Landscaping Estimating Software

Upload your landscape plan or scope and TradeBid creates a reviewable line-item bid draft for site prep, sod, irrigation, planting, mulch, edging, and hardscape.

What TradeBid does for landscaping contractors

• Turf, bed, and hardscape areas drafted from your site plan
• Irrigation zones, heads, valves, and pipe runs as line items
• Plant counts by size from the planting schedule
• Labor, equipment, delivery, and disposal with your markup
• Branded PDF proposal ready to send

Landscape bids pull together many small pieces: square feet of sod, linear feet of edging, cubic yards of mulch and topsoil, irrigation zones, plant counts and hardscape. Miss a few and the margin disappears. TradeBid helps landscape contractors turn a site plan into an itemized, editable bid and a branded PDF proposal, fast enough to answer the GC or property owner the same day.

What TradeBid drafts for landscape bids

Upload the landscape plan, civil sheet or a photo of a sketch, and pick Landscaping. TradeBid drafts line items you can edit, such as:

• Site prep: clearing, grading, soil prep, and topsoil import by the cubic yard
• Turf: sod or seed by the square foot, plus starter fertilizer
• Irrigation: zones, heads, valves, controller, mainline and lateral pipe by the linear foot
• Planting: trees by caliper, shrubs by gallon size, perennials and groundcover by flat
• Mulch and rock: by the cubic yard or ton, with landscape fabric
• Edging and borders: steel, plastic or concrete curbing by the linear foot
• Hardscape: pavers, retaining wall block, flagstone and gravel paths by the square foot or face foot
• Labor, equipment and disposal, with your markup

Every line is a draft. Change quantities, unit prices and notes to match how you work, then export.

How to bid a landscaping job, step by step

1. Read the whole plan set. Check the planting schedule, irrigation sheet, details and specs. Note the plant sizes and any warranty requirements.
2. Measure the areas. Turf, beds, hardscape and slopes are all priced differently. Mark each zone on the plan.
3. Count the plants. Use the plant schedule, then check it against the drawing. Schedules are often wrong.
4. Lay out the irrigation. Count zones and heads, estimate pipe runs, and confirm the water source and pressure.
5. Price materials from current supplier quotes. Nursery stock and stone prices change by season.
6. Figure labor by task using your crew's real production rates, not a generic number.
7. Add equipment, delivery, dump fees and overhead, then your profit margin. If markup and margin get confusing, read markup vs. margin for subcontractors.
8. Write clear inclusions and exclusions, such as warranty length, the watering-in period, and who handles utility locates.
9. Send a clean, itemized proposal with your logo.

We go deeper in how to bid landscaping jobs and how to price grading work.

Common landscaping bid mistakes

• Forgetting soil amendments and import. Poor native soil can double the cost of planting beds.
• Underbidding irrigation. Long mainline runs and a far-off point of connection add up quickly.
• Ignoring access. Backyard jobs with a 36-inch gate mean hand-carrying instead of using a skid steer.
• No plant warranty terms. State clearly what you replace, and for how long.
• No time to come back for punch work. Commercial jobs almost always need a final walk-through and fixes.

Who uses TradeBid for landscaping

• Landscape installation contractors bidding commercial packages to GCs
• Residential landscapers quoting backyard projects for homeowners
• Hardscape and paver installers
• Irrigation contractors
• Site work companies that do grading plus landscaping

Pricing

• Apprentice: $149/mo or $1,490/yr, up to 5 bids a month, no takeoffs
• Journeyman: $300/mo or $3,000/yr, unlimited bids, includes takeoffs
• Master: $850/mo or $8,500/yr, adds materials and invoicing
• Single bid: $100

Try TradeBid free for 7 days: every plan starts with a free trial that includes 3 bids and 1 takeoff. A card is required at checkout. Start for $0.00 or view a sample bid.

Comparing tools? Read our roundup of free landscaping estimating software.

How it works

1. Upload your landscaping scope or plans.
2. TradeBid builds a line-item bid draft.
3. Review, adjust, and send a branded PDF.

Start with a 7-day trial, then continue on Apprentice, Journeyman, or Master. You can also buy a single bid for $100.

Start bidding landscaping jobs faster