Which QuickBooks Online plan do I need for a landscaping company?

QuickBooks Online Plus is the minimum recommended plan for most landscaping companies — it includes Class tracking, Projects, and the ability to track inventory or product costs. Essentials works for very simple setups but lacks Class tracking, which limits your ability to report by service line. Simple Start is too limited for most landscaping operations.

Can I use QuickBooks to track profitability by crew or by job?

Yes. QuickBooks Projects lets you assign labor and material costs to specific jobs and run a profitability report. Class tracking lets you segment by crew, service type, or location. For a serious landscaping operation, combining Projects with a well-structured chart of accounts gives you a clear view of which jobs and service lines are actually making money.

How long does it take to set up QuickBooks correctly for a landscaping company?

A clean setup from scratch — chart of accounts, products and services list, bank connections, opening balances — typically takes 4–8 hours for a landscaping company with 2–5 service types. If you are converting from a messy existing setup, add time for cleanup before the new structure can be trusted.

Should I manage QuickBooks myself or hire a bookkeeper?

It depends on your transaction volume and how much time you have. Many landscaping owners manage QuickBooks during slow season but fall behind during peak season — and then spend fall catching up. If you are more than 60 days behind consistently, or if reconciliation takes you more than 5 hours per month, outsourcing is usually worth it.

QuickBooks for LandscapersJune 15, 20268 min readReviewed June 15, 2026By Sabillon Advisory

QuickBooks Online for Landscaping Companies

How landscaping and lawn care companies should structure and use QuickBooks Online — from chart of accounts and service items to job costing and the monthly close.

Short answer

QuickBooks Online works well for landscaping companies when it is set up for how landscaping actually runs — with income accounts by service line, cost of goods sold for labor and materials, a products and services list that maps to the right accounts, and monthly reconciliation of every bank and credit card account.

Checklist

Set up income accounts by service line (mowing, installs, cleanups, tree work).
Set up COGS accounts for labor, materials, and subcontractors.
Build a products and services list where each item maps to the right income account.
Connect all bank accounts and credit cards to the bank feed.
Use QuickBooks Projects or Classes to track job-level costs.
Reconcile every account monthly.
Review P&L by class or service line after each close.

Common mistakes

Using a single income account for all landscaping revenue.
Posting all labor to an operating expense instead of cost of goods sold.
Not using a products and services list — invoicing with free-text descriptions instead.
Missing credit card accounts in the setup, so card charges are not in the books.
Skipping monthly reconciliation and letting unmatched transactions pile up.

Examples for service businesses

A lawn care company sets up a Products & Services item called 'Weekly Mowing' that maps to a 'Mowing Revenue' income account and uses it on every invoice.
A landscaping company uses QuickBooks Projects to track labor and materials separately for each install job so they can see profit per project.
A tree service connects its fuel card and company credit card to QuickBooks so all charges import automatically and are categorized each month.

Why a generic QuickBooks setup does not work for landscaping

The default QuickBooks setup is built for a generic small business — one income account, basic expense categories, no structure for job-level profit. That works for a simple retail business or a solo consultant. It does not work for a landscaping company with multiple crews, multiple service types, and variable material costs on every job.

When the chart of accounts is generic, the P&L becomes generic. All revenue looks the same. All costs blend together. You cannot tell whether mowing routes are profitable, whether your spring install jobs covered materials, or whether a crew is running at the right cost per hour.

Chart of accounts for a landscaping company

The chart of accounts is the foundation. Income should be broken out by service type — at minimum, separate mowing/maintenance from landscape installations and cleanups. Cost of goods sold should separate labor from materials so you can see gross margin on each dollar of revenue.

Income: Mowing & Maintenance Revenue, Landscape Installation Revenue, Cleanup Revenue, Tree Service Revenue (adjust to match your services)
Cost of Goods Sold: Crew Labor, Plant & Material Costs, Subcontractor Costs, Equipment Rental
Operating Expenses: Vehicle & Fuel, Insurance, Office & Admin, Marketing, Depreciation
See the full landscaping chart of accounts guide for a detailed breakdown with example accounts

Products and services list: the key to consistent invoicing

The products and services list in QuickBooks is where you define the services you sell. When you create an invoice or estimate, you pick from this list. Each item maps to an income account in your chart of accounts.

Most landscaping companies that have messy books have never set up a proper products and services list. They type free-text descriptions on invoices, and all the revenue ends up in one generic income account with no way to run a report by service type.

Create one item per service type (Weekly Mowing, Spring Cleanup, Mulch Install, Tree Removal, etc.)
Each item maps to the matching income account (Mowing Revenue, Cleanup Revenue, etc.)
Use the same item list for estimates so estimates and invoices stay consistent
Update the list at the start of each season, not mid-year, to avoid split account history

Job costing in QuickBooks for landscaping

QuickBooks Online supports job costing through Projects (available on Plus and higher plans) or through Class tracking. Projects let you assign labor time and material costs directly to a job, then run a project profitability report to see what the job actually cost vs. what it billed.

For a landscaping company, the most important job costing data points are crew labor hours per job, materials purchased for the job, and any subcontractor or equipment rental costs tied to that job.

Enable Projects in QuickBooks and create one project per major job or install
Assign time entries or payroll labor costs to the project
Record material purchases with the project selected so costs are allocated correctly
Run the Project Profitability report monthly to see which jobs made money and which did not

The monthly QuickBooks close for a landscaping company

Every month the books should be closed — meaning all transactions are categorized, bank and credit card accounts are reconciled, and a final P&L is reviewed. For a landscaping company this typically takes 2–5 hours depending on transaction volume and how clean the incoming data is.

Review and categorize all bank feed transactions — check, clear, or add
Reconcile each bank account and each credit card to the statement balance
Verify fuel card payment was recorded as a transfer, not a fuel expense
Review open invoices and flag any overdue customer balances
Review payroll entries and confirm they match the payroll provider report
Run P&L by service line and compare to prior month
Clear any Ask My Accountant or uncategorized account balances

Get QuickBooks Set Up for Landscaping

Sabillon Advisory can review your QuickBooks setup and restructure it for the way a landscaping business actually runs — by service line, with real job costing.

Get QuickBooks Set Up for Landscaping