Last updated October 28, 2026

How to bid landscaping jobs

What a landscaping bid has to say, a worked sod installation price, the lines about utilities and plant warranty that protect you, and the deposit terms landscapers use.

Landscaping bids get compared on price more than most trades because the customer can picture the result and thinks the work is simple. The bid that wins is the one that shows it is not: the square footage, the yards of soil, the pallets of sod, the utility locate, and what happens to the dead plant in August. That detail is what lets you charge what the job is worth.

What a landscaping bid has to answer

The area, measured. "1,800 square feet of sod" or "two beds, 40 linear feet each, 4 feet deep."
What comes out first: old turf, weeds, roots, and where it goes.
Materials by quantity: pallets of sod, yards of soil or mulch, plants by size and count, edging by the foot.
The utility locate: that you call for one before digging, and that the schedule starts after it is marked.
Watering and plant warranty: who waters the first two weeks, and whether plants are under warranty to establish.

How to price it

Example numbers for 1,800 square feet of sod, old lawn removed, soil amended, in a typical market. Yours will differ.

Removal: sod cutter rental and two people for a half day, plus disposal. $450.
Soil: 4 yards of topsoil delivered and spread, $320 with markup.
Sod: four pallets at your cost plus markup, delivered. $900.
Install labor: two people for a day at $350 a day each, $700.
Starter fertilizer, rolling, first watering: $130.
Total: about $2,500. $2,450 to $2,900 is where this job often lands depending on access and the sod price that season.

Irrigation prices by the zone and the head count. Beds price by the linear foot plus plants at cost plus markup. Drainage prices by the foot of trench with the pipe and gravel on separate lines. In each case, write the quantity, because the quantity is what makes the price believable.

Where landscaping bids go wrong

The area was estimated by eye and came up 30 percent short on sod.
Nobody called for a locate, and the day started with a cut cable line.
The plants died in a heat wave and the customer expected free replacements because the bid did not say who waters.
The old lawn removal was assumed to be included, and it was not priced.

A finished landscaping bid, line by line

Four sample landscaping estimates: sod installation, landscape beds, irrigation install, and French drain. The landscaping proposal template is the blank version.

Deposit and payment terms

Half at signing covers the sod, soil, and plants, which are ordered to the job and cannot go back. Balance on completion, the day the last pallet is laid. If plants are on the bid, say in one line what the warranty is: replaced once within 30 days if watered as instructed, or no warranty on plants, whichever you do. Say it on the bid and you will never argue about it in August.

Getting more landscaping jobs

Measure on the first visit and text the bid before you leave. A measured bid beats a guessed one every time, and most of your competition guesses. Put two options on the bid where it makes sense, like beds with and without irrigation. Follow up at three days; spring customers are talking to three companies. Ask for the review when the sod has greened up, not the day it goes down, and send a photo of it with the request.

BidWriter Pro writes the bid from your measurements and notes, with photos, and the customer signs and pays the deposit from their phone. $29 a month, 30 days free.

Questions contractors ask

How do I price a landscaping job?

Measure the area, list every material by quantity at cost plus markup, and price labor by the day for your crew. Removal, disposal, and delivery are their own lines. A bid built that way is both accurate and easy for the customer to believe.

Should I warranty plants?

Decide, then write it on the bid. Many landscapers replace once within 30 days if the customer watered as instructed, and exclude plants the customer supplied. The written line is what matters.

How much deposit for landscaping?

Half at signing is common because sod, soil, and plants are bought for the job and cannot be returned. Balance on completion.

Write a landscaping bid from your notes

Type the job the way you would text it. It comes back as a finished estimate in about five seconds, in your words. No account.

Type a job the way you would text it

Only what you type goes on the estimate. Nothing gets added.

No account needed to try it.

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Free, no account: estimate checker, job price calculator, markup vs margin, hourly rate, and 84 sample estimates.