How to Create an Offer for a Landscaping Service Contract

Landscaping service companies often need to make offers in order to secure a new landscaping service contract. A landscaping service contract covers all of the aspects of landscaping and lawn care, including price, timeframe and the types of services involved. Companies can generate more business by making competitive offers.

1. Create a comprehensive list of the materials that are required to do the job. Be as detailed as possible. Next to each item, list its cost. Tally up your list to come up with a total supply cost for the landscaping job.


2. Consider miscellaneous costs. These include gas, mileage on your company vehicles and the administrative costs associated with organizing your landscaping crew. Add up these costs to create a total miscellaneous cost estimate.


3. Consider the cost of the manpower needed to complete the job. Begin by determining how many hours it will take to do the landscaping job from start to finish. If you will be performing routine maintenance work, such as mowing or trimming hedges, consider the time it takes to do these maintenance tasks and how frequently they will be performed, where its weekly, biweekly or monthly. Add these hours together to determine the total number of hours that the job will require.


4. Calculate your labor costs. Determine how many workers will be needed to do the landscaping job. Calculate how much each employee will be paid per hour. Add an additional 10 to 20 percent to account for taxes and insurance costs that the company will need to pay. Multiply the total hourly cost for the team by the number of hours that are needed to complete the job to determine the labor costs for the project.


5. Add up your total costs and write out your bid. Combine the supply, miscellaneous and labor costs to determine the company's cost to do the project. Add in a healthy profit margin so that the company makes a profit. Write out the bid in an organized, easy-to-read fashion so that the client knows exactly what they are getting for their money.


6. Present the bid. Be professional and polite when submitting your offer to the client. If the client declines, act graciously and thank them for their time. If they accept, you should have a service contract ready for them to sign.