How to Bid Jobs for Next Year

How to bid jobs for next year

As we approach the end of the season for landscape contractors, it’s not uncommon to be getting leads for larger jobs that you won’t be able to complete this year yet. And, you begin to wonder how to bid jobs for next year.

When you bid jobs for next year, just hold up for a hot minute before hitting “Send” on that quote.

If you’re going to complete that job next year, you’ll be doing the work at a time in the future when your business’s expenses likely will no longer be the same as they are right now.

What typically happens in the winter for landscaping companies?

We buy stuff. 😂

Upgrade equipment.

Improve processes and systems

Get a new website.

Etc.

What do all these things require?

Yep, money. 💰

Meaning your business’s cost structure to operate, aka overhead expenses, will be different next year then they are right now especially when it comes to how to bid jobs for next year.

And if you’re not careful, you can hit “Send” on a quote for work that will be completed next year, that’s priced based on today’s expenses.

And if what I guessed above is true (you buy stuff between now and then), you won’t make as much profit on that future job as what you had planned on.

Practically speaking, just build next year’s budget before you bid on jobs for next year or sending quotes for work you’re completing next season.

That’ll prevent you from losing out on the profit you had planned on.

But, I’m not done yet.

The main point

The main point I want to talk about is:

“Budget for the business you plan to be tomorrow, not the business you were yesterday.”

What does that mean?

It means if you plan on:

• hiring that office admin
• buying that equipment
• adding a truck
• getting a new website done
• hiring a coach

put it in the budget right away. Not when you actually hire that person, buy the equipment, etc.

As soon as you know you plan on spending the money, put it in the budget.

That way, your pricing will adjust for those expenses, and when you bid on jobs for next year, those bids are based on the expenses that you plan on having in the future.

The cool part is, when you have your “wishlist” in your budget, and you actually sell the job based on that budget, it’s your permission to go buy those things in your wishlist!

You just proved you could sell jobs at pricing that produces the funds to buy those wishlist items.

The budget dictates the “floor” of what you can charge, the market is the only thing that dictates the “ceiling” of what you can charge.

If you can still sell it, that’s the market telling you it can bear the burden of your prices.

Where people get into trouble is when they have to lower their prices below what their budget allows.

The budget is the floor

The budget is the floor.

Selling under your budget is what generates the scenario of:

What was supposed to be your profit goes to pay for those expenses that your selling prices couldn’t cover.

Because the selling price was below the budget floor.

Don’t let that happen to you.

Make sure your budget has every dollar you spend, in it.

Plus your wishlist 😜

And when you get to the end of the year, you’ll actually see the profit.

If you’re a SynkedUP customer, get on a call with your budget expert Chris Cooper, and he’ll be happy to review your budget with you in your SynkedUP account.

If you’re not using SynkedUP, book a free budget consultation, and we’ll get you pointed in the right direction with your pricing.

Until next time!

Cheers!

Weston