Landscaping & Outdoor Services
Seasonal revenue, equipment costs, and crew payroll create bookkeeping challenges. We help landscapers track jobs and plan for winter.
The Industry
In Metro Detroit, you have maybe seven months to earn a full year of profit. Ground thaws in April, you’re running hard through October, and by November the snow is back. That’s your window. Everything you need to cover through winter needs to come from those seven months. Your truck payment doesn’t stop in January. Insurance doesn’t pause. Equipment loans keep coming due even when the mowers are sitting in the shop.
The work itself ranges from quick residential mowing routes to multi-week hardscaping installations. A crew might hit eight lawns before lunch and spend the afternoon on a patio project. Recurring maintenance contracts bring predictable revenue. Installations and project work bring bigger paydays but also bigger material costs and longer collection cycles. Managing both revenue types while keeping cash flow healthy takes more than a glance at the bank account.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Landscapers, lawn care companies, irrigation specialists, pest control services, tree care providers, hardscaping contractors. Any outdoor services business in Macomb County and Metro Detroit dealing with seasonal revenue and crew-based work.
What Makes It Complex
What Makes It Complex
Compressed earning season with year-round expenses. Mix of recurring maintenance revenue and project-based installation work. Crew payroll that fluctuates with the season. Equipment and vehicle costs that need tracking. Material purchases for jobs that get billed weeks later. Fuel expenses that vary by route and project.
What We Handle
Project work needs job costing. That retaining wall installation or backyard patio isn’t just revenue minus whatever you remember spending. It’s materials, labor hours by crew member, equipment rental, delivery fees, and your time managing the project. We set up tracking so every expense ties to the job it belongs to. When the project is done, you see real profit or loss. That number becomes data for the next bid on similar work.
Payroll in this industry means managing crews that grow in April and shrink in October. Workers come and go. Some work overtime during busy weeks. We handle payroll processing so you’re not spending Saturday morning calculating hours and tax withholdings. Equipment and vehicle costs get tracked properly for depreciation at tax time. And we help you plan for winter by building cash reserves during the months when revenue is strong.
Job Costing and Revenue Tracking
Job Costing and Revenue Tracking
Every installation and project tracked with its own costs. Materials, labor, equipment, subcontractors. Recurring maintenance contracts tracked separately so you can see profit margins on route work versus project work. Historical job data that makes future estimates accurate instead of hopeful.
Payroll and Cash Flow Planning
Payroll and Cash Flow Planning
Weekly or bi-weekly payroll for seasonal crews with overtime calculated correctly. Tax withholdings handled and deposits made on time. Cash flow planning that builds reserves during busy months to cover winter expenses. Monthly financials that show where you actually stand.
Common Problems
January arrives and there’s nothing in the account. You worked from April through October. Trucks ran constantly. Crews were busy. But nobody set money aside for winter. All those profits went to equipment, materials for the next job, and payroll that week. Now you’re three months from the first mow of the season with loan payments due and no cash to cover them. This happens every year to landscaping companies that don’t plan for the off-season.
The other problem is bidding blind. You finished a paver patio last summer for $8,000. Felt like decent money. But did you actually track what it cost? Labor ran longer than expected. You made two extra trips to the supply yard. The skid steer rental went an extra day. When all the costs add up, that $8,000 job might have netted $1,200. Or maybe it lost money. Without job costing, you have no idea. So you bid the next patio at the same rate and repeat the mistake.
Winter Cash Crunch
Winter Cash Crunch
Busy season revenue spent as fast as it came in. No reserves built for the off-months. December through March becomes a scramble to cover fixed expenses with nothing coming in. Loans get juggled. Credit cards fill the gap. Spring arrives and you’re already behind.
Bidding Without Real Numbers
Bidding Without Real Numbers
Estimates based on gut feeling instead of actual historical costs. Material expenses lumped together instead of allocated to specific jobs. Labor hours not tracked by project. You think you’re making 25% margin on installations but haven’t calculated what they actually cost. Underbidding becomes a pattern that erodes profit.
What Changes
Job costing gives you real numbers on every project. That paver patio shows $6,400 in costs on $8,000 revenue. The drainage project shows 32% margin. The big landscape installation barely broke even after change orders and extra labor. Now you know which work to pursue and which to price differently. Bidding becomes data-driven. You stop losing money on projects that looked good on paper but fell apart in execution.
Cash flow gets planned around the reality of Michigan seasons. Busy months build reserves. A portion of every invoice goes toward winter expenses before it gets spent on the next material run. When January comes, the truck payment is covered. Insurance is paid. You’re not scrambling to make payroll for the skeleton crew that handles snow removal. Tax time isn’t a surprise because quarterly estimates were made and equipment depreciation was tracked properly throughout the year.
Profitable Bidding and Project Selection
Profitable Bidding and Project Selection
Historical job cost data showing actual margins by project type. You see which installations make money and which types of work consistently underperform. Estimates get built on real numbers instead of rough guesses. You take jobs that fit your profitable patterns and adjust pricing on the rest.
Year-Round Financial Stability
Year-Round Financial Stability
Cash reserves built during busy season to cover winter months. Monthly financials that show real profit after all expenses. Payroll handled without eating your weekends. Equipment and vehicle costs tracked for proper depreciation. Tax planning that accounts for seasonal income patterns. No more January panic.
Metro Detroit's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and your current bookkeeping situation. We'll listen, answer your questions, and give you a clear quote.
