Lawn care is recurring, landscaping is a project
Most landscaping businesses run two kinds of work. Maintenance is small and repetitive: mowing, edging, blowing, every week from spring to fall. Installation is a project with materials, labor, equipment and disposal. They need different invoices, and customers notice when one looks like the other.
The sample above mixes a month of maintenance with a small add-on job, which is how many residential invoices look in spring. Edit the lines and save your standard services as items.
Example: April invoice
Rates below are editable examples, not local pricing.
| Description | Qty | Unit | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mow, edge and blow (Apr 7, 14, 21, 28) | 4 | visit | $55.00 | $220.00 |
| Hardwood mulch, delivered | 6 | cubic yard | $48.00 | $288.00 |
| Mulch installation, front and side beds | 5 | hour | $60.00 | $300.00 |
| Spring cleanup debris, green waste disposal | 1 | load | $45.00 | $45.00 |
| Subtotal before tax | $853.00 |
If your state taxes the mulch but not the labor, set a tax rate on that line only. The editor totals each rate separately.
Units that make sense to customers
- visit for mowing, weeding and routine maintenance
- month or season for maintenance contracts
- cubic yard or ton for mulch, soil, gravel and stone
- sq ft for sod, pavers and seeding
- linear ft for edging, borders and drip line
- each for trees, shrubs and irrigation heads
- hour for cleanup, pruning and anything hard to measure ahead
Plant warranties are worth a note: “Shrubs warranted for 1 year if watered as instructed.” Say what is excluded, such as storm damage or drought.
Projects: estimate, deposit, change orders
For a patio, retaining wall or irrigation system, send a written estimate first. The contractor quote template handles materials, labor and a validity date. When the customer accepts, turn the estimate into an invoice with one tap. Deposits on home-improvement work are limited in some states, and hardscape may count as home improvement; California, for example, caps the down payment at 10% or $1,000, whichever is less. If the customer asks for more plants or a bigger patio, put the change in writing and price it before doing it.
Large commercial projects may involve progress billing and lien notices; the construction invoice template explains how that works.
Getting paid every month
Recurring customers pay best on a fixed rhythm. Invoice at the end of each month with a short due date, and offer an easy payment method. After download, use Duplicate to start next month’s invoice. My documents lists what is outstanding and flags overdue invoices, with a reminder text ready to copy. Our payment terms guide covers due dates and late fees.
When a customer pays in cash at the door, mark the invoice paid and hand them a receipt. Similar recurring businesses: cleaning services. For general home projects, see the contractor invoice template. Want a paper form for the truck? Print the blank PDF invoice template.