Yard cleanup: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering yard cleanup

Yard cleanup is a seasonal job that rewards careful work around plants and a clean finish. Your value is in knowing what to cut and what to leave, and in leaving the yard looking better than you found it.

What customers ask

  • Do you cut back all the perennials, or only the dead parts?
  • What happens to the leaves and branches you pick up?
  • Can you take down a large limb on the same visit?
  • Will you damage my plants or my fence?
  • Do you haul the debris, or do you leave it at the curb?
  • Can you do a fall cleanup and a spring cleanup on a regular schedule?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, walk the yard with the customer and ask which plants they want kept, which beds need the most work and what season they are cleaning up for.
  • Before you start, mark the plants and features the customer wants protected, and set aside anything that should be left standing.
  • Put the areas covered, the cut-back plan, the hauling and the large-limb exclusion in the written quote.
  • Show before and after photos on your profile, taken from the same spot so the difference is clear.
  • Edge and rake the beds before you leave, and walk the customer through the finished yard.
  • If a large limb or tree is in the way, flag it and refer it to a qualified tree crew instead of cutting it yourself.

What to put on your profile

  • Before and after photos of beds cleared and lawns raked
  • The seasons you work, such as fall leaf cleanup and spring bed cleanup
  • The debris types you handle and how you haul them
  • What you protect and how, such as fencing, plants and irrigation heads

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • Offer a spring cleanup visit to pick up winter debris and prepare beds for planting
  • Suggest mulch for beds that were just cleared, and explain how it helps keep weeds down
  • Mention a gutter check if the yard gets heavy leaf drop, and let the customer decide

Licenses and permits

Basic yard cleanup is commonly not licensed; tree work, large limb removal and hauling may fall under contractor or tree-service licensing in many areas. Check with your state or local licensing agency before you offer those services.

Questions

Do I need a license to do yard cleanups?

Basic cleanup is commonly not licensed. Once you cut large limbs or trees, or work near structures and power lines, the rules can change. Check with your state or local licensing agency.

Should I haul the debris or leave it for the customer?

Decide this in the quote and say it clearly. Put hauling on its own line so it is clear what is included, and tell the customer what they need to set out for pickup.

How do I keep cleanup customers coming back?

Show up when you said you would, protect what the customer cares about, and leave a short summary of what was done. Ask at the end of each season whether they want the same plan next time.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

Edit history

More lawn, landscaping and trees guides for pros

Start here

About this guide

Get yard cleanup requests

Customers pick you by name. Signup is free, and you pay only for leads you accept.

Join as a pro
Sign up free