What a lawn care contract should include
The visit definition: mow, edge, blow, and what is not included. The schedule: same day each week, April to October, with your weather policy. The cleanups at each end, priced separately because they are different work. Say what happens in a drought week when the grass has not grown, because a skipped visit the client did not expect to pay for is the most common complaint of the summer.
Mulch, aeration, and overseeding are the season's margin. Put quantities and materials in the description so the client can compare like with like, and mark materials taxable where your state requires it. Add a line about gates, dogs, and toys left on the lawn; it reads as friendly and it settles who is responsible when a visit cannot happen.
How to price a lawn care season
Mowing is priced per visit for a lot size, never by the hour. In 2026 a mow, edge, and blow on a quarter-acre suburban lot runs $45 to $75 in most markets, and the sample uses $55 across 26 visits for a season of $1,430. Half-acre lots run $80 to $120 and an acre $130 to $200, with the top of each range for slopes, fences, and lots of beds to edge around. Weekly is the standard; biweekly clients pay about a third more per visit because the grass is taller and the clippings heavier.
Spring cleanup runs $300 to $700 depending on bed area and how much winter debris there is, and fall cleanup $350 to $800 depending on trees; the sample uses $450 and $550. Mulch is priced installed by the yard at $80 to $140, including the material and the bed edging, and the sample puts eight yards at $960. Core aeration with overseeding runs $200 to $400 on a typical lawn and is best sold for September. A fertilizer and weed program, if you offer one, is usually $60 to $90 per application over five or six rounds and belongs on its own optional line.
With mulch and fall cleanup on, the sample season comes to $4,730, and the client sees that number move as they toggle. Rural markets run lower and dense suburbs higher, sometimes by a quarter, so check the ranges against the other trucks on your route.
How to price the optional items
Mulch installed is on by default because almost everyone wants it and the number is large; the client can turn it off, but most do not. Aeration is off by default because it is a fall decision and forcing it in March causes pushback. Fall cleanup on by default. This mix reliably lifts the average contract without a single upsell conversation, and the client feels they built the season themselves.
Mistakes that lose season contracts
Quoting a season lump sum without the per-visit rate. The client cannot check it against the neighbor's guy and assumes it is high. No make-up policy for weather. Missed visits become disputes. No expiry. Spring fills up; a 21-day expiry with reminders gets the decision made before your route is full.
Leaving the mulch quantity vague. Eight yards is a number the client can picture in a truck bed; a mulch refresh is not. Skipping the cleanups. A contract that starts with the first mow leaves the beds full of leaves and the client wondering what they are paying for.
Deposit and payment
A 25 percent season deposit at signing covers the spring cleanup and the mulch order. Bill the remainder monthly, or request the balance from the proposal at the end of the season and the client pays by card from the same page. The template collects the deposit by card when they sign, so a March yes is also March money.
Sending it and following up
Send renewals in February, before the client has heard from anyone else, and new contracts the day you walk the property. Twenty-one days is the right expiry for a season contract: long enough to think it over, short enough to close before the route is full. A reminder goes out on day three and day seven, and you can see which sections held their attention. If a client adds a bed mid-season, a change order adds the mulch with its own signature.
Questions
- How many mowing visits should I include?
- Count the weeks in your season, typically 24 to 28 from April through October in the northern half of the country and more in the South. Put the count as the quantity on the mowing line so the client sees the per-visit rate and the season total together and can check the math.
- Should mulch be optional?
- Yes, but on by default. Almost every client wants it, the number is large, and putting it in the total from the start keeps the season price honest. A budget-conscious client can turn it off themselves, which feels like their choice rather than a negotiation with you.
- How do I handle skipped weeks for weather?
- State that weather visits are made up within the week, and if they cannot be, the visit is credited. Say the same for drought weeks when the grass has not grown. Put both in the terms so it is agreed before the first rainy Monday instead of argued about in August.
- Should I charge per visit or per season?
- Show both. Price the visit and set the quantity to the number of weeks, so the client sees $55 a visit and $1,430 for the season on the same line. A season number alone reads as high; a visit number alone hides the commitment you are asking for.
- How do I sell aeration and overseeding?
- Leave it off by default at its real price with September in the description. Clients who have seen their lawn thin out will turn it on themselves in March, and everyone else can add it later with a change order when the lawn is telling them it needs it.
- Is a signed contract necessary for weekly mowing?
- For a season, yes. A signed contract fixes the visit count, the weather policy, the cleanups, and the deposit before the first mow, and it is what lets you plan a route. The client signs on their phone in a minute and both of you get the PDF.
