In this guide 6 sections
Track six things each month: quotes sent and won, profit per project against estimate, maintenance visits done with photos, plants replaced, contracts due for renewal, and unpaid invoices. Together they show whether building or maintenance is carrying the firm. GullySystem’s Landscaping Management System reports most of these from records crews already keep.
Quotes sent, chased and won
A garden quote lists softscape by species and size, turf by area, hardscape, soil, drip lines and labour. It takes time to build.
Count quotes sent this month, quotes still waiting and quotes won. A long waiting list usually means follow-up calls are not happening.
Look at lost quotes too. Note the reason a client gave.
Profit on each project against its estimate
Projects lose money in small ways. Plants arrive before the site is ready, extra work is agreed on site, and labour runs over.
Each month, compare the estimate with what each live project has used: plants, soil, hardscape and crew days. Extra work requested on site needs its own line.
Check plant counts as well. If two hundred plants were ordered, the site count should say so.
- Plants and material used against the estimate
- Crew days against those planned
- Extra work agreed on site
- Plants sent to the wrong site
Maintenance visits, with proof
Maintenance is the steady half of the business. It is also the half hardest to prove.
Count visits planned and visits done for each site. Each visit should carry a date and a photo from the crew’s phone. When an association says a gardener skipped three weeks, the log answers.
Read crew attendance against the schedule. A site that keeps slipping may need a different round.
Dead plants and who pays for them
Replacement terms agreed on the phone turn every dead palm into an argument. Write the replacement period into the contract.
Then keep a list of plants by planting date. Each month, note what was replaced, whether it fell inside the period, and who paid.
A rising count on one site may point to soil, water or care. It is worth a visit.
Renewals and unpaid invoices
Contracts that end quietly keep running at the old rate. List every AMC by end date, well ahead.
Open renewal talks before the end date, with the visit log as the basis for a new rate. A client who has seen a year of dated photos has fewer questions.
Finally, list unpaid invoices by client. Monthly maintenance bills are small, which makes them easy to let slide.
- Contracts ending in the next quarter
- Rate last agreed, and when
- Visits done in the contract year
- Invoices unpaid, oldest first
Landscaping monthly review sheet
A single page holding six boxes, one for each number above. Fill it in on the first working day of the month from the visit log, invoices and project files. Compare it with last month’s sheet before deciding what to fix.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Can I see where a crew is during the day?
No. The Landscaping Management System records attendance and the site each crew worked, with photos against the task. There is no live map of a crew’s position.
Is software worth it for a firm with few projects a year?
For the projects alone, probably not. Maintenance is where a small system earns its keep, because visits and renewals repeat every month.
Do gardeners need to install an app?
No. The field app runs in the phone browser, so crews tick checklists and upload photos from an ordinary smartphone. A site needs a working connection.