Buying a landscaping company in Florida

A Florida landscaping company's main business is maintenance: mowing, edging, trimming, mulch, seasonal flowers, irrigation checks and, for some, fertilizing and weed and pest control. Grass grows most of the year here, so crews come weekly or every other week, with a slower stretch in the cooler, drier months. Customers pay a monthly fee under a contract or service agreement.

Commercial customers (homeowner and condo associations, office parks, retail centers, apartment complexes) sign larger yearly contracts, usually after a bid, and bring extra work: tree trimming, irrigation repairs, plant replacements and storm cleanup. Residential customers pay smaller monthly fees and cancel more easily. Installation and design projects (new landscapes, sod, pavers, lighting) are bigger one-time jobs. Small crews, each with a crew leader, work from trucks and trailers with mowers and handheld gear. There's usually also an irrigation technician, a licensed applicator if the company treats lawns, an account manager for commercial customers, and the owner.

• A base of commercial maintenance contracts that renew year after year, spread across several associations and property managers.
• Tight routes: customers clustered so crews spend their day working, not driving between jobs.
• Upgrades, plant replacements and irrigation work sold to existing maintenance customers, which usually earn more than mowing.
• Licensed applicators on staff if the company fertilizes and treats for pests, so that work isn't at risk.
• Crew leaders who stay, and a dependable way to recruit and keep crew members.
• Equipment replaced on a schedule, so mowers and trucks don't all come due at once.
• Account managers, not just the owner, who know the commercial customers and their boards.

Mowing, trimming and planting need no state license, but chemicals do. Anyone who applies fertilizer commercially to urban landscapes needs a limited certification from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), earned through best management practices training (section 482.1562).

Applying pesticides to lawns for hire, including weed-and-feed products, counts as pest control. The company needs an FDACS pest control business license and a full-time certified operator in the lawn and ornamental category (chapter 482). A narrower limited certification lets a worker treat weeds in plant beds and walkways and treat ornamental plants with low-toxicity products and handheld sprayers, but not lawns (section 482.156). Many counties and cities also have fertilizer ordinances, and some limit when it can be applied.

The state doesn't require a license for irrigation work itself. Its irrigation specialty certification is voluntary, and a plumbing license also covers irrigation. Some counties and cities do license irrigation contractors, so ask each local licensing office.

Florida's workers' compensation rules count landscape gardening as construction, so the company needs coverage once it has a single employee (rule 69L-6.021). An officer's exemption covers only that officer.

• The contract list: customer, monthly value, services, length, renewal date and cancellation terms. Associations put contracts out to bid regularly; ask when each is up next.
• How much rides on a few associations or property managers.
• The profit on each contract, since some large accounts are underpriced.
• Who holds the fertilizer certificates and pest control certification, and whether they'll stay. The pest control license depends on its certified operator, and each fertilizer certificate belongs to the worker who earned it.
• Labor: pay, turnover, how crews are recruited, and whether every worker is properly employed and documented. Florida requires employers with 25 or more employees to check new hires through E-Verify.
• The equipment list with age, condition and any debt.
• Storm cleanup revenue, which can inflate some years.
• Fuel, dump fees and yard waste disposal costs.
• Insurance claims for damaged cars, windows and sprinkler heads, which add up on mowing routes.

• How many maintenance contracts do you have, and how many renewed last year?
• Who are your biggest commercial customers, and when do their contracts come up for bid?
• Do you apply fertilizer or pesticides, and whose licenses cover it?
• How do you price contracts, and when did you last raise prices?
• How long have your crew leaders been with you?
• Beyond maintenance, how much revenue comes from upgrades, irrigation and installation?
• How has hurricane cleanup affected revenue in recent years?