Hidden Contract Costs that Wreck Budgets

landscape gardener
Contributed By: Leslie Herndon
September 21, 2016

It’s that time of the year when we start gearing up for budget reviews and planning.

More than half of the landscape season is now being behind us. So you’ve got a pretty good idea where you stand.

You’ll get to the numbers, but if I asked you right now, you could easily grade the performance of your landscape service provider.

The reason for this is you have internalized the true costs. The contract price isn’t the true cost. That’s what you pay in dollars.

There can also be hidden contract costs, such as time wondering and worrying, not to mention hoping you don’t encounter any unforeseen what if’s?

Landscaping is an easy business if you can get all the business activities systematized.

  • Phone calls answered in a timely fashion
  • Accurate invoicing
  • Doing the work as promised
  • Doing the work that came up unexpectedly too
  • Fully insuring you against potential what if’s

Your most valuable resource is time. That’s why you hire services like ours. You don’t want to worry, wonder, or hope that everything works out.

That’s wasted time that wrecks budgets.

You just want to get and keep your commercial properties beautiful and safe so that you can do what you do best.

We understand.

And we’re here to help with that. All of us.

Let’s talk about it.

About the Author: Fred Peratt is head coach and owner of Environmental Enhancements, Inc, a Sterling, VA-based commercial landscape management company serving the Washington D.C. Metro Area. He is also the Education Advisory Council Chair for the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

Recent Posts

Something We’re Worried About

The Fall Beat, November 2024 It's been a rough year, folks. Especially if you're a tree. We've had pretty severe heat and long stretches with no rain, which is hard on trees. Add to that torrential end-of-summer rains, and some of your trees might be ready to topple...

Missing Mom

FredTalks by Environmental Enhancements THE PROBLEM: Hey, Fred, My mother has been gone now for many years, but I still miss her terribly. Nothing reminds me more of her than kneeling in a patch of dirt—in chilly air—and burying bulbs, something we did together. (She...

The Right Dress, Suit, and Shoes

The Fall Beat, October 2024 Choosing service providers can be overwhelming, especially when you don't quite know what you're looking for. Shopping vendors is kind of like hunting down the perfect outfit for your high school reunion—a little nerve-racking, but you're...

Jealous of My Neighbor

FredTalks by Environmental Enhancements THE PROBLEM: Hey, Fred, I have this weird competitive thing where I always want my yard to look better than my next door neighbor's (I'll call him Jim). It never does. Jim just seems to have a knack for landscape design, an...

Unhappy Landscapes—We’ve Seen It All

Summer Scoop, August 2024 Are unhappy families REALLY different? "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," Leo Tolstoy famously penned as the opening line in Anna Karenina. Respectfully, Mr. Tolstoy, I disagree. Problems tend to...

Loading...