[wecope_]

I have a subdivision that wants me to bid on their yearly maintenance contract for their entry way.

I'm an installer and this is new to me.

Property specs:
125 ft frontage on each side - 30 ft from road
75 trees and strubs

This is what will be done:
26 visits a year for cleanup and maintenance
2 fertilizer applications per year
2 annual flower installations per year - 20 flats per visit
2 pine straw installations per year

Does anyone have any advice as to charging for such services.
I don't want to overcharge the customer but I also don't want to leave any money on the table.

Any help would be appreciated.

Norris <><

[Stonehenge]

My advice is to walk away, unless you had intended to get into maintenance anyway. This is going to be a drain on your labor resources to do the things you're good at, and you may very well lose the contract the following year. Then all the money you invested in equipment and crew learning curves will be lost, unless you added several other properties to your schedule and have a whole crew doing just maintenance.

But if that's not part of your plans, I'd thank them for considering you, but decline to bid.

[TrickyDick]

Probably good advice but for the sake of arguement...

Is there lawn or just landscape beds? If just beds how dense or open are they? What kind/ size of trees and shrubs? What kind and frequency of pruning? What kind of fertilizer?

[wecope_]

I feel your sentiments and thank you but it keeps coming back to me to consider the prospects of more clients in the future. We did the install on this property and are going to overhaul another properties entrance next month and they are already asking the same questions about a maintenance agreement.

I'm like you two and don't look forward to what this will totally entail but I also see potential for an offshoot company of our landscape business. I just don't know if the baby will be worth the growing pains and you're right; will the other siblings suffer because of it.

Why do we love to do this?

Thank you for your input.

[Greensmith]

Is there an irrigation system? Are the annual going to need to be watered from a tank or hose during hot spells?