How to Get Commercial Landscaping Contracts (Small Crews)

Your residential route is full from April to October. Then the phone goes quiet, and you’re back to wondering how you’ll make payroll in February. Meanwhile, the dental clinic down the road has a crew show up every week, all year, and gets billed on the same day every month.

That’s the pull of commercial work. This guide shows you how to get commercial landscaping contracts at sites a 2–5 person crew can actually win: small offices, medical and dental clinics, and retail pads. Think of it as commercial lawn care for sites that fit your route. It covers who decides, the paperwork you need, where to find bids, how to price, and how to survive net-30 payment terms.

Table of Contents

• Is Commercial Work Right for a 2–5 Person Crew?
• What Office Buildings and Clinics Expect From a Landscaper
• Get Your Paperwork Ready Before You Bid
• Where to Find Commercial Landscaping Contracts Up for Bid
• How to Get Commercial Landscaping Contracts: Approaching Property Managers
• How to Bid Commercial Landscaping Jobs (Step by Step)
• Commercial Landscape Maintenance Contract Terms to Understand Before You Sign
• Getting Paid on Commercial Accounts Without Chasing Checks
• Keep the Account and Turn It Into Referrals
• FAQ

Is Commercial Work Right for a 2–5 Person Crew?

A lot of owners think commercial is closed to them. One owner in a Facebook landscaping group put it bluntly: the companies holding those accounts “have to die or do crappy work to get a bid.” That’s true for a hospital campus. It’s much less true for a small office with a strip of turf and four beds out front.

Commercial vs residential: what actually changes

The biggest change isn’t the mowing. It’s the sales cycle and the paperwork.

Start small: single-tenant offices, clinics and retail pads

The sweet spot for a small crew is a site you can finish in one to three hours with your normal mowers and trimmers. Think:

• Single-tenant offices (insurance agencies, law offices, branches)
• Medical and dental clinics, urgent care, physical therapy, vet offices
• Retail pads, like a standalone dollar store on its own lot

These fit inside a residential route. Slot a clinic between two neighborhoods and keep your route density intact.

What to skip for now

Large HOAs, campuses, and multi-site portfolios need more crews and more cash to float than most small operations have. Win three or four small sites first. They become your references later.

What Office Buildings and Clinics Expect From a Landscaper

Commercial customers pay so they never have to think about the grounds. The entrance looks sharp, nobody trips, nobody complains.

Service scope

A typical office or clinic maintenance scope includes:

• Weekly mowing, trimming, and edging along walks and curbs
• Blowing off sidewalks, entrances, and parking spaces
• Bed weeding and mulch refresh
• Shrub pruning and clear sight lines around signs and drives
• Seasonal color at the entrance (often a separate line item)
• Spring cleanup and fall leaf removal

Write every one of these down. If it’s not in the scope, it’s an extra, and you should bill it as one.

Clinic-specific needs

• Timing. Many clinics want you done before they open. Ask for their preferred window up front.
• Noise. A blower outside an exam room is a problem. Do loud work before opening.
• Clear walkways. Patients use walkers and wheelchairs. Clippings on the walk are a safety issue.
• Chemical applications. Expect questions about notice and signage. Follow your state’s rules and tell the practice manager before you treat.

Bring these up first, and you’ll stand out from the guy who only talks about mowing.

Snow and ice add-ons

In snow country, many commercial customers want one contractor all year. If you don’t plow and plan to subcontract it, be upfront. “Honesty will pay dividends,” one owner said, and “don’t do it behind the client’s back.” For pricing, see how much to charge for snow removal.

Get Your Paperwork Ready Before You Bid

Small crews lose commercial work here. The manager asks for a certificate of insurance, you spend two weeks getting one, and someone else gets the job.

Insurance and certificates of insurance (COI)

Expect commercial customers to require:

• General liability insurance. Required limits vary. Ask before you quote.
• Commercial auto insurance on the truck and trailer.
• Workers’ comp if you have employees.
• A certificate of insurance (COI) naming the owner or management company. Many will ask to be named as an additional insured.

Ask your agent how fast they can issue a COI with an additional insured. The answer should be “same day.” If not, shop around.

Business license, W-9 and vendor registration

Keep your business license, a completed W-9, and any pesticide applicator license in one folder on your phone. Management companies and government buyers often make you register as a vendor. It’s tedious, but you do it once per buyer.

A one-page capability sheet with photos

One page that answers “can this crew handle my property?” Include contact info, services, crew size and equipment, three or four before-and-after photos, a note that a COI is available, and two references. Leave it after walk-throughs and attach it to every proposal.

Where to Find Commercial Landscaping Contracts Up for Bid

When people search for “lawn care contracts up for bid near me,” they usually mean one of four places.

City, county and state procurement portals

Government landscaping contracts are posted publicly on city, county, state, school district, and parks department sites. Register and set email alerts for “mowing” and “grounds maintenance.” One owner on Reddit pointed to a bid tool that pulls from more than 500 procurement portals in Texas alone, which shows how scattered these listings are. Skip the paid services. Bookmark the portals that cover your route.

Public bids are often won on price. An agency founder on YouTube called it a “race to the bottom with an RFP.” Bid what the work costs plus your margin, and walk away from the rest.

Property managers and facility-management companies

One property manager often handles several buildings. Pixlel, a website builder for landscapers, claims a manager may control 5–15 or more contracts. Treat that as a rough claim, not a promise.

Retail pad programs

National chains like dollar stores often hire through facility-management companies. Register with the ones serving your area. Margins can be thin, so run your numbers.

Driving your route: spotting poorly kept sites

Your cheapest lead source. Between jobs, note clinics and offices with weedy beds, missed edging, or dead shrubs by the sign. The current contractor is slipping. As one Reddit owner in an adjacent trade said, “the money is in doing the basic stuff reliably and showing up when you say you will, that’s already rare enough.”

How to Get Commercial Landscaping Contracts: Approaching Property Managers

Who decides at an office building vs a clinic

At a multi-tenant office building, it’s the property manager, usually off-site at a management company. Find their name on the building sign and call that office, not the front desk.

At a single-tenant office, it’s the office manager or owner. If they lease, the landlord may control the grounds contract.

At a clinic, ask for the practice manager. Health-system clinics may use a facilities department. Ask, “Who handles your grounds maintenance contract?” That question gets you past most front desks.

The walk-through and the unsolicited proposal

Ask for 15 minutes to walk the property. During the walk-through:

1. Ask what bugs them about the current service.
2. Ask when the current contract ends.
3. Ask what insurance and paperwork they require.
4. Take notes and measurements.

No meeting? Send an unsolicited proposal: short letter, capability sheet, and a price. Note specific problems politely. “We noticed the beds along the east walk could use attention” lands better than “your current guy is doing a bad job.”

Following up without being a pest

Most commercial deals come from follow-up, not the first touch. A simple rhythm:

• Day 3: Short email. “Wanted to make sure the proposal reached you.”
• Week 3: Send a seasonal tip or note. “We’re booking fall cleanups now.”
• Month 2: Check in near their contract renewal date.
• Every quarter after: One short, helpful touch until they renew or say no.

Never badmouth the current contractor.

How to Bid Commercial Landscaping Jobs (Step by Step)

Commercial pricing follows the same logic as residential. You just do the math for a full year. If you’re new to bidding, start with our guide on how to bid a landscaping job step by step.

Measure the site and count man hours per visit

Measure turf, edging, beds, and shrubs. Estimate man hours per visit for each task. The parking lot blow-off takes longer than you think.

Build the per-visit price, then the monthly contract price

Use this formula:

Per-visit price = (man hours × your true hourly labor cost) + equipment and fuel + overhead share + profit margin

A Facebook group owner gave advice worth taping to your dash: “price the risk as well as the work.” Know your true hourly cost, cover your overhead, and add margin on top. If you don’t know your numbers, work through how to calculate landscaping job costs first.

Then build the annual total:

Annual contract = (per-visit price × visits per year) + seasonal extras (cleanups, mulch, color)

Here’s an illustrative example only. Your local rates will differ.

12-month flat billing vs seasonal billing

12-month flat billing spreads the annual total evenly. Their budget stays steady, and you get paid in January. Seasonal billing is simpler but leaves you an empty winter.

Flat is usually better. Make sure the contract covers a mid-season cancellation, after the expensive spring work but before winter billing catches up.

Writing the proposal and scope sheet

Include scope by task and frequency, service window, annual and monthly price, what’s extra, insurance summary, contract terms, and payment terms. Make it look sharp. A clean, branded proposal tells the property manager your crew runs like a real company, even if it’s three people and one truck. For a starting point, see our landscaping proposal template.

Commercial Landscape Maintenance Contract Terms to Understand Before You Sign

Length, auto-renewal and 30-day termination

Most commercial maintenance agreements run 12 months. Look for:

• Auto-renewal. The contract rolls over unless someone gives notice. That’s good for you. Put a calendar reminder 60 days before the renewal date so you can raise prices if needed.
• Termination clause. Many allow either side to cancel with 30 days’ notice. Make sure that cuts both ways.
• Damage and liability. Community owners often ask whether contracts should cover ruts or equipment damage. Spell out what you’re responsible for and what you’re not (for example, hidden irrigation heads that aren’t flagged).
• Price increases. Include a way to adjust pricing at renewal.

If they hand you their contract, read all of it.

Net-30/45/60 and what it does to your cash flow

Commercial customers pay on terms. Net-30 means you get paid 30 days after you invoice. If you start a clinic account on April 1 and bill at the end of April on net-30, your first check shows up around the end of May. You’ve paid two months of labor, fuel, and mulch before you see a dollar. Stack three new accounts in spring, and that gap gets real.

Plan for it. Keep a cash cushion. As one Reddit owner put it: “here’s my cushion if a client is slow to pay.” Don’t take on more net-60 work than your bank account can float.

Getting Paid on Commercial Accounts Without Chasing Checks

Most late commercial payments happen because the invoice was late, wrong, or missing a detail accounts payable needs.

Make every invoice:

• On time, sent the same day each month
• Complete, with the property address, service dates, and any PO number they gave you
• Backed up with proof of service, like dated photos of finished work
• Easy to pay, with a card payment link right on the invoice

That’s where the tool you use matters. With Okason, your crew marks the visit complete with photos from the job site, and the job carries straight onto a branded invoice you send from your phone. The customer can pay by card through Stripe, and Okason adds no markup on top of Stripe’s standard rate. You look like a bigger operation, and you aren’t spending Sunday night building invoices. Okason has a 2-week free trial, no credit card required.

For more on shortening the wait, read how to get paid faster in your landscaping business.

Keep the Account and Turn It Into Referrals

Winning the account is half the job. Keeping it is where the money is.

• Same crew, same day. Property managers notice consistency. A crew that knows the site works faster and makes fewer mistakes.
• Report problems first. A broken sprinkler head is a chance to look sharp and sell a small extra.
• Ask for intros. Once you’ve done three good months, ask the property manager, “Do you manage any other buildings that could use a crew like ours?” That’s how one office account turns into three.

One YouTube creator summed up business growth simply: “contacts and contracts.” Every happy property manager is both.

FAQ

How do I find lawn care contracts up for bid near me?

Register on city, county, and state procurement portals with email alerts. Contact property management and facility-management firms. Drive your route and note poorly kept sites.

How much should I charge for commercial landscape maintenance?

Man hours times your true hourly cost, plus equipment, overhead, and margin. Multiply by visits per year, add extras, and divide by 12. Build from your own costs, not someone else’s price.

Do I need special insurance for commercial landscaping?

Most require general liability, commercial auto, workers’ comp if you have employees, and a COI, often naming them as additional insured. Ask each property for its limits.

Can a small crew bid on government landscaping contracts?

Yes. Many cover small sites like parks or libraries. Read the requirements, register, and bid what the work is worth.

Do I need a commercial landscaping contract template?

You need a written agreement covering scope, price, payment terms, length, renewal, termination, and damage. Many managers use their own, so read theirs closely.

Your Next Step

Pick three clinics or offices on your current route this week. Find out who manages each one, get your COI ready, and book one walk-through. One small commercial account won’t change your business overnight. But it pays you in January, and that’s how a seasonal route turns into a year-round company.