Budgeting is a crucial part of managing any commercial property. Without proper budgeting, you’re going to have trouble controlling your costs and forecasting what your outgoings will be.

Landscaping should be part of your overall budget and even if you’re not planning any major landscaping overhauls in the next year, it’s worth calculating your basic landscaping maintenance costs so you can have an idea of what to expect.

There are a few common mistakes property managers make when they are budgeting for landscaping and unfortunately this can lead to a blow out of costs. If your landscaping budget is far lower than the real cost of the work, you may end up cutting corners and this can have a detrimental impact on the appearance of your property.

Here are three mistakes to avoid when estimating your landscaping costs:

• Not having a landscaping plan in place. A landscaping plan will tell you exactly what needs to be done to your outdoor areas each year to keep them looking their best. Without knowing what needs to be done, it’s going to be very difficult to estimate what your costs will be.
• Forgetting about safety. Safety is a big part of landscaping – you’ll need outdoor lighting, well-maintained paths and regular trimming of bushes and hedges if you’re going to maintain a safe environment for your tenants. These costs should be factored in from the start.
• Not building in a contingency plan. Landscaping involves living, breathing plants, so they are not always completely predictable. Sometimes plants die and need to be removed, or they decide to grow like crazy and need to be aggressively cut back. Make sure you have enough in your budget to cover those unforeseen developments so you’re not caught short if the unexpected happens.

Creating a landscaping budget will help you keep ahead of the costs and ensure you have enough for regular maintenance and any improvements required. For help with your commercial landscaping and planning, please get in touch with Enhance Services today.