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Providing competitive but profitable lawn care bids to prospective customers is crucial to your success as a landscaper. Whether you're attempting to sign residential or commercial landscaping customers, a professional, easy-to-understand bid can help you stand out among your competitors.
Skynova's free bid sheet templates make it easy for any lawn care business owner to create, send, and track landscaping proposals. While programs like MS Word and Excel may be used to create such bids, these file formats are often difficult to customize and aren't as user-friendly.
Through Skynova's platform, you can edit your proposal right on our website and directly email a PDF of your bid to customers via a private link. These landscaping bid forms are also available as a free download if you or your customer wants to file a digital or physical copy of it.
Customers can easily review your landscaping estimate and approve the job online. Once the bid is accepted, our software automatically converts it into a new invoice for your customer. This lets you spend more time focusing on the landscaping work you're hired to do and less on administrative tasks. If you're a landscaper, check out the template we've made below just for your business:
If you're ready to build your landscaping business by creating effective bids, we're here to help. Even if you know the industry inside and out, the paperwork can still feel like a chore. But it's essential for communicating with customers, maintaining professional relationships, and keeping your company's books organized.
Skynova is here to lift some of this load off your shoulders. Our bid form template and other accounting products are here to make the administrative aspect of your company run a lot smoother. And it all starts with your landscape proposal. Follow the steps below to create a bid that will win over any customer.
It's important to include the names and addresses for your business and customer on any bid you create. This information lets the customer know who is submitting the bid, so they don't accidentally delete or overlook it.
Skynova's bid proposal template includes "To" and "From" fields to include these names and addresses. You might also want to include any other contact information you have for either party, like email addresses and phone numbers. This way, if the customer has any questions, they know how to reach you.
Before sending your bid, double-check the contact information you have for your prospective customer. If you type in the wrong email address, your bid might not get to the right place, which could delay their approval of the job.
Add an extra professional touch to your lawn care estimate form by including your company's logo. Skynova's template allows you to easily upload the image of your choice when creating a bid document.
Click "Show Customization Options" at the top of the template, and several options will appear. One option is "Logo." Check that box to upload your image.
Create and assign an identification number to your bid. This will help you track the landscaping services you've been hired to complete. To refer to a specific customer or job, you'll simply need to search for this number in your system.
Determine a system for creating bid numbers, which can include any order of numbers, letters, or symbols. Commonly, people might use sequential numbers based on when a bid has been generated for a job. Some businesses choose to base this number on the name of their customer or the date the bid was submitted.
In Skynova's bid template, add your bid number to the field marked "Bid #." You might also consider including an associated purchase order (P.O.) number under the customizable options. This P.O. number makes it easier to track jobs and also lets you automatically convert your bids to invoices once they're approved by the customer.
Every lawn maintenance bid should also include a date on the document. Usually, this is the date your bid was created.
This date will be an important reference for your prospective customer. Most bids will have an expiration date, meaning customers only have so long to approve the price you quoted. At that point, you're no longer bound to the amount you indicated in your bid. Determine the length of time until the bid expires - a week, two weeks, a month - from the date on your bid.
When creating a bid for your customer, it's important to accurately estimate the cost of landscaping and lawn care materials. This will vary based on the job. As a lawn care service company, you likely have lawnmowers, trimmers, shovels, and other tools on hand. But you might require specific supplies for different jobs, such as trees, plants, mulch, and gravel.
Add these items to Skynova's bid template by first selecting "Product" under the "Item" pull-down tab. Then, in the description box next to it, write the name of the name or a description of the item. Remember to write this in a language that's easy to understand by the average person, even if you use a technical term or label it with a model number in your own system. Your customer should read the phrase "wood chips" and understand right away what it is.
Next, input the unit price for this item and the quantity of each item needed for the job. Our bid template does the math for you by calculating the total amount for each line item.
How you charge for labor will likely depend on the specific job you're doing. For instance, you might offer a fixed price for mowing. But for more extensive landscape maintenance, you'll likely charge an hourly rate.
If you're charging a set rate, select "Service" under the "Item" drop-down menu. Then, describe the type of labor you're doing, such as "Lawn mowing." Under "Unit Price," input the amount you're charging for the job and the quantity of this job.
Your approach will be different if you're charging by the hour. First, determine how many workers you'll need for the job. Incorporate what you'll pay them hourly into the rate you set and mark up that amount, so you bring in a profit.
Then, under the "Item" pull-down menu, select "Hours." Again, describe the type of work your team will be doing in the description field. Input your hourly rate under "Unit Price," and under "Quantity," estimate how many hours you think the job will take.
You might bring in trade-specialized subcontractors for specific jobs, such as pest control experts or stonemasons. They would have their own line item for labor charges.
As the owner of a lawn care company, you might give discounts to new or returning customers or the occasional special offer to drum up new business. For instance, ahead of the hurricane season, you might offer a special on trimming trees. These discounts are creative ways to engage customers and build your business.
It's easy to input these discounts into Skynova's estimate template. Simply select "Discount" under the "Item" pull-down tab. In the description field, write what the discount is for. Under "Unit Price," you'll add the discount amount and then the number of discounts to apply under "Quantity." When calculating the final numbers for your bid, our template will automatically deduct the discount amount.
Our template's "Notes" section provides a space to communicate additional information with your customer. In this area, you might want to explain any discounts you applied or let them know there may be less expensive alternatives to some of the plants and supplies they requested. You might also let them know how you prefer payment and whether you require a deposit.
This is also an excellent space to remind them that once work begins, the bid could increase if any problems arise. For instance, if you determine a pest infestation that you need to handle, this will increase the number of hours spent on the job, and you might have to call in an expert for this work.
Skynova's bid template allows you to easily create accurate bids when consulting with potential customers. Submitting a professional, polished document can make a big difference when a customer considers multiple companies for the job. Using our template streamlines that communication process, helping you build a better relationship with your customer.
Of course, more goes into creating a precise budget than simply filling out each field on our template. You also need to understand your industry. We've compiled some additional tips and best practices to consider when creating bids.
When discussing landscaping and lawn maintenance with a customer, be clear that costs for the initial work done and upkeep of their yard will be different. Generally, the initial work will cost more than upkeep, as there is likely more that needs to be done if a yard hasn't been maintained. Your bid should reflect this.
When creating a bid for a customer, offer them several options when selecting plants and other landscaping supplies. For instance, they might ask for wood mulch, which is much cheaper per cubic foot than rubber mulch. But you might want to provide the cost of rubber mulch, as well, and remind them that it lasts longer than wood. And if you're laying sod, you might offer prices for several options of grass.
Since you're working outdoors, the weather will be a factor in how and when you complete landscaping work. So, consider seasonality when creating a bid. Some plants and other supplies might not be available at certain times of the year. Also, if your crew is working outside in extreme heat, you might choose to increase your hourly rate.
When you're working outdoors, there are many potential problems that might arise on the job. Make sure you discuss these possibilities with your customer in advance and let them know how this could affect the cost of the job. For instance, if you discover a dying tree upon further inspection of a yard, you might need to delay your work to address this issue.
By using Skynova's template to submit bids, this makes it easy for customers to approve the work. Through our website, you can streamline the process by directly sending them your business proposal without downloading anything. Then, they can review your estimate for the job and approve it online.
As the owner of a landscaping company, there's more to running a successful business than having a green thumb. You also need to keep an organized office and stay up to date on your paperwork, which is a tedious job for most people. This includes providing accurate bids for potential jobs, which is essential to growing your customer base.
Thankfully, Skynova is here to simplify your paperwork. Our bid template lets you easily create professional documents to submit to customers for their consideration. Once the job is accepted, it immediately converts to an invoice for your customer. If you're hired by a customer for the upkeep of a property, we also have a program that lets you easily create and track landscaping contracts and recurring invoices.
Our wide range of products is ideal for small and midsize companies. Our software takes the burden of office work off your shoulders and lets you focus on your real passions. With templates for all of your needs - order forms, receipts, maintaining your company's accounting - we're here to help your business grow and thrive.