What a landscaping work order is for
A landscape crew can lose an hour if the plant list is in the owner's head or the mulch gets dumped on the wrong side of the driveway. The work order puts the plant list, layout notes, delivery spot and utility marks in front of the crew lead. It also flags the sprinkler heads and lighting wires that the locate service does not mark.
What to put on a landscaping work order
- Plant list with locations.
- Removal and prep steps.
- Where materials are delivered.
- Utility locate status and private lines to watch.
- Cleanup and blow-off at the end.
- Customer walk-through sign-off.
A worked example
Day one of the front bed job. Locate is done; the customer mentioned sprinkler lines along the walk. Prices are hidden.
| Line | Qty | Unit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remove 8 shrubs and roots | 8 | each | Your price |
| Till compost into beds | 2 | cu yd | Your price |
| Plant shrubs per sketch | 10 | each | Your price |
| Plant perennials along walk | 18 | each | Your price |
| Install steel edging | 90 | ft | Your price |
| Spread mulch 3 inches deep | 3 | cu yd | Your price |
Put the sprinkler line warning and the mulch drop spot in site notes. Those two lines prevent the most common landscape job callbacks.
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. |
How to fill it in
- Fill in the customer, the site and the date.
- Add who is assigned, the arrival window and access.
- List the tasks and materials in the order the crew will need them.
- Put gate codes, pets and anything to protect in the site notes.
- Print it for the truck or send it to the crew's phone as a PDF.
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 work 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.