Landscaping software that takes the deposit before the pavers arrive
Send the bid the day you walk the yard, with the lights and the drip zone as options the client picks. They sign from the link and pay the deposit on the same page, so the materials are covered before you order them. The scope says in writing what isn't included, the install days go on the crew's calendar, and the stone yard receipts sit with the rest of the books.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Big bids, long waits, and $4,000 of pavers on your card
You walked the yard on Saturday and the client loved the patio idea. The bid took you until Wednesday night to write, then it sat in their inbox for a week. When they finally said yes, they wanted the lights but not the drip zone, so you rewrote it. Now the pavers, base and plants are ordered on your card, the crew is booked for four days, and nothing in writing says what happens if they change their mind.
Install bids
One bid, with the upgrades the client picks themselves
Price the patio, beds and mulch as required lines, then add the path lights and the drip zone as options. The client ticks what they want from their phone and the total follows, so the 'can we add the lights but skip the drip?' conversation happens on the bid, not in a rewrite. You're told when they open it and when they accept, and the choices lock once they sign.
- Paver patio, 320 sq ft at $24 a foot
- Planting bed, 12 shrubs and perennials
- Hardwood mulch, 6 yards installed
- Low-voltage path lights as an option
- Drip zone for the new beds as an option
Deposits
Deposit when they sign, balance at the walkthrough
Ask for a deposit on the estimate as a percentage or a fixed amount, and the client pays it by card, ACH or PayPal on the page where they sign, through your own Stripe, Square or PayPal account. BestMate adds no fee of its own. At the walkthrough, convert the estimate to an invoice: every line is already there, and the client is charged only the balance left. Checks and bank transfers are recorded by hand, so the balance stays right.
- 40% deposit paid at signing
- Paid into your own Stripe, Square or PayPal
- Balance invoiced at the final walkthrough
- Check or bank transfer recorded by hand
- Upkeep billed monthly after the install
Scope in writing
Put what's not in the bid in writing, before it turns into free work
Describe the job in a sentence or say it out loud, add photos of the yard, and the AI Estimator drafts the line items at your own prices in under a minute. Every draft comes with a scope write-up: what's included, what it assumed, and what isn't covered, like regrading or moving sprinkler heads. Copy the lines that matter into the estimate's notes, and 'I thought the drainage was in there' is settled before the first pallet shows up. Owner only, in the iOS and Android apps.
- "320 sq ft paver patio, strip the sod, 6 yards of mulch"
- Up to 10 photos of the yard
- Included, assumed and not included, spelled out
- Change it in plain English: "drop the drip zone"
- Priced from your own rates, checked by you before it goes
Install days and crew
Install days and upkeep visits on one calendar
Put the four install days on the calendar with the three people on the crew, and each of them gets an email with the address and your notes. Design walkthroughs and the final walkthrough go on as appointments beside the billable work. On the web you see the whole week at once; on the phone, each day's list. When the install turns into upkeep, those visits repeat every week or every 2 weeks without being rebooked.
- Four-day patio install, crew of three
- Design walkthrough as an appointment
- Commercial bed upkeep every Friday
- Spring and fall cleanups, set to repeat yearly
- New requests waiting to be quoted
Supply-yard receipts
Snap the stone yard receipt before it fades in the truck
Pavers, base, plants and mulch get bought at the counter, on your card or the crew lead's. Log the expense on the spot with a photo of the receipt, in a category like Materials or Equipment, and let the crew lead log their own. At the end of the month the profit and loss report puts what you invoiced against cost of goods sold and expenses, so you see what the month actually made. The expense report goes to your accountant as a CSV.
- Receipt photo attached to the expense
- Materials, Equipment, Fuel and Mileage among 15 categories
- Crew lead logs their own purchases
- Profit and loss for any month
- Expense report emailed as a CSV
Get the deposit before you order the pavers
Start a 14-day free trial and send your next install bid with the deposit built in.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime