Sector: landscaping & driveways
Job software for landscapers and driveway contractors
A driveway job spends its money on things that are not on the quote: the digger that stayed on hire a week past the dig, the spoil that went out on a skip lorry with no paperwork, the two days lost to rain in the week the base was going in. Estimark keeps owned and hired plant in one register with its rate and the job it was on, puts the spoil on a waste transfer note with the carrier and the destination recorded, logs the weather day on the day it happened, invoices the deposit the moment the quote is signed, and keeps the before-and-after photographs the customer wants to see.
What actually goes wrong
The digger stayed on hire
Hired for the dig, off-hired a week after the base went in because nobody rang the hire desk. The invoice is the first anyone hears.
The spoil has no paperwork
Twenty tonnes of muck went out on somebody’s lorry. Where it went and who carried it is not written down anywhere you can find.
The rain was nobody’s fault
Two wet days pushed the job into the next one. The customer for the next one was told Monday and got Thursday, with no dated record of why.
The deposit was never asked for
The quote was accepted by text. The block paving was ordered on your account, and the deposit came two weeks after the pallets did.
Sector: how it works
How is plant tracked?
Owned and hired plant sit in one register with a rate per unit, a QR code, a location and a check-out log per job, so a hired machine on site is visibly costing money rather than invisibly costing it.
- Hired items carry the hire rate and the supplier, and check-out and check-in record which job the item was on, turning a hire invoice into a job cost.
- Owned items carry a service schedule and inspection dates, including LOLER dates for anything that lifts.
- Plant & Equipment is included from Pro.
NoteThe register knows when you told it something went off hire. It cannot know that the hire desk agreed a different date, so the off-hire confirmation is still worth keeping.
What about the spoil?
A waste transfer note records the carrier and their registration, the destination site and its permit, the waste code, the quantity in kilograms, whether it is hazardous, and who handed over and who received, against the job it came from.
- The Environmental module holds the notes and the site waste management plan, and it is included from Pro.
- The muck-away cost lands on the job as plant or subcontract, so the valuation and the job cost agree on what it cost to get rid of.
Can I prove what the weather did?
The Site Diary is a dated daily entry per job with weather, workforce, plant, visitors, deliveries, delays and the work carried out.
- A wet day recorded on the day is evidence. The same day recalled a month later, when the next customer asks why they were pushed, is not.
- Delays are their own field, so they can be counted across a job rather than found in a notes box.
- Site Diary is included from Solo.
How do deposits and photographs work?
The customer accepts and signs the quote in the portal, a deposit invoice is raised from it, and a payment plan spreads the balance across stages.
- Optional lines let the customer choose the lighting or the drainage channel in the portal before they sign.
- Photo Management keeps the before-and-after pair per area, timestamped, and visible to the customer in the portal if you choose. It is included from Solo.
- A variation for the soft ground under the sub-base is raised from the phone with the photograph, priced and sent for approval before the type 1 goes in.
NoteEstimark does not take card payments from your customer. You invoice, and the money goes to your bank.
What about commercial landscaping?
On a subcontract to a main contractor the work is valued rather than invoiced, with a payment application carrying cumulative valuation, retention and the Construction Act dates.
- CIS on labour-only subcontractors is deducted on the labour element at the rate HMRC verification produces, and the reverse charge is set on the main contractor once. CIS Compliance is included from Solo.
- RAMS are versioned and signed per operative, and a permit to work covers excavation, one of six permit types. Health & Safety is included from Solo.
- Payment Applications is included from Pro.
Which plan does a landscaping firm need?
Solo at £39 a month +VAT for up to 2 users and 20 open jobs has the site diary, photographs, variations and CIS already on it.
- Core at £129 a month +VAT covers up to 5 users with no job limit and adds Job Costing, Purchase Orders and the client portal.
- Pro at £299 a month +VAT covers up to 20 users and adds Plant & Equipment, the Environmental module and Payment Applications.
The job, in numbers
- Plant register
- Owned and hired, with rate and job
- Waste transfer note
- Carrier, destination, code, kilograms
- Site diary
- Weather, delays, plant, workforce
- Permit types
- 6, including excavation
- Solo
- £39/month +VAT
- Plant & Equipment
- Included from Pro
Solo
£39 +VAT/month
2 users, 20 open jobs at a time. Completed and invoiced jobs stop counting, which suits a trade where jobs run a week or two.
What you get
- Quotes with optional lines, signature and a deposit invoice
- Site diary with weather and delays
- Before-and-after photographs the customer can see
- Variations from a photograph on the phone
- CIS and the reverse charge on subcontract work
Pro at £299/month +VAT adds Plant & Equipment and the Environmental module for the waste transfer notes. Core is £129/month +VAT for up to 5 users with no job limit.
Questions
Landscaping & driveways: frequently asked
Does Estimark track hired plant on a landscaping job?
Yes. Owned and hired plant sit in one register with a rate, a supplier for hired items, a QR code and a check-out log per job. A hired machine on site shows its rate against the job it is on. The register records the off-hire date you give it; the hire desk’s own confirmation is still the thing to keep.
Can Estimark produce a waste transfer note for muck-away?
Yes, in the Environmental module. The note records the carrier and their registration, the destination and its permit, the waste code, the quantity in kilograms and who handed over and received, against the job the spoil came from.
Can I take a deposit on a driveway job?
Yes. The customer signs the quote in the portal and a deposit invoice is raised from it. A payment plan spreads the balance across stages. Estimark does not collect card payments; you invoice, and the money goes to your bank.
How much is Estimark for a landscaper?
Solo is £39 a month +VAT for 2 users and 20 open jobs. Core is £129 a month +VAT for up to 5 users with no job limit. Pro is £299 a month +VAT for up to 20. Every plan has a 14-day free trial.
Related
For groundworks contractors
Plant on and off hire, muck-away by disposal route, and a valuation that holds up.
For sole traders
Solo at £39/month +VAT: 2 users, 20 open jobs, quote and invoice from the phone.
Environmental module
Waste transfer notes with carrier, destination and waste code, and the SWMP.
Offline field mode
Installs to the home screen, works with no signal, queues and replays your work.
Try it on a real job.
14 days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee. All prices exclude VAT, added at 20% at checkout.