What a landscaping change order is for
Digging reveals what was invisible at the estimate: buried concrete, a tree root mat, soil that will not drain. Customers also expand plans once they see the work start. A change order with the reason, the cost and the time added keeps the project and the payment schedule clean.
What to put on a landscaping change order
- Original estimate and amount.
- What was found or requested.
- Added lines and credits.
- New total and days added.
- Customer signature first.
A worked example
Excavating for the patio, the crew hits an old buried concrete slab. The customer also asks to make the patio larger and drop the path lights.
| Line | Qty | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break out and haul away buried concrete | 1 | load | Your price |
| Enlarge patio | 60 | sq ft | Your price |
| Credit: path lights removed | -6 | each | Your price |
Keep the found condition and the customer's request on separate lines, with the reason in the notes. One was unknown, the other was a choice.
Line items landscapers use
| Line item | Unit | How to write it |
|---|---|---|
| Remove existing plants and turf | sq ft | Say whether debris is hauled away. |
| Bed edging, steel or stone | ft | Material and height of the edge. |
| Shrubs, installed | each | Container size and variety, with a guarantee period if you give one. |
| Trees, installed | each | Caliper or container size, staking, and who waters. |
| Perennials and groundcover | each | Flat or pot size. |
| Soil amendment or compost | cu yd | Tilled in before planting. |
| Mulch, delivered and spread | cu yd | Type and depth. |
| Sod, installed | sq ft | Grass type, plus grading and starter fertilizer. |
| Paver patio | sq ft | Paver style, base depth and edge restraint. |
| Retaining wall block | sq ft | Face area, with drainage stone and fabric behind it. |
| Drainage, French drain or dry creek | ft | Pipe, stone and fabric; where it discharges. |
| Landscape lighting fixtures | each | Fixture type and transformer. |
| Grading and soil | hour | Machine or hand grading. |
| Utility locate | each | Call before you dig; say that it is done before work starts. |
Terms and deposit language for landscaping
- Deposit. Install and hardscape jobs take a deposit at signing to order plants, stone and block and hold the crew. Some states limit deposits on landscape and home improvement contracts, so look yours up.
- Payment. Progress payments on larger hardscape jobs at set stages, with the balance due when the work is complete and walked with the customer.
- Warranty. Plant guarantees usually depend on proper watering, so say who waters and for how long. Hardscape workmanship is covered separately, for a stated period.
- Underground utilities are located before digging; private lines such as irrigation or lighting the locate service does not mark are not your responsibility unless the customer flags them.
- Plant substitutions of equal size and value may be made if a variety is unavailable, with the customer told first.
- Equipment access may mark the lawn; say how ruts are repaired.
How to fill it in
- Put in the original estimate number and amount.
- Write what changed in the reason box, plainly.
- Add the new work; type a minus quantity for any credit.
- Fill in the days added.
- Print it for a signature on site, or send it from Koira to sign by phone.
Free tools for landscaping
- Lawn care cost calculator
- Lawn square footage calculator
- Artificial turf cost calculator
- French drain cost calculator
- Land clearing cost calculator
The same change order for other trades: appliance repair, auto detailing, carpet cleaning, chimney, house cleaning, commercial cleaning, concrete, drywall, electrical, fence, flooring, garage door, general contractor, gutter, handyman, hvac, irrigation, junk removal, lawn care, locksmith, moving, painting, pest control, plumbing, pool service, pressure washing, remodeling, roofing, septic, snow removal, solar, tree service, waterproofing, window cleaning.
More for landscapers: how landscapers run on Koira.