nice looking bid form

[Redbull]

Here's mine. Critique at will.

 

[treeseer]

Good points on fine print; my qualifier is similar but shorter. Good points on simplicity, tho I like to use the ISA logo with certification on one side of the co. name and the ASCA logo on the other. Still simple, but it works for me to show some affiliations.

My 15-yr old and my wife do the graphics. the software is a no-brainer, unless you're as technophobic :alien: as I am and need help.

 

[vharrison2]

Here's mine. Critique at will.

Nice

 

[Tree Machine]

Koa Man, you've got all the bases covered. It looks excessive, but really, it's the minimum to protect yourself. I went the other end of the spectrum, and never even require a signature, unless they ask if they should sign something. Then I say, "Sure, just put your initials down here.", but this is more for them, not for me.

I fly by trust. Eventually I'll get screwed and have no recourse because I have no signature and no fine print. I would have to say Koa's way is the right way, and mine you're creating risk for yourself. Thanks for taking the time to share that important element, Koa.

Redbull, I like the fade-to-back tree in the middle of your form. I think I'll use that sort of element to spiff mine up a bit.

 

[Stumper]

Here is most of mine-The right side got chopped off in converting the file. What is missing is the cute logo of a tree guy with a stethoscope on a tree and the vital remainder of the "payment due upon completion" section.

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment_16217.php

I also made a mistake-I forgot to put a line for the Date on the form---next time.

 

[Tree Machine]

tree guy with a stethoscope on a tree

I like that!

"payment due upon completion" section.

Ah yes. I will be adding that to the bottom of my next form.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Here's mine.

 

[Xtra]

Last week, I attended the 2005 Garden State Tree Conference at Rutgers' Cook Campus here in NJ.

The keynote speaker was Dr. John Ball. He provided us with this disclaimer to reduce our liability should tree damage occur after we've left the work site. Or as he put it, the law states that since we are considered tree experts we "own" every tree we pass in someone's yard. Should a tree fail after we leave, we are liable for any damages, because we didn't warn the client . . even if we didn't see it from the ground!
(ya gotta love this age of lawsuit we now live in)

Here's his disclaimer:
"This site visit included only a visual inspection of accessible components for the purpose of providing a price for requested services and shall not be considered a tree risk evaluation. Risk evaluation involves more extensive inspection and are conducted as a separate work item at an additional charge"

 

[Koa Man]

That disclaimer by Dr. Ball is a good one. I think I'll add that to my fine print. In the thread I posted about the pine tree falling on the 12 yr. old, (Arboricultural Injuries forum) the tree contractor who worked on the tree 4 months before it fell is being sued.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Here is another fine print exclusion.

1. Cleanup consists of all debris fgenerated by our work, we are not responcible for any debris fallen prior to our arival unless specified above.
2. cost of stump grinding includes filling of holes with native soil and grinding debris, removal of debris and backfill with new soil is charged on Time & Material basis

I know guys who have this stuff on the back of the bid sheet, along with deffinitions of common terms (as Justin has them on the front) so that the client can initial applicable terms of agreement.

 

[Koa Man]

I should make like the insurance companies. Fill the whole back side of my bid form with disclaimers and exclusions in type 4 print. In the sue happy society we live in, you can't be too careful.

 

[Ekka]

With regard to domestic household jobs I don't know about you guys but I leave a written quote, most of the time the customers phone within a couple of weeks to book in.

All arrangements are made over the phone and we turn up to do the job.

I don't go back to get anything signed etc ... rarely do we get a problem.

I've often thought of all the clauses etc but I think the quote (bid) is a marketing and selling tool so to paste terms and conditions all over it isn't very palatable. Remember, contracts can be verbal as well as written, so when the customer books in just cover a few points like payment, rain out etc.

Take care when listening to people like Dr Ball ... before you know it you'll be a lawyers sher-pa with a bid sheet that looks like a stenographers notes.

With regard to Koa's post about the tree contractor being sued in Hawaii for that fallen pine there is a case because the company had a contract to inspect and inform of problems ... Koa's post copied this from a press article "The contract says the company's qualified arborist "shall be responsible for examining trees for disease, decay in the trunk, presence of termites, dead or dying trees, and it should be reported immediately to the officer in charge." So in this case they did stuff up.

So chill out on all this suing stuff. A lot of it is scare mongering and a lot would get thrown out of court too. Besides, you're not a lawyer and have an insurance company behind you ... focus on your job and sell, sell ,sell ... common sense prevails.

There is tree risk assessment procedures used by many authorities, obviously there was no true criteria for the contractor to operate within either. Now after the crap has hit the fan all the geniuses have the solutions. It starts with identifying the targets first, then the trees and so on ... which is what they are doing now. So there will be part blame on the authority too for failing in it's criteria and procedure ... and the fact that they can do it now shows they had the skills but were negligent in the application of it. Just like a bad CEO, eventually he cops it for his peoples poor performance. Finally the authority had the history of the trees, that contractor may only know the last year or so, so if there were previous problems how were they conveyed to the existing contractor?

Per head of Capita, Australia is now more litigious than America, but I'm not going to become a lawyers sher-pa to cover my ass in the event of me being responsible for every tree I walk past.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

All the statements I've seen are to reduce getting burned with refuse to pay from regular misunderstandings, not to try to shield from liability.

The first came from a guy who had to clean all the gutters of a house because his agreement states "clean all debris"

the second from people who got tired of writing, on every contract for removal, that they do not remove the grinding backfill the pits.

My uneasiness with the reduction of liability I've seen is that some people are more likely to remove certain trees even if the risk of failure is minimal.

 

[Tree Machine]

I know guys who have this stuff on the back of the bid sheet

If I were to include this stuff, it would be on the back.

I should make like the insurance companies. Fill the whole back side of my bid form with disclaimers and exclusions in type 4 print. In the sue happy society we live in, you can't be too careful.

Unfortunate, but true.

All the statements I've seen are to reduce getting burned with refuse to pay from regular misunderstandings

Misunderstandings, like accidents, can usually be prevented. This is a skill you develop in your initial meeting, and in the writing of the estimate. Mebbe a topic of another thread.

 

[Tree Machine]

I think the quote (bid) is a marketing and selling tool so to paste terms and conditions all over it isn't very palatable.

Gentlemen, this hits the doggie on the noodle. I'll ask you all to go back and re-read Ekka's post.

Your quote, bid, estimate can also be thought of as <i>your paycheck</i>. Thats right. You are writing your own paycheck. There's no 'formula' to determine the price. It's a cross between what you want to be paid, and what you think they'll pay. It's completely subjective, and you are the guy who decides what that price is gonna be.

There's a lot of power in that.

As Ekka states, sell, sell, sell. That's the objective of the estimate; to get the job. How well you interact with the client, and how well you write the estimate determines how well you sell. First impressions are everything, as they say, but you get THREE tries to form your first impression;

1) On the phone when they call you, or when they walk up to you at your jobsite
2) When you walk through their yard with them in person
3) The written estimate

These are all important, but it is the estimate that makes you or breaks you. I consider the estimate the single most important facet of a tree care operation. It's like the nucleus around which all other matters revolve, kinda like the menu at a restaurant.

 

[mikecross23]

Here's my estimate sheet. I scratched it out on paper and had a graphic design buddy of mine put it on a disk and then dropped it off at the print shop. It is two part and carbonless. I've been wanting to add fine print but haven't been sure of what and how to word it. Soon I will be going mobile w/ a laptop and portable printer. I will use Quickbooks or some other comparable program. I think I saw in the TCI mag or somewhere a program specifically for Tree care business'. Anyone use it yet?

Lets see some more fine print from others. I think it is a necessary part of any job.

-Mike-

 

[MasterBlaster]

Ya'll need to have a blank space so you can show the tree, house, driveway, and all the superflurious crap that might be involved with getting the job done.

 

[Stumper]

Butch, That is a good point for the guys who send out crews with work orders. Personally I not only bid it but I am there to do it. I can simply note :"Remove Juniper at NE corner of house and prune S.Maple in back yard-deadwood (3/4") clearance for shed and phone wire, minor shaping." I'll have no problem remembering what to do and the customer has had an explanation of the work plus those notes to refer to.

 

[MasterBlaster]

It doesn't have to take up much space, just enough to hand draw a simple diagram.

 

[alanarbor]

If it's even slightly questionable I utilize annotated digital photographs. I'll send them with the estimate if it seems like the client has a hard time visulizing what I'm talking about.