What to Put in a Landscaping Proposal So It Gets Signed

You walked the property. You talked through the beds, the drainage spot by the fence, the dead shrubs out front. They liked you. Then the proposal went out and sat there for two weeks.

Most of the time that isn't about the number. A proposal loses before the price even comes up when it's hard to read, hard to picture, or shows up four days after the walk. Here's what to put in one so the customer can say yes without calling you to ask what you meant.

The short answer: what every landscaping proposal needs

A landscaping proposal should tell the customer exactly what you'll do, where on the property you'll do it, what's left out, and how to say yes. Keep each part short and specific so they can read it on their phone in a couple of minutes.

1. Who and where. Customer name, property address, your company info, and the date.
2. What you saw on the walk. Two or three lines on the current condition of the site.
3. Scope by area or bed. Each area gets its own line: front beds, back fence line, side yard.
4. Materials and plants. Type, size and quantity, written so a homeowner understands it.
5. What's not included. Haul-away, irrigation changes, anything you're leaving alone.
6. Optional add-ons. Extras they can take or skip without a second visit.
7. Timing. When you can start and roughly how long it takes.
8. Terms. Deposit and payment schedule, plant warranty conditions, weather delays, change orders.
9. How to say yes. One clear next step.
10. When the price expires. A date, so the proposal doesn't float forever.

That's the whole checklist. The rest of this post is about doing each part well.

Scope they can picture

Vague scope is where most proposals stall. The customer reads it, can't picture the finished yard, and puts it off.

Compare these two lines:

• Vague: "Front yard cleanup and planting."
• Clear: "Front beds along the walkway: pull existing weeds and dead boxwoods, re-edge the bed line, plant 6 hydrangeas along the porch, 3 inches of dark brown mulch."

The second one answers the questions they'd otherwise text you about. It also protects you. If they later ask why the side yard wasn't touched, the proposal already says what was in and what wasn't.

Break the job up by area or bed, not by task type. People think about their yard in places ("the bed by the mailbox"), not in categories ("mulching").

Show them the property: photos and a map pin on each line

A photo next to each line item does more than a paragraph of description. The customer sees the exact bed you're talking about, in its current state, and there's no "which bed did you mean?" call.

In EveryGrove, every line item on a proposal can carry photos and a map pin. You take the pictures on the walk and add them to the right line. That matters most on bigger properties and with tree work mixed in, where "the oak by the back corner" could mean three different trees.

Those same photos help later too. If there's ever a disagreement about what the site looked like before you started, you have photo proof.

Give options without a second visit

Some customers want the basic job. Some want the basic job plus a few extras, and they'd happily say yes if you asked. Optional add-ons let them choose on their own without you driving back out.

Good add-ons for a landscaping proposal are things that naturally go with the main job:

• Mulch refresh in beds you're not otherwise touching
• Edging along the driveway or walkway
• Seasonal cleanup in the fall or spring
• Pruning a couple of shrubs or small trees near the work area

Keep the main scope as the default and list add-ons below it, clearly marked as optional. The customer can check what they want and skip the rest. EveryGrove proposals support optional add-ons, so the customer sees them as separate choices instead of one big bundle.

Exclusions and terms that prevent arguments later

The part nobody likes writing is the part that saves you the most headaches. Spell out what's not included and how changes get handled. A few that come up on almost every job:

• Haul-away. Is debris removal included, or is it extra?
• Irrigation. If you move a bed, are you adjusting the sprinkler heads, or is that on them?
• Plant warranty conditions. If you offer one, say what it depends on, like the customer watering on schedule.
• Weather delays. Rain and frost move start dates. Say so up front.
• Change orders. If they want to add a bed halfway through, how does that get written up and approved?

This is general advice, not legal advice. If you're unsure how to word your terms, have someone who knows your state's rules look them over once, then put them in your template so you never write them from scratch again.

Send it the same day, to everyone who decides

The best time to send a proposal is while they still remember the walk. Same day is ideal. If you can send it from the driveway before you leave, even better.

With EveryGrove you set your proposal templates up once, so you're filling in the specifics of this property instead of building a document from a blank page. Going from the lead to a proposal takes a couple of clicks.

Also think about who actually makes the call. A lot of proposals stall because the person you met isn't the only one deciding. A spouse at work, a property manager, an HOA contact. EveryGrove sends a proposal to up to 5 recipients, so everyone who needs to see it gets it at the same time instead of waiting for it to be forwarded.

What happens after you hit send

Sending the proposal is half the job. The other half is following up without being a pest, and that's where a lot of small crews drop the ball because they're out on jobs all day.

EveryGrove sends automated email and SMS follow-ups on the schedule you set, so the reminder goes out whether or not you remember. You can see when they've opened it, which tells you whether they need a nudge or a phone call.

If you want the full playbook on timing and what to say, read how to follow up on a tree or landscaping estimate. And if proposals keep going dark, it's worth reading about why customers go quiet after the estimate.

Where the proposal fits in the whole system

The proposal is one step in a longer chain, and each step affects the next. In EveryGrove it works like this, whether you run one truck or three crews:

• Willow answers when a customer calls, and it always books the estimate.
• You walk the property, take photos, and send the proposal from the driveway using your template.
• Follow-ups go out by email and SMS on their own, and you can see when the customer has opened it.
• Once the job's done, the invoice goes out, and EveryGrove connects to QuickBooks and Stripe.

It's built for both tree care and landscaping, so if you do removals in the morning and bed installs in the afternoon, it all runs through one place. Faster bids. More jobs won.

FAQ

What should a landscaping proposal include? Customer and property details, what you saw on the walk, scope broken out by area, materials and plants, exclusions, optional add-ons, timing, terms, a clear way to say yes, and an expiration date. Keep each part short and specific.

How long should a landscaping proposal be? As long as it takes to be clear and no longer. For most residential jobs that's a page or two, with a short line for each area and a photo next to it.

Should I include photos in a landscaping proposal? Yes. A photo next to each line item shows the customer exactly which area you mean and cuts down on back-and-forth questions. It also gives you a record of what the site looked like before you started.

How do optional add-ons work on a landscaping proposal? You list extras like a mulch refresh, edging or seasonal cleanup below the main scope, marked as optional. The customer picks what they want and skips the rest, with no second visit needed.

How fast should I send a landscaping proposal after the walkthrough? The same day if you can. The walk is fresh in the customer's mind, and you get ahead of any other company they're talking to.

What's the best way to follow up on a landscaping proposal? Follow up on a set schedule with a short email or text, and call if they've opened it but haven't answered. Automating the email and SMS reminders keeps it from slipping when you're busy on jobs.

Want to see a landscaping proposal built from a template, with photos on every line? Book a 15-minute demo on Zoom or by phone at everygrove.com.