- PlanHub
How to Bid on Landscaping Jobs
Key Takeaways
- Strategic landscaping bids are key to maintaining a sustainable business model that allows for a steady revenue stream and business growth.
- To successfully bid on landscaping jobs, commercial landscapers should conduct pre-bid research, implement cost modeling, understand proposal construction, and prepare to continuously optimize.
- An effective landscaping bid will include a quantity takeoff, a scope of work, and a detailed project proposal to establish upfront guidelines and expectations for the project.
- A bidding platform like PlanHub can help landscaping companies put together strong bids with accurate estimations and smooth workflows that allow them to stand out to prospective clients and set the pace for a successful project.
Bidding on Landscaping Projects
A lucrative landscaping project starts with a persuasive and confidence-inspiring bid. If you’re looking to bid on a landscaping job as a subcontractor, you have to know where to look for work and how to create a compelling proposal. Once you find the right project to bid on, being able to craft a strong proposal is crucial for standing out to potential contractors and winning jobs.
Subcontractor bidding sites like PlanHub can help you find projects that match your skill set in your geographical area while providing you with all the key research and collaboration tools you need to build an effective bid. With a target project in sight, you’ll be able to review the bid documents, perform a material takeoff, get pricing from your suppliers, estimate labor, add overhead and profit, and create your proposal.
This guide takes a detailed look at how to bid landscaping jobs, covering key steps to edge out competitors and stand out to contractors.
The Business Opportunity in Landscaping Jobs
Landscaping jobs present considerable opportunities for subcontractors in the industry, as the field itself continues to grow. As of 2024, IBIS World Landscaping Services Industry Report estimated the industry at a market size of $153 billion. The industry employs over 1 million people in the U.S. and comprises about 661,000 landscaping service businesses, showcasing the many available opportunities.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes clear that the industry is still projected to maintain steady expansion, with a projected job outlook of 4% growth between 2024 and 2034 for grounds maintenance workers. Home and business owners take their outdoor spaces quite seriously, and the desire to create or upgrade attractive outdoor spaces, as well as have reliable contracts for effective routine maintenance, paves the way for a consistent need for qualified landscaping services.
Why Mastering Bidding Is Crucial for Landscapers and Landscape Contractors
Being able to develop a strong bid on landscaping contractor jobs sets the pace for all of your other necessary efforts as a landscape contractor. Bidding is more than a supplement to your landscaping work or an extra sales task—it is a core function, foundational to your success for maintaining sustainable and profitable work. Not to overlook that inaccurate bids can result in consequences such as profit margin loss, schedule overruns, and even worse, reputational impact.
Disciplined bidding is key to business sustainability, revenue stability, and growth for landscapers. According to the American Society of Landscape Architects, 61% of landscape architecture firms win new projects through repeat clients, highlighting the value of bidding for establishing initial connections and developing long-term, flourishing business relationships.
Mastering the art of bidding on landscaping projects empowers you to showcase your value to prospective clients, build successful partnerships, and cement a strong reputation in your local market. Altogether, precise bidding sets the standard for scalability and long-term client retention.
What This Guide Will Cover: A Strategic Approach to Winning Bids
Winning bids requires a mindful and proactive strategy that considers all stages of a project in advance. Careful research and effective expectation-setting are key to setting a successful landscaping business apart from its competitors.
All of the following are crucial to successful outcomes:
- Pre-bid research: Understanding the prospective client and their expectations is paramount to developing a strong proposal that addresses all key needs.
- Cost modeling: Having a clear view of costs and the ability to develop an accurate estimate are important for increasing your chances of winning the bid.
- Proposal construction: Preparing a detailed, accurate proposal increases your chances of securing more bids and empowers you to carry that skill across a variety of projects going forward.
- Specialized bid types: Be prepared to develop a unique bid for the type of project you are undertaking, whether it’s a government project or a commercial project with special permitting considerations.
- Continuous optimization: As you submit and receive responses, figure out what works and what doesn’t so you can continuously optimize and refine your processes.
By being intentional in your approach to bids, you experience improved estimation accuracy, better client qualifications, and a higher win rate. This guide breaks down these steps for greater chances of success.
Phase 1: Pre-Bid — Understand the Client, Scope, and Site
Before quoting a landscaping project, you must assess which projects are the right fit for your company. Phase 1 focuses on gathering the information you need to understand what’s required so you can choose the right project for you.
Initial Client Interaction — Uncover Customer Needs and Expectations
Landscaping projects can vary widely in the work they need, so always assess the clients’ needs and expectations to verify that they align with your team’s skills, experience, and overall capacity for project scope. Save yourself time down the road by making sure you have the necessary experience and capabilities to fulfill the requirements of the job while staying on schedule.
Touch base with the potential client with requests for information about the project. Be sure to go beyond the surface-level preferences for the project, and dive into questions around operational considerations to understand cost and timeline.
Ask some of these questions:
- What are your goals for the project?
- What are your biggest concerns about completing the project?
- What are some operational constraints to be aware of?
- Who is the primary decision-maker for changes or updates to a project?
- Who will handle maintenance or adjustments to the work going forward?
Having a clear picture of the information necessary upfront allows you to understand and prepare for project needs so you can avoid last-minute changes. Ensuring alignment at the beginning protects your budget, team capacity, and relationship with the client.
The Critical Site Visit — Assess and Collect Data
Developing an accurate bid requires an understanding of the site conditions and a full preview of the scope of work, either through reviewing the documents provided by the prospective client or through conducting a site visit.
During a landscaping job site visit, take note of the physical conditions and consider how they may impact labor, equipment needs, and contingency planning for potential construction challenges. Consider the following:
- Access paths
- Soil conditions
- Irrigation tie-ins
- Grading challenges
- Utilities
- Potential safety issues
- Measurements for materials
Proposals are often requested through an invitation to bid (ITB), request for qualifications (RFQ), or a request for proposals (RFP). Prepare to review these documents diligently to understand the project, as they should include clear plans and specifications that describe and show the scope of work to be performed.
Pay extra attention to divisions 1 and 32. Division 01 provides information on qualifications, payment terms, bonding, insurance, and related matters. Meanwhile, Division 32 provides specific information about exterior improvements, including landscaping, irrigation, and fencing.
Integrate Your Landscaping Workflows in One Platform
Leverage PlanHub’s Takeoff Tool to get a bird’s-eye view of the jobsite before committing to the drive. Build site plans to scale, outline the materials you need, and estimate costs, all just in a few clicks.
Define the Scope of Work (SOW) — The Blueprint for Your Bid
Once you’ve gathered all the necessary information about the project, you can funnel your plan to complete it into a clearly defined scope of work. This document outlines all the elements of the project you will provide and fulfill for your client throughout the partnership.
Necessary elements of a scope of work include:
- Deliverables
- Exclusions
- Property owner/client responsibilities
- Sequencing
This proposal should set expectations for the work your company will accomplish during the job while also establishing clear boundaries regarding what you cannot fulfill, helping to eliminate costly scope creep. Ensuring alignment on the SOW before proceeding with the project reduces the risk of disputes and prevents wide variances in cost estimations.
Phase 2: Mastering The Numbers — Calculate Landscaping Bid Costs
Accurately pinpointing landscaping bid costs is foundational to kickstarting and maintaining strong client relationships. A quantity takeoff or material takeoff is a clear count of the materials needed, the measurements for these materials, and the equipment required to complete a project, showcasing what your client should expect.
Pinpoint Accurate Material Costs — Sourcing and Estimation
To create an accurate landscaping takeoff, you’ll need to start by directly laying out all the materials your project will require and what they will cost. Provide an itemized material list as well as an overview of the total costs.
Material lists may include:
- Plants
- Soil or mulch
- Compost
- Amendments
- Irrigation piping and components
- Hardscape materials, like brick, gravel, and concrete
Consider trends for landscaping material costs in the current year. Factors like tariffs and economic indicators have led to increases in costs for materials and landscaping supplies as much as 34%. Your estimation takeoff should proactively consider the fluctuating market while also taking into account factors like supplier lead times, seasonal variability, and guidelines for potential substitution.
Digital takeoff tools can make the estimation process more efficient. Resources like the PlanHub Unit Cost Estimation Tool assist subcontractors in creating accurate bids, factoring in important aspects like historical pricing, current market pricing, and taxes. With PlanHub’s help, subcontractors and general contractors are able to create accurate takeoffs with confidence.
Calculate Labor Costs — Your Crew’s Value
No project is possible without the hands that make it happen, and with labor costs on the rise, it’s crucial to have these costs fully laid out. Build your estimates around not just base hourly wages, but labor rates that include the costs of benefits packages and taxes.
Labor shortages and difficulty in employee retention are raising labor costs, as higher wages and benefits are necessary to attract qualified workers. With salary increase budgets at about 3.5% for 2026, employers must have realistic expectations for labor costs when preparing estimates.
These costs will also vary depending on the type of labor needed and the hours of labor required, whether for installation or maintenance. Be sure to account for all potential contingencies related to labor costs, such as the need for specialty laborers, productivity rates, and environmental or job-site limitations on labor.
Equipment Costs — Accounting for Your Tools
Equipment costs are another core expense and will vary depending on whether you plan to rent equipment or if you already have it available. Weigh the direct costs of renting against the indirect costs of ownership, such as fuel, mobilization time, wear-and-tear, and general maintenance. The tools and equipment you choose will also depend on the demands of the project, such as the site terrain and overall project profit margins.
Understand and Allocate Overhead Costs
Overhead costs are the expenses that aren’t directly related to performing project work, but are required to keep your business up and running. For accuracy, you’ll need to consider both fixed overhead costs that stay static, like administrative salaries, office rent, marketing efforts, licensing costs, and insurance premiums, as well as variable overhead costs, like material costs, shipping, and labor. Accurate estimations should account for these costs so you have a full picture of your margins and can factor these into how you price for your client.
Determine Your Profit Margin and Markup Percentage
As you develop your bid, factor in room for profit margins and markups. Profit margin is the difference between the money you earn from completing the job and the material and overhead costs you spend on completing the project—the higher the profit margin, the more money your business takes home. Your margin will vary depending on factors like risk level, type of bid, and the intensity of labor required to complete the job.
Meanwhile, markup percentage is the money you add to the prices of materials and labor in order to meet your desired profit margin. Typically, when starting a landscaping business, professionals aim for about a 10-20% profit margin on jobs. A markup is a percentage added to the price in order to make up the difference between the materials and labor and the desired profits.
For example, if a job pays $11,000, but will cost $10,120, that leaves a profit margin of $880, just 8%. A 10% markup on the work will help push your profits over the edge, raising your total profit margin to a more comfortable 18%.
Identify and Account for Hidden Costs and Contingencies
Hidden costs and contingencies can quickly add up and derail any project, so it’s crucial to be proactive and mindful. With enough experience in the industry, pinpointing these potential contingencies becomes easier. For example, soil sampling and remediation due to contamination concerns, plant mortality, and utility access constraints can all spike project costs.
Include standard contingency percentages in your estimations and make adjustments as soon as you discover any potential areas of concern. A healthy contingency percentage is typically about 5-10% of the overall bid costs, depending on the size and risk level of the project.
Phase 3: Crafting the Proposal and Contract
The proposal compiles all of the crucial information into a final sales pitch, incorporating key landscaping marketing tips. Find the balance between including the necessary facts of the job and presenting a convincing case for why the prospective client should choose you.
Structure Your Landscaping Proposal — Beyond Just a Price
Like any compelling story, a strong structure to your landscaping proposal is key to capturing your prospective client’s attention and speaking to their needs, highlighting how you are the solution to their work. With an understanding of your client’s goals, you should use the opportunity to speak directly to your company’s ability to help clients meet them.
Include the following information in your proposal for a complete glimpse of your
- Scope summary
- Timeline
- Materials
- Labor assumptions
- Work and material warranties
- Project exclusions
Visualize the Project — Enhancing Understanding and Appeal
Visual diagrams can help elevate your sales pitch, clarify what you are able to accomplish for the client, and even speed up approval. Not only can these aids help reduce misunderstandings, but they can also make your proposal easier to read, increasing the chances that your prospective client follows through with reading the entire document.
Consider including some of the following visuals:
- Site plans
- Simple preliminary renderings
- Plant lists and photos
- Before-and-after diagrams
Having a CAD tool or landscape management software that incorporates visuals into its workflows can simplify your ability to include detailed renderings that benefit both your client and your team during execution.
Presenting Your Value Proposition — Why Choose You?
Showcase your key value propositions to persuade your prospective clients why your company is the best fit for the job. Your proposal should go beyond the factual information and include a bit of a sales pitch. Every bid from every company will describe the work they will provide, so it’s important to demonstrate the value and peace of mind your company will provide that will set you apart from others also seeking to complete the project.
Focus on these clear differentiators rather than vague or generic claims:
- Safety record
- Staff certifications and experience
- Client reviews and testimonials
- Company awards and past successes
- High-value maintenance or product packages
- A portfolio of completed projects
Finalizing the Contract — Legal Protection for Both Parties
The final contract will clearly lay out all the terms introduced in your initial proposal, such as the scope of work and the cost breakdown provided. However, the contract should include more detailed information on logistics and contingencies, such as payment terms, lien rights, insurance policies, and warranties.
Ensure there is careful alignment between your initial scope of work so that you and your client are on the same page and there are no surprises. This contract will provide important legal protection and should be referenced throughout the project’s completion as part of determining whether the job’s terms were truly fulfilled.
Phase 4: Specialized Bidding Strategies
Commercial and governmental landscaping jobs require unique considerations during the bidding process, so these will warrant specialized bidding strategies.
Bidding on Commercial Landscaping Jobs
Commercial jobs may involve more advanced considerations than residential jobs, such as permitting and regulatory requirements and a greater number of stakeholders. Because these jobs will likely be much more sensitive to cost, profit, and budget than residential jobs, rigorous cost estimation will be crucial to securing these types of projects. With multiple stakeholders invested in the outcome of the project, it will also be very important to have a clear and easy-to-understand scope of work from the start.
Navigating Municipal Bids and Government Solicitations
Municipal landscaping bids and government solicitations are just as rigorous as commercial bids, if not more so, with strict compliance requirements and application deadlines. Landscaping businesses should begin government bids early and with multiple administrative parties stepping in to support, as collaboration will be key to ensuring their proposal aligns with strict environmental regulations, incorporates any mandatory permits or forms, and pursues necessary bonds.
Phase 5: Leveraging Technology for Bidding Efficiency and Accuracy
Using technological tools can help boost the accuracy and efficiency of your bids and estimations. The right tools can save time and money while allowing you to push out more bids with greater chances for success.
Landscaping Software for Estimation and Management
Using a landscaping software designed to support estimation and cost management can help you include accurate costs for your proposal, giving you and your client a helpful reference for what spending will look like throughout the project. Software helps reduce errors and cost variance by factoring in aspects like taxes and market shifts in pricing compared.
For example, PlanHub’s Unit Cost Estimation Tool provides a library of standard material costs while factoring in real-time market pricing and taxes. Not only does this tool save time by providing instantaneous costs and calculations, but it also streamlines processes that can lend themselves to errors and inaccuracies when done manually.
Advanced Measurement and Mapping Tools
Advanced measurement and mapping tools can reduce takeoff time and increase estimation accuracy by giving you a clearer understanding of the worksite and how you will need to adapt to work within it. Common tools include aerial measurement tools, GIS layers, and drone mapping, providing additional information for landscaping businesses to get a head start on every project.
Phase 6: Post-Bid Analysis and Continuous Improvement
As a final step in your bidding process, it’s crucial that you review and reflect on the outcome to improve. Each bid you submit informs the next one.
Learning from Wins and Losses — A Strategy for Growth
Reflection and analysis are key to sustained success. Develop a system for tracking bid results and have a routine for considering why bids were won or lost. Not only can tangible reflection strategies help you understand your win rates, but they can also help you identify potential refinements for future bids to increase your win rate going forward.
After you complete your project, analyze the variance in cost between your proposal and the final costs to make any necessary adjustments for the future. Significant cost variance may inform improvements for contingency planning or labor estimations when developing future bids.
Managing Change Orders Gracefully
Change orders are amendments to the original contract and proposal that may be necessary when there is either a significant and unforeseen change to the project, such as an unavailable plant species or a change in client material preference. Be sure to clearly communicate pricing changes to the client or general contractor through a change order in a timely manner, with transparent pricing, to ensure a smooth continuation of the project without catching them off guard.
Cultivating Client Relationships and Future Business Opportunities
As mentioned above, a significant percentage of bids come from clients that landscaping businesses have worked with previously. Consistent communication yields repeat work, as clients desire subcontractors and partners who are easy to work with—turning to a trusted partner is always easier than requesting bids from unknown companies. Consider following up with clients within the next few weeks after completing the project to ensure satisfaction with work completed, offer the chance to address any lingering concerns, and keep the door open for future opportunities.
Staying Ahead with Market Trends
Staying ahead of trends will only make your future bids more effective and demonstrate to your clients that your company is ahead of the curve and worth working with. Recognizing and adapting to market trends will open the door to more bid opportunities while improving your business appeal.
Key landscaping trends to be aware of include:
- Sustainable, climate-conscious, and eco-friendly landscaping practices
- Incorporation of native and edible landscaping
- Creation of multifunctional outdoor living areas, like dining areas or wellness spaces
- Advancements of smart technology in landscaping, such as automated lighting and irrigation systems
Being able to demonstrate a versatile skill set proves to prospective clients that your company is capable of fulfilling a variety of jobs and is equipped to take on their project, whatever trending features they may want to incorporate.
Bidding Your Way to Landscaping Business Success
Success as a commercial landscaping business is more than just having sharp landscaping skills—strong bidding is part of the business as the bridge to letting your skills shine and ensuring you are always searching for new work. Understanding how to bid landscaping jobs only increases your chances of snagging opportunities that will allow you to put your skills into action.
Expand your capacity to create successful bids by equipping yourself with the necessary tools. PlanHub assists general contractors and subcontractors in developing accurate, winning bids that not only impress potential clients but also keep you on track from start to finish in your jobs. From collaborative tools during takeoff development to accurate cost estimation integrations, PlanHub empowers you to maintain a rapid pace in submitting and winning bids.
If you’re a landscaping subcontractor ready to see how PlanHub can help you grow your business, contact us today.
Frequently Asked Questions For Bidding on Commercial Landscaping Jobs
What is a commercial landscape?
A commercial landscape refers to the business or economic environment within a specific industry or market. It encompasses businesses and non-residential properties, which may include office buildings, retail centers, small businesses, and other public spaces. These landscapes are highly valued for their ability to pull in visitors by improving curb appeal, fostering a positive environment, and ensuring safety and functionality.
What is most profitable for the landscaping business?
The profitability of a landscaping business depends on various factors, and different services or niches within the industry can yield varying levels of profitability. However, some projects have a reputation for higher profitability, including hardscaping projects like patios, walkways, and irrigation systems. Meanwhile, recurring maintenance services, like mowing, lawn care, and seasonal cleanup services, often provide reliable and consistent income for landscaping businesses. Finally, being able to keep up with trends such as sustainable landscaping and popular landscaping styles can help boost profitability for landscaping businesses.
What do commercial landscapers do?
Commercial landscapers provide a range of services aimed at enhancing the visual appeal and functionality of outdoor areas of commercial properties. Their primary goal is to either upgrade or help maintain the visual appeal of outdoor commercial spaces. These tasks might include installing new irrigation systems, installing smart technology, building new structures, ensuring the accessibility and maintenance of existing spaces, and more.
