Free landscaping estimate template with real units

By Zeke Galland, Staxen. Updated 2026-09-08.

This free landscaping estimate template uses the units the trade actually buys in: soil, mulch, and gravel by the cubic yard, sod and fabric by the square foot, plants by container size, irrigation by the zone. It also handles the plant warranty and utility locates in writing. A PDF version of the template is available to download on this page.

Site prep and soil

Lawn and planting

Hardscape and edging

Irrigation and drainage

Labor and equipment

Example scope

Rebuild a 4,000 sf backyard: fine-grade and lay 2,400 sf of sod, build 800 sf of mulched beds with weed barrier fabric, plant 2 15-gallon trees, 12 3-gallon shrubs, and 18 perennials, and install a 4 zone irrigation system with controller and backflow preventer. Includes 811 locates, haul-off of spoils, and a conditional one year plant warranty.

What a landscaping estimate must include

A planting list with container sizes

A 3 gallon shrub is about $26.50 in material and a 15 gallon tree about $148, so the words two trees and some shrubs can swing a bid by a thousand dollars. List species or type, container size, and count. The client is buying specific plants, and the list is what you both point at later.

Bulk materials with the yardage math

One cubic yard of mulch covers roughly 100 sf at 3 inches deep. Show the bed area, the depth, and the yards, and do the same for topsoil and gravel. When the math is visible, the client understands why 800 sf of beds needs 8 yards and not the 3 they imagined.

Irrigation priced by the zone

Each zone is a valve, its share of poly pipe, and its heads, spray for beds, rotors for turf. Price per zone with head counts, and put the controller and backflow preventer on their own lines since an inspector cares about that backflow device more than anything else you bury.

Utility locates before any digging

State that 811 will be called and marks completed before work starts, and that private lines the locate service does not cover, like low voltage lighting runs or a line to a detached garage, are the owner's to disclose. Hitting an unmarked private line without this sentence becomes your bill.

Plant warranty with its conditions

A one year replacement warranty is standard, but only if you write the conditions: warranty applies with a functioning irrigation system or documented watering, one replacement per plant, and no coverage for pet damage or drought neglect. An unconditional warranty is a coupon for free plants.

Expiration tied to the season

Plant availability and pricing shift with the season, and sod has a narrow harvest window in some regions. Cap the estimate at 30 days and note that plant substitutions of equal size and price may be proposed if a species is unavailable at install time.

Estimating mistakes that cost landscapers money

Guessing yardage instead of computing it

Beds get measured by eye, then the third dump truck shows up on your dime. Area times depth divided by 324 gives cubic yards. Thirty seconds of math on every bulk line protects hundreds of dollars per job.

An unconditional plant warranty

Plants die from neglect more than from planting. Warranty replacements only when watering is documented or irrigation is running, cap it at one replacement per plant, and exclude pets and drought. Write it or fund the neighborhood's free nursery.

Digging before the 811 marks

The locate call is free and legally required before excavation in every state. An auger through an unmarked gas or fiber line is a canceled job at best. Note the call on the estimate, and make the owner disclose private lines the utility locate will not mark.

Forgetting spoils haul-off

Every yard of gravel and soil that comes in means grass, dirt, or old mulch going out, and dump fees plus truck time are real. Carry a haul-off line. The transformation photo the client wants includes the part where the old yard leaves.

Pricing sod without the grading

Sod at $0.56 per sf in material looks simple until the yard needs 6 yards of topsoil and a day of grading to be sod-ready. Separate the prep from the sod so the flat green number does not swallow the dirt work under it.

Frequently asked questions

What units do landscaping estimates use?

Bulk materials go by the cubic yard, sod and fabric by the square foot, edging and pipe by the linear foot, plants by the each with container size stated. The conversion worth memorizing: area in square feet times depth in inches, divided by 324, equals cubic yards.

How is irrigation priced on an estimate?

By the zone. Each zone carries a valve at about $26.50 in material, its pipe, and its heads, with spray heads around $4.35 each and rotors more. The controller and the backflow preventer are separate lines, and the backflow device is what the plumbing inspector will look at.

Should a landscaper warranty plants?

Yes, a one year replacement warranty is the professional standard, with conditions in writing: functioning irrigation or documented watering, one replacement per plant, and exclusions for pet damage and neglect. The conditions are what make the warranty a service rather than a liability.

Do I need utility locates for planting and irrigation?

Yes. Call 811 before any digging, including auger holes for trees and trenching for irrigation. The service is free and required by law, but it only marks public utilities, so the estimate should require the owner to disclose private lines like lighting runs or a gas line to a fire pit.

How do I fill this out fast?

Walk the yard and talk: 2,400 sf of sod, 800 sf of beds, two trees, four irrigation zones. Eddie, Staxen's estimator, turns that into this structure with quantities and prices you can adjust and text for e-signature. Eddie is $59 per month, first job free, no card required.

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