Every landscape contractor would like to be able to charge more for their services. Who wouldn’t? 

The reality is that landscape contractors don’t charge enough for their services. It’s a sad reality that many contractors feel that they’re trapped in this ‘race to the bottom’.

Lets face it, there is only one way fuel prices are going to go....and it ain't down. 

The cost of fuel is always a concern for landscapers and it can make a serious impact on the cash-flow of your business. As a contractor you should be aware of fuel costs to your business and calculate this into every job or regular maintenance contract you may have.

Understanding what your equiptment costs per hour makes for better estimating on landscape maintenance contracts.

Bidding on a maintenance job is an skill for some and a science for others; a customised trade secret derived from years of experience and some costly lessons learned along the way. Although there are all sorts of methods to calculate the appropriated rate, from estimating software to tried and tested  "guesstimate" formulas, accurate estimating remains one of the most crucial and also confusing aspects of landscape contracting.

     There is no doubt we are in an economic mess currently, unemployment is high and the domestic market is struggling. In general, population is watching its pennies and spending as little as possible. this affects the landscape industry as activity is linked to the economy's level of disposal income. This, along with recent news that the construction industry has declined every month since September 2007, has created a catch 22 situation for landscape contractors, and what is often referred to as 'Suicide bidding'.

                                                                                                     Maintenance contracts for landscape areas should be drawn up to provide security for all parties involved. The person company or management agent employing the services (the client) and the landscape contracor providing the maintenance service should be aware of everything that they have agreed to and therefore required to carry out under the contract. It is often the case that the tender for the maintenance works along with the the specification of works for the basis for the landscape maintenace contract, which has been priced by the landscaper. 

With some people a hand shake is not enough. Using written agreements, specifying the scope of work reduces the risk of misunderstandings and disputes. It also prevents the lost of the most important thing in business.....Money !!!