Bidding is where most lawn care profit is won or lost. Quote too low and you spend a season working for less than you planned. Quote too high without explaining why and the customer never calls back. A repeatable process, the same steps for every yard, fixes both.
Step 1: Get the basics before you visit
When a lead comes in, collect the address, the services they want, how often, and whether there are gates, pets, or slopes. Look at the property on a satellite map first: you can often see the lawn area, the obstacles, and the drive from your route in a couple of minutes. That alone tells you whether the yard is worth a visit.
Step 2: Walk the yard
For anything beyond a plain rectangle, walk it. You are looking for what changes the time:
- Slopes, ditches, and wet spots that need a walk-behind or hand work
- Gates narrower than your mower, and how far you have to carry equipment
- Trees, beds, and fence lines that add trimming and edging
- Grass height and condition, since overgrown yards take longer
- Where you will park and whether you can unload close to the work
Measure the turf you will actually mow, not the whole lot. A wheel, a laser measure, or a satellite measuring tool all work. Leave out beds, driveways, and areas you will not maintain.
Step 3: Estimate the time honestly
Time is the real basis of the price. Start from a known baseline, then adjust:
- Your own history. If you have mowed similar yards, use those times. Nothing beats your own numbers.
- A starting rule. Many guides suggest roughly an hour per quarter acre to mow, trim, and blow. That is a starting point, not a promise.
- Add for the extras. Trimming around obstacles, edging, and cleanup, and the drive to and from the yard.
Step 4: Turn time into a price
A simple formula works for most residential yards:
Example: a yard that takes 40 minutes on site and 10 minutes of driving is 50 minutes, or about 0.83 hours. At a target of $60 an hour, that is $50, plus $4 in fuel and supplies. Round to a clean $55 and check that it clears your minimum.
Your hourly rate is not a guess: work it out from what you need to take home and what your costs are. The profit calculator shows the price that hits your target for any yard, and the price calculator gives a range from lot size to compare against.
Step 5: Price the frequency
Weekly service costs the customer more per month but takes less time per visit. Every-other-week service takes longer because the grass has grown more, so it needs a higher per-visit price. See weekly vs. bi-weekly for how to price the gap. One-time jobs usually deserve a premium too, since they add setup and never become a route stop.
Step 6: Put it in writing
A good bid fits on one page and includes:
- Your business name and contact details
- The customer’s name and the service address
- Exactly what is included: mow, trim, edge, blow, and anything else
- The price, how often, and the start date
- What is not included, such as bagging, debris removal, or hedge trimming
- How long the price is good for
Use the free estimate generator to build one in a couple of minutes, and the contract guide for what to add once they say yes.
“Hi [name], thanks for having me look at [address]. I’d mow, trim, edge, and blow every week for [price] per visit, starting [date]. Bagging and cleanups are extra. This price is good through [date]. If you’d like to go ahead, just reply and I’ll add you to the schedule.”
Step 7: Follow up
Most lost bids are not lost to a competitor; they are lost to silence. Follow up two or three days after sending, and again a week later. A short message is enough: “Just checking whether you had any questions about the bid.” If you keep leads in a notebook or your texts, the follow-up is what gets skipped, which is exactly why LawnRoute has a Leads list with follow-up dates and a Won button that turns the lead into a customer and yard with its first mow date set.
Common bidding mistakes
- Pricing by the lawn size alone and ignoring slopes, gates, and drive time.
- Forgetting the first visit costs more than the rest, when the lawn is overgrown.
- Bidding without a minimum. Tiny yards still cost you the drive and setup.
- Vague scope. “Lawn care” means different things to different people.
- Skipping the follow-up. The bid does not close itself.
What to do this week
- Write down your hourly target and your minimum price.
- Time your next two yards door to door so your estimates use real minutes.
- Save the bid message above and the estimate generator link where you can find them.
- Set a follow-up date on every open bid.