Landscape management software for the estimating side of operations
For an operations manager running several crews and branches, the hardest thing to manage is not the schedule but the price: what each branch charges, which bids go out below target margin and which jobs lose money after they are signed. Landscapeestimating is landscape management software for that part of the business. It centers on estimating, proposals and job costing, and hands accepted work to QuickBooks Online and your other systems.
Scope
What is managed here and what stays elsewhere.
What it manages, and what stays in your other systems
Clear boundaries make a better rollout, so here is the scope in plain terms.
- Managed here: satellite measurement, cost libraries per branch, estimates with assemblies and waste factors, branded proposals with e-sign and deposits, approvals, job budgets, estimate versus actual and margin reports.
- Exported from here: accepted jobs and invoices to QuickBooks Online, estimates to CSV, jobs to your calendar, events through API access and webhooks on Operations.
- Kept in your existing tools: crew routing, dispatch scheduling and payroll.
Companies that want a single suite covering scheduling, routing, payroll and accounting often look at larger platforms; the aspire landscape software and lmn landscape software pages describe who each approach suits.
Branches
Separate rates and prices for each market you serve.
Separate cost libraries for every branch
Labor rates, disposal fees and material costs differ between markets, and one company-wide price list either overprices one branch or underprices another. On the Operations plan each branch, up to ten, keeps its own cost library with its own materials, loaded labor rates, production rates, overhead recovery and target margin. Assemblies stay consistent across the company while the numbers underneath follow the branch. Estimators see the library of their branch, and managers see all of them. Setting up a library is described on lawn care pricing calculator.
- Branch-level labor rates and production rates.
- Branch-level disposal and delivery charges.
- Company-wide assemblies, so the method is the same everywhere.
- Custom proposal templates per brand or service line.
Approvals
Minimum margin and manager sign off on large bids.
Margin guardrails and approval of large bids
Every operations manager has seen a large bid go out at a margin nobody would have approved. Guardrails set a minimum margin and a bid amount above which a manager approves before the proposal can be sent. Worked example: with a guardrail at $25,000 and a minimum margin of 18 percent, an HOA maintenance renewal priced at $41,600 with 16.5 percent margin stops for approval; the manager raises the mowing production rate assumption back to the branch standard or accepts the bid with a note. The record shows who approved what and at which margin.
Reporting
Margin rolled up by estimator, service and branch.
Margin reports per estimator, service line and branch
Signed proposals become job budgets, and crews log hours and materials against them. Reports then roll margin up in three directions.
| Report | Question it answers |
|---|---|
| Per estimator | Who prices consistently above or below target margin? |
| Per service line | Are mowing, enhancements and hardscape each earning what they should? |
| Per branch | Which market needs its labor rate or production rates revised? |
| Per job | Which lines ran over, in hours or materials, compared with the estimate? |
The same numbers explain rebids: commercial properties measured last year can be rebid with this year's rates without retracing, which is covered on landscape bidding software. The line-level view is on landscape job costing software.
Enterprise
Access, security and onboarding for larger organizations.
Security and access for larger organizations
Enterprise adds SSO (SAML) and role-based permissions, an audit log, an uptime SLA with dedicated onboarding, annual invoicing with purchase orders, cost library migration from spreadsheets and support for security reviews including questionnaires and a data processing agreement. Details are on landscaping software security. The decision-maker view of consistency and margin is on software for landscaping business.
FAQ
- Does it schedule crews or plan routes?
Landscapeestimating centers on estimating, proposals and job costing. Accepted jobs export to your calendar and to QuickBooks Online, and API access with webhooks on Operations lets your scheduling system pick up signed work.
- How many branches can we run?
Operations includes up to ten branches with separate cost libraries. Larger structures are handled on Enterprise by contract.
- Can managers see every estimate before it goes out?
Managers see every estimate in their scope, and guardrails require their approval for bids below minimum margin or above the amount you set.
- How do we move existing rates in?
Enter them directly on any plan. Enterprise includes cost library migration from your spreadsheets during onboarding.
Get started
Manage the price, not only the schedule
See how branch libraries, approvals and margin reports fit your operation, or start on Operations today.