[Joe Pa]

Hello, my name is Joe and I am a Landscape Designer recently turned freelance. I have a question for anyone who knows about what to charge a client. I would like to know how much to charge for a Landscape Concept for a 80 unit(residential), 6 acre development. If anyone has a ballpark number, let me know.
Thanks,
Joe

[Stonehenge]

Hi Joe,

Welcome to the site. A question that broad would be similar to "How much would it cost to build a 3,000 sqft home?" It could be $80,000. Could be $1 million. Too many variables to really say.

How many hours do you expect the project will take you to design? That might be a good starting point. If you aren't sure, can you break the design down to a single residence and scale that figure up, accounting for economies of scale? Maybe Jody or Agla or Lanelle will have a pat answer for you, but I bet not.

Are there other details you can provide about the project that would help?

[jshilan]

Hi Joe - Welcome aboard. I provide freelance design services as well but primarily for single family residences.

I agree with Stonehenge that this is a pretty broad based question.

If you could provide a little more info about the project and the scope of work you are thinking of providing we can surely try to help.

Some basic questions:

Is this new construction or a renovation?
I'm assuming they are townhouses or some sort of attached units.
Are you just planting each unit, common spaces and parking areas?
Or are you actually involved in the layout of the units, roads etc?
What will you include in your concept (specifically)? Revisions?

Even with all of this information the proposal will come down to a couple of basic things - how many hours and how much per hour.

I wish I could be more specific but I do need more info.

Here are just a few general ideas that may be of use. Ask them how much they are looking to spend on a concept before you drive yourself too crazy figuring everything out. Sometimes it's much easier to start with a number and work backwards. If they are thinking 500 and you're thinking 10K, it's better to find this out day one. Also don't fall for the "ballpark" question (just give us a ballpark price, we won't hold you to it - oh yes you will). Ask the clients for some more info so you have a better idea of what they are expecting and what you should propose.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

[agla]

There is only one reason that you should have trouble putting a price on something and that is that you are uncertain of exactly what you will be doing. The trick is to define the project in the contract and take away as many variables as possible. Then you know exactly what you will be doing which then should be relatively easy to estimate time and expense on.

This is how I do any design pricing which I give a contract price for.

First I meet with the person or people who are going to sign the contract to get an idea of what they are expecting both in terms of landscape and the design product that I will produce.

Then I define what I am going to do and what I am going to provide for the price. This includes number of meetings, number of revisions, how many sheets of paper, what scale, number of copies, color or black and white, ... AND that anything not covered by the contract is an extra and will be billed as such. Included in all contracts is an Appendix that has hourly rates for design, clerical work, travel time, ... who owns the plans, what happens if either party no longer wants to finish the job, ...

Once that is done, I have a good idea of the time it will take to do the project as defined and putting a price on it is simple. You'll also find that the clients are much better at getting themselves organized and preparing you in order to avoid the need for additional meetings or revisions that will result in additional billing.

Remember that you are selling the job with the contract price and that the hourly rate should not be aimed at being appealing to make a sale (the contract price could make or break your sale rather than the hourly rate). The hourly rate should be substantial enough to make it a good pay day if they add more work and to keep your client interested in keeping you on track.

The biggest pitfall is open ended revisions and meetings that can add a zillion hours to an otherwise simple project. You have to give a number to both of those in a contract. You should be able to have one meeting before the design, one meeting to present a draft plan, one revision from that meeting, and a final presentation meeting for most design contracts. If you don't put that in the contract, they will send you back to change the flower color of a Rhododendron one week, redraft the shape of a stepping stone the next, .... You have to build in a mechanism for them to want to declare the project done or to get very well compensated if it goes on.

[RHPL]

Great post agla! I've been a contractor for 6 years and just started selling my design services... On my first design I estimated a total of 20 hours for meetings and design work but was not as clear as I should have been about the process and extras as you have stated. By the time all was said and done, I was at almost 20 hours of time spent with them on the phone or meeting in person. What you have described would have either saved me time, or made me extra money... either one sounds good to me.

Sorry to sidetrack from Joe's origional question, but would you mind posting one of your contracts as an example (as well as the Apendix for additional services)?

Ryan