Install bids, from the tape to the yard count.
A mow price is a number you know by heart. An install bid isn't: 1,200 square feet of beds, three inches of mulch, eleven shrubs, a paver walk and two days for a crew of three. Redline turns the measurements into the quote and keeps the materials straight.
From the walk-around to the crew day
Measure and list
Bed square footage and depth, sod area, the plant list with sizes, hardscape square footage, edging footage. Snap photos of the site and any grade problems.
Send it to Redline
Give it the yards, or give it the bed size and depth and ask it to work out the yards. Check the number before you save, the same way you'd check your own math.
Build the options
Mulch and edging only, plus the shrub plantings, or the whole job with the paver walk. The chat drafts good, better and best as three quotes, each with a deposit to buy materials.
Save it, send it, call before you dig
The quote saves on the customer's file. Redline drafts the email from your Gmail. Once they say yes, set a reminder for the utility locate before the crew day.
Deposit, crew, final bill
Invoice the deposit (Solo and up), book the crew, and add any extra material to the final invoice.
A front-yard refresh, quoted
1,200 sq ft at 3 inches is about 11 yards of mulch. Three drafts for Kate Brennan:
Good bed prep, 11 yd mulch, edging, $3,180
Better plus 11 shrubs and 2 maples, $5,640
Best plus 120 sq ft paver walk on a gravel base, $8,920
40% deposit on each. Look right?
Approve them and they save to the Brennan file. Reminder set for Thursday's morning brief.
Quotes by chat work on every plan. Example prices only.
What's on a landscape install quote
| Line | Unit |
|---|---|
| Mulch, topsoil, stone | per cubic yard |
| Sod | per sq ft or per pallet |
| Shrubs and perennials | each, by pot size |
| Trees | each, by caliper or height |
| Steel or plastic edging | per linear ft |
| Pavers and base | per sq ft |
| Bed prep and grading | per sq ft |
| Crew labor | per man-hour |
| Debris haul-away | per load |
Pot size and caliper on each plant line tell the customer exactly what's going in the ground.
Where install bids go sideways
The quote that loses money is the one where the yard count was guessed. Eleven yards becomes fourteen on install day and the extra three come out of your margin. Writing the measurement and the depth on the quote fixes the number in place, and any extra on the day goes into the final invoice, named in the line.
Deposits matter more here than in maintenance work. You're buying plants and pavers before you've earned a dollar, and spring is when everyone wants it done at once. Getting the deposit before you order keeps a cancelled job from turning into a yard full of shrubs you paid for.
Straight answers on landscape bids
Redline does
- Turn measurements and plant lists into an itemized quote
- Do the yard math when you ask (check it before saving)
- Good, better and best drafts with a deposit
- Remind you to call in the utility locate
- Bill the deposit and the final invoice (Solo and up)
Redline doesn't
- Draw designs or plans
- Pull nursery or supplier pricing
- Take quantities off a plan drawing
- Let the customer accept the quote online
- Track materials against what you quoted
Questions contractors ask
Can I quote maintenance and installs in the same place?
Yes. Install bids are quotes with a deposit. Maintenance is a repeating visit on the calendar and an invoice per visit or per month. Both live on the same customer's file.
Do I need to be on a paid plan?
Quoting by chat is free. Deposits and invoices need Solo at $29 a month. The crew board for multiple trucks is on Team at $129 a month.
Can I bill for extra material at the end?
Yes. Tell Redline what went over ("3 more yards of mulch") when you invoice the job and it adds it to the total, named in the line.
More for landscapers
Quote the next install from the yard.
Redline is free to start. Send the measurements and the plant list.
Keep reading
- Landscaping softwareBid mulch by the yard, take deposits before ordering plants and run crews from one board.
- Lawn care scheduling softwareA season of weekly mows in one save, rain days pushed by message.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.
- Fence estimate appFootage, gates, posts and tear-out into material options with a deposit.