Lawn care estimate template that books the season
A customer asking about one mow can be months of work. Show weekly visits at a per visit rate, then add the spring cleanup and two fertilizer rounds.
- Mow, edge and blow, cleanup, fertilizer and aeration
- Season total worked out from your per visit rate
- Fill it in online with no account
What to put on a lawn service quote
Use this lawn care estimate template to price a season of mowing as a per visit rate, then add cleanups, fertilizer rounds and extras on their own lines. The sample covers weekly mowing, edging and blowing on a 6,000 ft² lot from April to October, with core aeration offered as an option. Fill it in online with no sign up, or take it as Word, Excel or PDF.
A lawn service quote is really a small contract for a season. It should state the turf area, the visit frequency and the months covered, what happens on each visit, and how skipped or extra visits are charged, so nobody argues about week nineteen during a dry August.
- Property and turf areaThe mowable area in ft² or acres, after taking out beds, the driveway and the house footprint, plus notes on slopes, gates and obstacles that slow the mower down.
- Visit frequency and seasonWeekly, every ten days or biweekly, with start and end months and the number of visits you priced, for example 28 weekly visits.
- What one visit coversMow at a stated cutting height, string trim around trees and fences, edge along hard surfaces, and blow clippings off paths and the driveway.
- ClippingsMulched back into the turf, bagged and left at the curb, or hauled away. Hauling takes more time and adds dump fees, so price it separately.
- Seasonal servicesSpring and fall cleanups, leaf removal, aeration, overseeding and dethatching priced per job, so the customer can pick the ones they want.
- Fertilizer and weed controlNumber of applications and the product type. Weed control products are pesticides, and applying them for hire usually needs a state applicator license, so list yours where it applies.
- Skipped and extra visitsWhat happens when grass stops growing in a drought, when a visit is rained out and moved, or when storm debris has to be cleared first.
- Billing schedulePer visit, monthly in arrears, or an even monthly amount across the season, with the payment terms and the notice needed to cancel.
Sample lawn mowing quote for a full season
Fairway Lawn Care prices a season for Mariam Aziz: 28 weekly visits to mow, edge and blow a 6,000 ft² lot at $45 a visit, a spring cleanup at $180, and two fertilizer applications at $65 each. Aeration at $140 is listed as optional and stays out of the $1,570 subtotal. There is no deposit, which suits recurring work billed as you go. The figures are sample rates for illustration only.
| Item | Group | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mow, edge and blow Per visit | Labor | 28 visit | $45.00 | $1,260.00 |
| Spring cleanup | Labor | 1 job | $180.00 | $180.00 |
| Fertilizer, two applications | Materials | 2 each | $65.00 | $130.00 |
| Aeration | Optional extras (optional) | 1 job | $140.00 | ($140.00) |
| Subtotal before tax | $1,570.00 | |||
| Optional extras, not in the total | $140.00 | |||
4 lines are filled in, from mow, edge and blow to aeration. Put in your own lawn care rates, then download the PDF.
How to price lawn care: per visit, per month or per season
Lawn care is sold by time on site, so most pricing starts with how long one visit takes. Turn that into a per visit rate, then decide whether the customer pays each visit, a flat monthly amount, or a season contract with extras priced on top.
- Per visitTime the mow, trim and blow, add drive time from the last stop, and multiply by your hourly target. Simple for customers and easy to take off the bill when a visit is skipped.
- Per areaA rate per 1,000 ft² or per acre, handy when you price lots from an aerial map before seeing them. Add a surcharge for steep banks, fences and tight gates.
- Flat monthly amountDivide the season total by the months billed, so the customer pays the same in May as in a slow August. Write down how many visits the amount covers.
- Season contract with add onsA fixed price for the agreed visits, plus per job prices for cleanups, aeration and overseeding. Gives you known income and lets the extras sell themselves.
Fuel, blades, trailer costs and dump fees belong inside your rate, not as line items the customer questions. The job pricing guide shows how to fold overhead into a visit price, and a price list template keeps add on prices consistent from one customer to the next.
Worked example: pricing a weekly mowing visit
- Time the visitSuppose mowing the 6,000 ft² lot takes 20 minutes with a 48 in deck, trimming and edging 10 minutes, and blowing 5 minutes: 35 minutes on site.
- Add travelAllow 10 minutes of drive time from the previous stop, so the visit uses 45 minutes, or 0.75 hours of crew time.
- Apply your rateAt an example target of $60 per crew hour, 0.75 x 60 = $45 a visit.
- Multiply by the seasonWeekly visits from April to October give 28 visits on this schedule: 28 x $45 = $1,260.
- Add the extrasA $180 spring cleanup plus two fertilizer rounds at $65 ($130) brings the season to $1,570, or $224.29 a month if billed evenly over seven months.
A wider mower, tighter route density and fewer obstacles shorten the visit. Slopes, dogs in the yard and gates that must be opened and closed twice make it longer.
Lawn care inclusions and exclusions
Usually included
- Mowing all turf areas at the agreed height
- String trimming around beds, trees and fences
- Edging along the driveway, paths and curb
- Blowing clippings off hard surfaces
- Mulching clippings back into the lawn
Excluded unless priced
- Leaf removal outside the spring cleanup
- Weeding garden beds
- Storm cleanup and fallen branches
- Sprinkler repairs and timer adjustments
- Bagging and hauling clippings
Lawn mowing quote mistakes
- Quoting from the lot size instead of the mowable area, so beds and a long driveway inflate the price and lose the job.
- Not saying how many visits the season price covers, which invites a dispute when a dry spell stops the grass growing.
- Leaving clippings handling vague, then hauling bags of grass you never priced.
- Pricing the first visit like every other, when an overgrown lawn in early April takes far longer.
- Ignoring drive time between stops, which quietly eats your hourly rate on a spread out route.
- Spraying weed control for customers without the applicator license your state requires for that work.
Lawn service quote questions
How do I estimate a lawn mowing job?
Measure the turf area on site or with a map tool, then time how long it takes to mow, trim, edge and blow, adding drive time. Multiply the hours by your target rate for a per visit price, and adjust for slopes, gates and obstacles. The guide to writing an estimate covers the layout.
Should I charge per visit or monthly for lawn care?
Per visit is the easiest to explain and to adjust. Monthly billing smooths cash flow for both sides: total the season, divide by the months billed, and state how many visits the amount covers, so a wet or dry month does not become an argument.
Do lawn care companies take a deposit?
Recurring mowing often runs without one, billed per visit or monthly, as in the sample. For one-off jobs with bought in materials, such as new sod or a large cleanup with dump fees, asking for part payment upfront is more common. See how deposits work on quotes.
What should a lawn service quote include?
The address and turf area, visit frequency and season dates, what each visit covers, how clippings are handled, seasonal services priced separately, the payment schedule and the cancellation notice. Optional work such as aeration can be listed so the customer ticks only what they want.
How do I handle skipped visits in a season contract?
Write the rule into the quote before the season starts. One common option deducts skipped visits from the next bill. Another keeps the monthly amount fixed in exchange for extra visits during peak growth. Either works, as long as the customer agreed to it in writing.
Do I charge sales tax on lawn mowing?
That depends on your state, and the rules can treat labor and materials such as fertilizer differently. Check with your state revenue department before you quote, then use the US tax preset in the quote maker when it applies. More outdoor layouts are in the template library.
