What a landscaping service agreement is for
Installs are one-time; maintenance pays every month, and it keeps the crew busy between install jobs. A landscape maintenance agreement sets the visits, the tasks and what costs extra, such as plant replacement and storm cleanup. It keeps the beds you planted looking right, which brings referrals, and gives you steady crew work.
What to put on a landscaping service agreement
- Visits per season and what each includes.
- Pruning, weeding, mulch refresh and cleanups.
- What is extra: new plants, storm damage, irrigation repair.
- Price and billing.
- Term, renewal and cancellation.
A worked example
The customer from the bed renovation wants the beds kept up. Mulch uses the calculator's typical price; visits are priced from your costs.
| Line | Qty | Unit | Price | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bed weeding and detailing visit | 8 | visit | Your price | |
| Shrub pruning | 2 | visit | Your price | |
| Spring mulch refresh (cu yd) * | 2.8 | each | $161.11 | $451.11 |
| Fall cleanup * | 1 | each | $339.00 | $339.00 |
List what is extra in the Not covered box. This is a template, not legal advice; check your state's rules on automatic renewal and service contracts.
* Typical price from our free lawn care cost calculator, which lists its sources. Your own costs and market come first.
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
- Fill in the customer and the start and end dates.
- List what each visit includes and how many visits a year.
- Add your price per line; the plan shows a yearly total, and a monthly figure if billed monthly.
- Fill in what is not covered and the renewal and cancellation terms.
- Check your state's rules, then print it for signatures.
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 service agreement 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.