What it's for
This landscaping estimate template is for the landscape contractor or estimator who has measured a job and needs a price to send. Lawns, beds, paths and patios go in as areas.
As in our guide on how to build a construction estimate, overhead and margin go on after the job cost. For other work, use our construction estimate template.
What's inside
Five sheets, each protected with no password and each printing on one page. Pale yellow cells are yours to fill in, and all other cells are locked.
Areas. A project block, then 12 AREAS lines. LENGTH (FT) × WIDTH (FT) gives the AREA (SQ FT), and a DEPTH (IN) gives the VOLUME (CU YD): area × depth ÷ 12 ÷ 27, which is geometry. TOTALS BY USE adds up the square feet and cubic yards by USE (Sod, Seed, Mulch, Soil, Gravel, Pavers, Other), then All areas. Not in a use above holds areas with no use, so the rows sum to the total.
Materials. Nine lines under QUANTITIES AND COSTS. Sod and seed come from their areas at your coverage. Mulch, soil and gravel come from their volumes plus one waste allowance, and pavers from their area, with no waste. You type the quantities for base material, irrigation zones and edging. Each AMOUNT is QUANTITY × UNIT COST, and ten PLANTS lines join them in the Materials total.
Labor and job. Eight LABOR lines (HOURS × RATE) make the Labor total, which joins Equipment rental, Disposal, Delivery and the Materials total in the Direct cost. Sales tax on materials, permits, bonds and contingency bring it to the Job cost, overhead to the Total cost, and the Bid price is "Total cost ÷ (1 − margin)".
Quote. The page your client sees, on your letterhead: LANDSCAPE QUOTE, QUOTE NO., DATE and VALID UNTIL, then CLIENT, PROJECT and ADDRESS, six SCOPE OF WORK lines, the Price and signature lines for you and the client.
About this template. Three steps, a note on the example figures, the version (v2, 2026-09-24), the license and links.
How to fill it in
- Type over or clear the example lines: two areas, one plant and two labor lines. In those tables, a line counts once its name or any figure is filled in. Sizes are in decimal feet, and number cells refuse text.
- Give each area a USE: no material line reads an area with none, and an Other area is measured only, as the sheet's note says. Price it on the Materials line that fits. Mulch, soil and gravel areas also need a DEPTH (IN), 0 to 24 inches. Without one, an area has no volume and adds nothing to Materials. The depth cell refuses a fraction such as 3/4, so type 0.75.
- On Materials, enter your product's coverage: square feet per roll or pallet for Sod, priced by the same unit, and per pound for Seed. A seed label in pounds per 1,000 sq ft needs converting: the note's example turns 6 lb into 166.7. A blank or 0 coverage orders none.
- Type the waste allowance with the percent sign. It covers mulch, soil and gravel only. Sod rounds up to whole rolls or pallets, and seed and bulk materials to the next 0.1.
- On Labor and job, type the tax and contingency rates with the percent sign. Blank lines count as 0. Sales tax is on the Materials total only, plants included, and the file doesn't decide what your state taxes. Replace the example overhead and margin, keeping the margin under 100%.
- On the Quote, type over the yellow letterhead. CLIENT and PROJECT don't copy from Areas. The Price can't be typed over, so change the figures on Labor and job. Send the Quote alone, printed or as a PDF: the workbook holds your costs, overhead and margin.
The worked example
Every figure typed into the example sits on a line marked "Example:". The About tab calls the 12% overhead and 15% margin the bid price calculator's worked example, and the rest illustrative, not recommendations, norms or typical prices. Use your product's coverage and your own allowance, rates and prices.
| Name | Use | Length × width (ft) | Area (sq ft) | Depth (in) | Volume (cu yd) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: front lawn | Sod | 50 × 30 | 1,500.00 | ||
| Example: bed along walk | Mulch | 20 × 4 | 80.00 | 3 | 0.7407 |
| All areas | 1,580.00 | 0.7407 | |||
| Not in a use above | 0.00 | 0.0000 |
| Line | Figure |
|---|---|
| Sod, at the example's 10 sq ft per roll | 150 rolls |
| Sod cost, at $4.50 a roll | $675.00 |
| Mulch, 0.7407 cu yd with the example's 10% waste | 0.9 cu yd |
| Mulch cost, at $45.00 a cu yd | $40.50 |
| Edging, 40 ft at $2.10 a foot | $84.00 |
| Plants, 6 shrubs at $28.00 | $168.00 |
| Seed, soil, gravel, pavers, base material and irrigation | $0.00 |
| Materials total | $967.50 |
| Sod installation, 8 hours at $55.00 | $440.00 |
| Bed preparation and planting, 5 hours at $55.00 | $275.00 |
| Labor total | $715.00 |
| Equipment rental | $85.00 |
| Delivery | $75.00 |
| Direct cost | $1,842.50 |
| Overhead, 12% of job cost | $221.10 |
| Total cost | $2,063.60 |
| Bid price, 15% margin | $2,427.76 |
| Profit | $364.16 |
| Markup on total cost for this margin | 17.65% |
| Price marked up by the margin % instead | $2,373.14 |
| Left on the table by marking up | $54.62 |
The tax rate, permits, bonds and contingency are blank, so the job cost equals the direct cost, and the Quote's Price reads $2,427.76. Our guide to markup vs. margin explains the last three lines.
Frequently asked questions
Does the file do the math?
Yes. Every calculated figure is a live formula.
Does it work in Google Sheets or Numbers?
Both open .xlsx files. This one has no macros, and its formulas use only IF, AND, ROUND, ROUNDUP, SUM and SUMIF.
Can I add more areas?
Yes. Unprotect the sheet (there's no password), insert rows between two area lines so the totals count them, and copy the two calculated cells into each new row.
Can I put my logo on it?
Yes, on the Quote: insert it where the sheet says YOUR LOGO. That row is 36 pt (half an inch) tall, so a logo sized to it fits without dragging the row taller. To remove the YOUR LOGO text, choose Review > Unprotect Sheet (there is no password), then protect the sheet again.
Is the Quote a contract?
No. It's a quote: a scope, a price and an acceptance block with signature lines. It has no contract terms, and the file doesn't decide yours.