- Interval and day pattern
- Season definition
- Quote number and date. Prevents an argument about which version was accepted.
- Customer name and service address. Prevents work at the wrong property when a customer owns two.
- Property description, in your own wordsapproximate area, access route, gate width, slope, obstacles, and anything hidden. Prevents a price being applied to a property it was never measured against.
- Service list, each item named exactly as it appears on your crew sheet. Prevents a mismatch between what was sold and what is delivered.
- Done condition for each servicewhich surfaces, what happens to clippings and debris, and what the property looks like when the crew leaves. Prevents the most common complaint in the trade.
- Exclusions, listed. Prevents assumed inclusions.
- Interval and day patternhow often, on which weekday, and what happens when weather moves it. Prevents the call that starts with a question about which day.
- Season definitionwhen the interval starts, when it changes, and when it ends. Prevents the autumn disagreement about the last visit.
- Price per visit, or per period, with the basis stated. Prevents a comparison against a differently structured quote.
- What changes the pricemeasured time moving out of its group, added services, or a property change. Prevents a price increase feeling arbitrary.
- Access requirementsgates opened, pets secured, vehicles moved, and what happens if access fails. Prevents an argument about a charge for a wasted trip.
- Damage and hidden itemsa request that the customer marks irrigation heads, cable, and lighting, and a note of what you found on the walkthrough. Prevents most small-claim disputes.
- Payment terms and method. Prevents the slow-payment conversation later.
- Validity period for the quote. Prevents a figure from last season being accepted this season.
- Acceptance line, with a date. Prevents an argument about whether the work was authorized.
The worked example, with your own figures
The template is deliberately empty of numbers.
Worked example pricing steps
- Time property from park to gate close
- Note drive time from preceding stop
- Add setup and pack-down minutes
- Multiply total by crew-hour cost per minute
- Add materials and disposal
- Add intended margin
- Round to a sayable figure
Fill it in this order on a real property.
- Measure the mowable turf, not the whole lot.
- Time the mow, trim, and blow.
- Note the drive time in and out.
- Divide the total minutes by 60 to get crew-hours.
- Multiply crew-hours by your loaded cost per crew-hour.
- Add consumables and your overhead share.
- Apply your target margin to reach a price.
- Round the price and write it into field nine.
- Test it at the worst observed time, not the average.
The example property, with its own figures:
- Turf area8,000 square feet on a 0.22 acre corner lot.
- Visit time22 minutes mowing, 18 minutes trim and blow.
- Drive in and out20 minutes.
- Total60 minutes, or 1.0 crew-hour.
- Loaded crew cost $25, so labour is $25.
- Consumables $3, overhead share $5, break-even $33.
- Price at a 45 percent margin$33 divided by 0.55, which is $60 per visit.
Those figures are inputs of the example, not market data. Use your own. A typical US band for this lot size is roughly $40 to $75 per visit.
The completed quote for that property:
| Field | Completed entry for 1420 Maple Court |
|---|---|
| 1. Quote number and date | Q-1042, 3 March |
| 2. Customer and address | Dana Whitfield, 1420 Maple Court |
| 3. Property | Corner lot, 0.22 acre, 8,000 sq ft turf |
| 4. Service list | Mow, string trim, edge walk and drive, blow hard surfaces |
| 5. Done condition | Turf at 3.5 in, clippings mulched, hard surfaces clear |
| 6. Exclusions | Hedges, bed weeding, leaves, irrigation repair |
| 7. Interval and day | Weekly, Tuesday, rain moves it to the next dry day |
| 8. Season | 1 April to 31 October, weekly to 31 August, then every 14 days |
| 9. Price | $60 per visit, weekly, billed monthly |
| 10. What changes the price | Added services, area change, or time above 75 minutes |
| 11. Access | Side gate unlocked, dog inside, car off the drive |
| 12. Damage and hidden items | Customer marks irrigation heads and lights; none found |
| 13. Payment | Card on file, charged on the first of the month |
| 14. Validity | 30 days from the quote date |
| 15. Acceptance | Signed and dated by the customer |
Then check the result twice. Would the price still work at the property's worst observed time? Does it cover the drive as the property actually sits on the route, not as an average? Those two checks are where the break-even reasoning in the article on margins and break-even points meets an individual quote.
Any published figure would be a figure from another market, so this page gives the procedure instead. The full cost stack behind the crew-hour number is set out in the pricing and profit guide.
Three fields that carry most of the value
Why it matters most
- Done condition
- It is the definition of the work
- Exclusions
- It sets the boundary of the price
- Interval and weather policy
- It sets the promise you actually make
What happens without it
- Done condition
- Every visit is judged against a standard nobody wrote down
- Exclusions
- Customers assume the boundary is wherever they need it
- Interval and weather policy
- A rain week becomes a broken promise instead of a rescheduled visit
Wording that causes trouble
- Complete, full, or total, applied to a package that has exclusions.
- An outcome the crew does not controlappearance in drought, turf health without irrigation, or a result that depends on a treatment you are not licensed to perform.
- A comparison against another operation's price, which turns a quote into an advertising claim.
Anything you put in front of a customer about price, savings, or results falls under the general standards described in the FTC advertising FAQs for small business. The FTC is a US federal agency, so the guidance applies in the US. Describing actions and intervals, rather than promised outcomes, keeps a quote inside what you can support.
Troublesome quote wording
- Complete, full, or total with exclusions
- Outcomes crew does not control
- Comparison against another operation's price
What to do with the accepted quote
- Store it against the customer record, with the acceptance date.
- Copy the service list and the done conditions to the crew sheet, word for word.
- Note the measured time so that next season's review has a starting point.
- Keep it with your business records. Records that clearly show income and expenses, supported by documents for sales, purchases, and payroll, are described in the IRS records guidance. The IRS is a US federal agency, so these are US filing rules.
The last point is what makes a quote worth writing carefully. A year later it is the only document that says what was agreed, and memory on both sides will have drifted.
After quote acceptance
- Store against customer record with date
- Copy service list and done conditions to crew sheet
- Note measured time for next season
- Keep with business records
Quoting labor-heavy work
Cleanups and bed work are labor-shaped, so the quote should say how many people for how long, not a flat figure with no basis. When you set the labor rate inside that figure, use the local market for that work as input.
The BLS OEWS tables publish employment and wage estimates by occupation, industry, state, and metropolitan area. The BLS is a US federal agency, so the wage figures are US data.
Quote a range for this work, with a stated condition for the upper end. Inspect before you commit to the lower one.
The equipment you carry changes the range considerably, as the equipment and setup guide sets out. The property mix in your territory determines how often you quote it, covered in choosing where to operate.
Common questions
Should a quote be one page?
Yes, if the done conditions and exclusions fit. A quote nobody reads protects nobody, so cut the marketing paragraph rather than the scope.
Do I need a signature?
Some form of recorded acceptance, with a date. What counts varies by state and by the value of the agreement, so ask locally if the amounts are significant.
What if a customer wants to negotiate?
Negotiate scope rather than the figure. Removing a service is honest. Discounting the same work teaches the customer that the first number was not real.
How long should a quote stay valid?
Long enough to be considered and short enough that it does not cross a season boundary. Put the date in field fourteen and hold to it.
