Landscaping Job Management Software

One-off and recurring job creation with service type, customer details, estimated duration, and crew size requirements. Recurring schedule templates for maintenance contracts -- weekly, fortnightly, or monthly -- auto-generating jobs for each period without manual re-entry. The scheduler applies a constraint satisfaction approach: crew skills, equipment availability, and vehicle capacity are modelled as constraints so the system only proposes schedules that are physically executable with the resources available that day.

Crew size and equipment requirements are set per job type. A mowing and edging visit for a commercial property requires a two-person crew with a ride-on mower and line trimmer; a hedge trimming job for the same property requires different equipment. These requirements are stored in the job template and matched against available crew and equipment at scheduling time, preventing the common error of dispatching a crew without the equipment the job needs.

Job priority and access notes -- gate codes, key lockbox combinations, dog on property, parking restrictions -- are visible on the schedule view and on the mobile job sheet. Schedule board is filterable by crew, date, and job type. Capacity view shows available hours per crew per week for forward planning, which the operations manager uses to confirm whether new contract capacity exists before committing to a customer. Overbooking protection prevents the total scheduled hours from exceeding each crew's available hours for the day.

Geographic job grouping clusters visits in the same area on the same day, reducing total drive time per crew per day. Route sequencing uses the Google Maps Distance Matrix API to calculate optimised job sequences for each crew, minimising total drive distance while respecting job time windows where customers have requested specific visit times. For operations with 10--50 jobs per crew per day, the OR-Tools library (Google's open-source constraint optimisation library) handles the Vehicle Routing Problem formulation -- treating each crew as a vehicle with capacity constraints and each job as a stop with a time window.

Crew assignment considers skills, equipment on the vehicle, driver licence type (for trailer-towed equipment), and availability. When a crew member calls in sick on the morning of a route, the re-assignment logic re-runs the route with the substitute crew and recalculates the sequence to account for the change in starting location and equipment availability.

Daily route sheet is sent to the crew's mobile with the address sequence, drive time estimates, job details, and access notes. GPS vehicle tracking via device location services provides live crew position on the dispatch board, allowing the coordinator to see whether a crew is running on schedule. Geofencing alerts trigger automatically when a crew departs a job address before the estimated duration has elapsed -- a signal that the job may be incomplete rather than ahead of schedule. Route changes pushed to the crew app in real time when the schedule is updated during the day, so the crew always has the current plan without a phone call.

Daily job list on mobile with customer name, address, access notes, and job instructions. The app is built for field conditions -- large touch targets, minimal text entry, and offline operation via local SQLite storage (on iOS and Android) so the crew can complete jobs in areas with poor mobile coverage and sync when connectivity resumes. Offline sync queues all completed job records, photos, and signatures locally and pushes them to the server in the background when signal returns.

GPS stamp on arrival and departure is recorded automatically using device location services -- the crew lead does not need to manually start or stop a timer. Geotag data is attached to every job record, giving the operations team the ability to verify site attendance for dispute resolution. Task completion checklist per job: items are marked as done in sequence, with required fields (such as photo evidence for a specific task) blocking completion until the field is satisfied.

Materials used are recorded against the job for cost tracking -- pre-loaded material price lists mean the crew selects the item and quantity, not a cost figure. Before and after photo capture is attached directly to the job record with automatic geotagging and timestamp. Photos are stored at the job level and attached to the customer record, so they are available when a customer calls about a visit from three months ago. Customer signature is collected on the device screen for project completions and one-off jobs that require sign-off confirmation. Job completion updates the dispatch board in real time via websocket push, so the coordinator sees the job status change the moment the crew completes it.

Customer and property records with full job history, contract details, communication log, and all photos from every completed visit. Each property record includes site-specific notes -- access instructions, known hazards, customer preferences, equipment restrictions, and any recurring issues noted during previous visits. This information is surfaced to the crew on the mobile job sheet so a crew attending a property for the first time has the same site knowledge as the regular crew.

Quote generation produces itemised PDF quotes from your service rate cards, delivered to the customer via the customer portal link or email with an online approval button. When the customer approves the quote through the portal, it converts to a job record and enters the scheduling queue without any manual re-entry. The customer portal also shows visit history with photos, upcoming scheduled visits, invoice history, and online payment capability -- giving customers self-service access to the information they most commonly call or email to request.

Multiple properties under one account for commercial clients with several sites. Contract details -- service scope, frequency, pricing, and renewal date -- are stored at the property level for commercial accounts and at the account level for residential contracts. Preferred crew assignment is noted at the property level so the routing algorithm respects crew preferences for established customers where relationship continuity matters.

Equipment maintenance scheduling is tracked within the system: mowers, aerators, hedge trimmers, and vehicles have their own service records with interval-based maintenance reminders. When a piece of equipment is due for service, it is flagged on the scheduling board so it is not assigned to a job until serviced, preventing the crew from arriving at a property with equipment that breaks down mid-job.

Job completion triggers invoice generation from the work record -- labour, materials, and any additional items recorded during the job are pulled into the invoice automatically from the rate card. There is no manual re-entry between job record and invoice. Service contract billing automation generates and sends recurring invoices at the contracted interval (weekly, monthly, or per-visit) without manual action from the accounts team.

Invoice delivery by email or customer portal includes an online payment link powered by Stripe for card payments. Direct debit (ACH in the US, BECS in Australia, BACS in the UK) can be set up for maintenance contract customers so their monthly invoice is paid automatically without the customer needing to take action. This removes the chase cycle for the most reliable customer segment.

Integration to Xero or QuickBooks Online via their REST APIs creates invoices, records payments, and reconciles transactions automatically. The mapping is configured during setup so every job category, labour type, and material maps to the correct income account in your chart of accounts. No manual import or export. Outstanding invoice report shows the aged receivables position with days overdue per customer, overdue totals by age band (1--30, 31--60, 60+ days), and the outstanding balance by contract versus one-off jobs -- the information an operations or finance manager needs to prioritise collection action on the highest-value overdue accounts first.

Schedule templates for different service seasons -- spring clean-ups, summer maintenance visits, autumn leaf clearance, aeration and overseeding, and winter shutdown visits. Each season type has its own service checklist, pricing structure, and estimated duration per property size tier so quotes and scheduling are consistent across the season push.

Capacity planning view shows crew availability against projected job volume for the upcoming peak season. This is built from the existing maintenance contract list (known recurring work) and the historical conversion rate from service notification to one-off booking, giving the operations manager a staffing projection 6--8 weeks before the season begins -- enough lead time to hire seasonal labour or subcontract overflow.

Customer communication for service resumption after winter runs as an automated outreach sequence: email or SMS notification to all active maintenance contract customers with a service start date, and a similar notification to inactive customers from the previous season with a rebook link. The rebook link takes customers to a quote approval portal rather than requiring a phone call back to the office. Seasonal job types with service-specific task checklists -- a winter shutdown checklist is different from a spring start-up checklist -- and pricing are configured once per service type and applied consistently across all properties of that type. Historical job volume by season and property type feeds the crew planning tool so each year's staffing model starts from data rather than the operations manager's memory of how last spring felt.