The Willow Blog
Quoting, margin & AI for landscapers
Practical, no-fluff articles on winning more work, protecting margin, and using AI to do the boring stuff for you.
- 6 min read
New Domestic Building Contract Rules From 1 December 2026: Do They Touch Your Landscaping Contracts?
Victoria's new domestic building contract laws take effect by 1 December 2026. I'm not sure they catch every landscaping job, but if you do structural work, here's how I'd check and what I'd tidy up on the next quote.
Industry NewsRead post - 6 min read
Retaining Wall Quoting: Rendered Block, Sleepers or Stone, and What to Allow for Drainage and Engineering
Online retaining wall prices are written for homeowners. Here's how I build up a wall quote from the contractor's side, per lineal metre, with drainage and engineering properly allowed for.
Business TipsRead post - 6 min read
Payday Super Is Now Live: What Weekly Super Does to a Landscaper's Cash Flow and Labour Rate
Super now leaves your account every pay run, not every quarter. Here's what Payday Super does to a small landscaping crew's cash flow, and the labour rate and payment schedule changes to make on your next quote.
Industry NewsRead post - 5 min read
Soil Bulking Factor for Landscapers: How to Allow for Spoil, Truck Loads and Tip Fees in a Quote
The cubic metres in your notebook aren't the cubic metres on the truck. Here's how I take a dig from in-ground volume to loose volume, truck loads, tip tonnes and a proper line item, so soil stops eating the margin.
Business TipsRead post - 6 min read
Landscaping Labour Rate Per Hour in Australia: Working Out What You Actually Have to Charge in 2026
Every hourly rate guide online is written for homeowners. Here's how I build a landscaping charge-out rate from wages, super, overheads and real billable hours, and the rate I couldn't say out loud until it won us a $75,000 job.
Business TipsRead post - 6 min read
The $20,000 Instant Asset Write-Off Is Now Permanent: Buying a Skid Steer, Trailer or Ute and Pricing the Machine Into Jobs
The $20,000 instant asset write-off is now permanent, but a tax deduction doesn't make your skid steer free to run. Here's how I'd work out a machine rate and get it onto every quote.
Industry NewsRead post - 9 min read
Cash Flow Kills More Landscaping Businesses Than Bad Work Does — Here's How to Fix It
Cash flow, not bad work, is what sinks most landscaping businesses. Here's a practical guide to forecasting, faster payments, and bank account structures that protect your business.
Cash FlowLandscapingBusiness FinanceAccountingRead post - 6 min read
How AI Is Changing Landscape Quoting in 2026
What AI quoting actually does for a landscape construction business, what it still can't do, and how to get a professional proposal out before you leave the client's driveway.
AILandscapingQuotingProductivityRead post - 7 min read
25 Years of Landscaping: The 5 Quoting Mistakes That Killed My Margin.
After 25 years in landscaping, Xavier Schaff shares the five quoting mistakes that cost him the most margin, and what he does about each one now.
QuotingMarginLandscapingRead post