Landscaping proposal template
A design-build proposal you can print or save as a PDF, built around three priced options rather than one number — because a single price is a yes-or-no question, and roughly half of those come back no.
Replace the bracketed fields and the worked example, then print or save as PDF.
[YOUR BUSINESS NAME]
[Address] · [Phone] · [Email]
PROPOSAL
Prepared for [Client name]
[Property address]
[DD Month YYYY] · Valid 30 days
What you told us
The front garden drains poorly after heavy rain and the beds have grown in over fifteen years to the point where the house is hidden from the road. You want the frontage opened up, the standing water dealt with properly rather than patched, and planting that looks established without needing weekly attention.
Our approach
We would regrade the front lawn away from the house and install a French drain along the low edge, so the water problem is solved at the cause rather than absorbed by the planting. The overgrown beds come out entirely and are replanted at a scale that suits the house, using shrubs that hold their shape without shearing. Work would run [__] weeks, scheduled for [season].
Your options
Essential
$8,400
- · Bed renovation and edging
- · Shrub planting to plan
- · Mulch to 3in
- · Debris removal
Recommended
$13,900
- · Everything in Essential
- · Flagstone path and steps
- · Irrigation zone extension
- · Specimen tree, 2.5in caliper
- · Two-year plant warranty
Complete
$21,500
- · Everything in Recommended
- · Low-voltage path and uplighting
- · Seating wall, dry-laid
- · Seasonal colour rotation, year one
Assumptions and exclusions
Assumes machine access via [side gate / driveway] and no rock or buried debris requiring removal. Excludes permits, tree removal, structural retaining over [__] inches, and irrigation repair beyond the zone extension listed. Any of these would be quoted as a written change order before work proceeds.
Terms
- [__]% deposit on acceptance to schedule the work and order materials.
- Progress payment of [__]% at [milestone]; balance on completion.
- Plant warranty [__] months, subject to the agreed watering schedule.
- This proposal is valid for 30 days from the date above.
Option selected: [Essential / Recommended / Complete]
Client signature · Date
Deposit due: [$____]
Provider signature · Date
Why three options beats one price
The tier structure is the single highest-leverage change most crews can make to a proposal.
One price asks the client to decide whether to do the project at all. Three prices ask which version of the project they want — a much easier question, and one where every answer is a sale.
The middle tier is chosen most often, so the scope you actually want to build belongs there. The top tier does real work even when nobody buys it: it makes the middle look measured rather than expensive.
Build the options honestly
Each tier has to be something you would genuinely be happy to deliver. A deliberately crippled bottom option is obvious to clients and it makes the whole document feel like a sales trick. The bottom tier should solve the problem; the middle should solve it well.
What goes in a landscaping proposal
Open with their problem, not your company
The first page should restate what the client told you they want — drainage that fails, a garden nobody uses, a frontage that lets the house down. Proving you listened does more work than your logo does.
Describe the approach before the price
A paragraph on what you intend to do and why, in plain language. This is where a design-build job is won or lost: the client is buying your judgement, and this is the only part of the document that shows it.
Give three options, not one number
A single price is a yes-or-no question. Three tiers turn it into "which one" — and the middle option is usually chosen, which is why the one you actually want to sell belongs there.
Phase the work if it is large
Big numbers frighten people. The same project split into two seasons often closes when a single lump sum would not, and it lets a client start this autumn rather than think about it until next.
State exclusions and assumptions
Access for machinery, existing drainage, rock, permits, unsuitable soil. A proposal that quietly assumes clear access is a change order waiting to happen.
Make accepting it easy
A signature line, a deposit figure and a date. If the client has to work out how to say yes, some of them will not.
Need a simple price rather than a sales document? Use the estimate template instead — and work the numbers out with the pricing calculator.
Common questions
- What is the difference between a landscaping proposal and an estimate?
- An estimate states a price for defined work. A proposal sells a project — it restates the client’s problem, sets out your approach, and usually offers options. Use an estimate for maintenance and straightforward jobs; use a proposal for design-build work where the client is choosing you, not just your number.
- Should I put three options on every proposal?
- On anything substantial, yes. One price is a yes-or-no decision and roughly half of those come back no. Three tiers change the question to which one, and the middle is most often chosen — so put the scope you actually want to build in the middle.
- How long should a landscaping proposal be?
- Long enough to show judgement, short enough to be read. Two to four pages is typical for residential design-build: their problem, your approach, the options, the terms. Twenty pages of stock photography persuades nobody.
- Should I include drawings?
- A sketch or concept plan lifts close rates noticeably on design-build work, because it makes the result real. Just be clear whether the design is included in the price or billed separately — designs given away free get shopped to cheaper installers.
- How long should a proposal stay valid?
- Thirty days is standard, and say so on the document. Plant and hard-material prices move across a season, and an open-ended proposal is a risk you are carrying for free.